By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
CHEHALIS – Darrington’s dream of playing in the Tacoma Dome was crushed by a nightmare named Brian Wilson.
The Willapa Valley running back knocked the Loggers out of the state playoffs by sprinting around and through Darrington in the Vikings’ 37-12 Class B-11 quarterfinal victory at Bearcat Stadium in Chehalis.
Wilson, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback, who appeared to be easily the fastest player on the field, scored three long touchdowns and rushed for 193 yards on 20 carries.
Willapa Valley (12-0) will play Ritzville, 26-0 victors over Wahkiakum, Saturday in a semifinal. Darrington’s season ended with a record of 9-2.
The loss was hard to swallow for the Loggers, who believed they had the talent to win it all this year. Darrington’s only regular-season loss was to Orcas Island, an unbeaten Class A playoff team. The luck of the highly unscientific WIAA draw, however, put the Loggers against a team that has battered opponents senseless all season to earn its No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.
“The kids put their hearts into it and gave it everything they had,” Darrington coach Rob Wales said. “But this is a very good football team they played today. I fully expect them to win the championship. They have so many weapons, that you can’t key on just one person.”
Darrington moved the ball well for most of the game, but TD runs of 43 and 46 yards and a 22-yard TD reception by Wilson from quarterback Chris Bannish were the difference in an otherwise even game.
“He’s the quickest I’ve seen this year,” said quarterback/safety Matt Reece.
Darrington got strong rushing efforts from running back D.J. Cochran (83 yards) and fullback Ronnie McCoy (82 yards rushing, 53 yards receiving), but the big plays and a three second-half turnovers were more than the Loggers could overcome against the top-ranked B-11 team in the state.
McCoy, who also played a strong defensive game, pulled Darrington to 23-12 with 4:12 remaining in the first half with his second 2-yard TD plunge.
The Loggers put together three consecutive promising drives spanning the third and fourth quarters, but all three resulted in turnovers. Twice the Vikings took advantage, and turned the turnovers into touchdowns.
“We knew going into this game that we could not afford to make mistakes,” Wales said. “We did mistakes, and a team of this caliber, they took full advantage of them.”
Darrington gave Willapa Valley all it could handle with 193 yards on the ground and 83 passing yards from Reece. The Loggers threatened to make the outcome in doubt several times, but were held out of the end zone and were 0-for-4 on third downs in the second half.
Darrington used 10 plays to drive to the Vikings 21 with its second possession of the second half, but Willapa Valley linebacker Jim Padgett recovered a fumble.
The Loggers defense then forced a three-and-out, and the offense drove to the Willapa Valley 35. Bannish then intercepted a tipped pass at the 13 and ran the ball back 21 yards.
Three plays later, on a third-and-2 play, Wilson caught the Darrington defense looking for an inside run and sprinted down his right sideline for a 46-yard TD to increase the Vikings’ lead to 30-12 with 10:36 remaining.
Wilson intercepted a Darrington pass two plays after the TD run. Bannish, who gained 91 yards on 11 rushing attempts and completed five of seven passes for 53 yards, led his team down the field and put the game away with a 7-yard TD run with 5:19 left.
Wilson credited his offensive line for his big day, and said he was impressed by Darrington’s rushing attack.
“That offense is tough to stop,” Wilson said. “It’s one of the toughest offenses I’ve faced this whole year – all through high school, actually.”
But, it was evident from the start that Wilson was going to be a thorn.
Wilson took off for 20 yards on the game’s first play, then capped the four-play drive with at 43-yard TD sprint down his right sideline. Quarterback Chris Bannish found tight end Tip Wonhoff in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 Willapa Valley lead.
Darrington’s first drive was not as flashy, but it was effective.
The Loggers drove 78 yards in 13 plays capped by Ronnie McCoy’s 2-yard plunge to pull within 8-6 with 5:34 remaining in the first period.
A pair of Bannish TD passes gave the Vikings a 23-6 lead early in the second quarter.
Darrington then scratched out another long drive to close the gap to 23-12.
The Loggers covered 73 yards on 12 plays, including McCoy’s second TD run with 4:20 remaining in the half.
Darrington-McCoy 2 run (pass failed)
Willapa Valley-Wonhoff 8 pass from Bannish (Pollard kick)
Willapa Valley-Wilson 22 pass from Bannish (Pollard pass from Bannish)
Darrington-McCoy 2 run (pass failed)
Willapa Valley-Wilson 46 run (Pollard kick)
Willapa Valley-Bannish 7 run (Pollard kick)
Records-Darrington 9-2 overall. Willapa Valley 12-0.
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Willapa Valley-Wilson 43 run (Wonhoff pass from Bannish)
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