HS Football: Adna Wins Muddy Battle Over PWV

10/31/24

Adna 14, Pe Ell/Willapa Valley 0

(Adna, WA) Entering Halloween night with identical records both overall and in Central 2B League play, the Pe Ell/Willapa Valley Titans made the short trip east to take on the Adna Pirates in both teams regular season finale on Thursday night. With both teams sitting at 5-3 and 3-1 in league play, the game had significant playoff implications. While both teams would advance to the crossover round regardless of the outcome, the winner would not have to travel and would get a home game next week against the Rainier Mountaineers. With the rain coming down and turning the field into a mud pit, it would be 2B football at its finest as the two squads battled it out at Pirate Stadium.

First Half

Adna honored their seven seniors for Senior Night before receiving the opening kick of the game. After moving the ball into Titan territory, Adna would be shutdown after PWV blew up a run for a five-yard loss. PWV would then send their offense out on the field where Nathan Fluke immediately showcase his arm with a couple of completions, 11 yards to Blane King and 13 yards to Lucas Lusk. An 8-yard keeper for Fluke also kept the drive alive on a read option. With the ball in Adna territory, Fluke tried to find a receiver on the PWV sideline, but Jack Smith would tip the ball and bring it in for an interception. The senior put an immediate stop to a promising drive and gave the ball back to the Pirates.

Both teams would trade possessions with a fumble giving the ball back to Adna. With the rain coming down hard, Adna clearly wanted to keep the ball on the ground with Beau Miller and Luke Mohney. Those two backs continued to move Adna down the field steadily. With Mohney having a tough time getting going on the jet sweeps, he moved into the backfield and immediately found success with a 28-yard run to move Adna into the red zone. His next touch would lead to the first points of the game as he scored from 11-yards out to give Adna a 6-0 lead with 9:21 left in the second quarter.

After forcing a stop on defense, the Adna Pirates got the ball back and Beau Miller really got going as the Pirates began to win the battle in the trenches. Miller and company would get the ball inside the 10-yard line before things fell apart. A couple of holding penalties moved the Pirates way back and forced them to attempt a Hail Mary on 4th and goal from the 30. That ball would fall incomplete and PWV wouldn’t push the envelope and took the game to halftime in a quick half with Adna leading PWV 6-0.

Second Half

Pe Ell/Willapa Valley started the second half with possession and immediately faced a 3rd down. Despite the conditions, Nathan Fluke would come up with the best throw of the game for PWV as he dropped a dime on the near sideline to Hank Swartz who made a tough catch for a 30-yard completion. That boosted the vibes for the Titans but the Pirate defense would come up with a stop. Bottling up the run game was the key as Adna took over after a punt for their first possession of the 3rd quarter.

What followed was a long and grueling drive for Adna where they once again had to overcome some penalties as they moved the ball down the field. Luke Mohney continued to make some big plays with a 22-yard run while Beau Miller continued to be the workhorse between the tackles while popping the occasional 10+ yard run. Adna moved the ball right down the field and once again got inside the 10-yard line before moving it down to the one. Snaps were an issue for the Pirates and it cost them on the drive as a snap issue saw the ball it the ground before being recovered by PWV for a takeaway. On the very next snap, it was Adna stealing momentum right back with a safety to extend their lead to 8-0 and giving the Pirates the ball right back.

Another snap issue would cost Adna however as they fumbled on the next series, giving PWV the ball back still down just 8-0. However, the Pirate defense was smothering in the second half and did not allow the Titans to get anything going. Jack Smith would again put an abrupt end to a PWV drive with another interception to give Adna back the ball in the 4th quarter. It wouldn’t take too long for Adna to put the game away as Beau Miller broke a 20-yard touchdown run on his 26th carry of the game to make it 14-0. One more Jack Smith interception and a Luke Mohney 28-yard run sealed the win for Adna as they completed the 14-0 shutout win over PWV.

Stats and MVP

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Adna senior Jack Smith. Mainly a defensive player, Smith celebrated his senior night with one of his best games of his career. Smith came away with three interceptions including two when PWV was marching down the field. The first interception killed a drive where it looked like the Titans would strike first. In what could have been his final game at Pirate Stadium, Jack Smith put together an incredible performance to guarantee the team at least one more home game in the playoffs.

Statistically for Adna, it was a dynamic one-two punch out of the backfield. Luke Mohney led in yards with 13 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown while Beau Miller lead in carries with 28 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown. Layden York would carry the ball five times while going 4-6 through the air for 10 yards on a rainy night which made throwing the ball very difficult. Luke Mohney hauled in two of those passes for nine yards while Gavan Muller had two catches for one yard.

For Pe Ell/Willapa Valley, Lucas Lusk led the Titans on the ground with 12 carries for just four yards while Nathan Fluke ran the ball twice for seven yards. Through the air, Fluke was actually pretty successful, going 10-16 for 96 yards. Blane King was his go-to man as King caught six passes for 55 yards. Lusk also hauled in two passes for 12 yards while Hank Swartz caught a 30-yard pass and Spud Swogger caught one pass as well. Connor Keeton was the defensive standout for PWV with numerous tackles as well as a fumble recovery for the Titans.

Click here for the link to the full game replay (Subscription Required)