High School Football Review: Kelso spoils the party at Longview Memorial Stadium
‘Gritty Boys’ – Hilanders get mean with Mark Morris in 19-6 win to open season
Jordan Nailon for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
High School Football
THE STADIUM – If a local sports historian were inclined to rank all-time popular storylines for Kelso football it would probably look something like this…
1) Winning the State title in 1983
2) Kelso team facing uncertainty throttles Longview team with high hopes
…
X) Everything else
And to that end, the Hilanders delivered the goods for their faithful fans on Friday night with a 19-6 win over Mark Morris on the wrong side of the Cowlitz River. That Week 1 win over the Monarchs also served to spoil the unveiling of the completed second phase of renovations at Longview Memorial Stadium.
On top of that, Kelso came in with a new head coach and a bunch of question marks on the depth chart after graduating a crew of heavy lifting seniors in the offseason. Meanwhile, Mark Morris entered the contest with sky high expectations in Year 2 of the Mike Peck era.
As it turns out, Kelso’s gonna Kelso even when social media would lead you to believe otherwise.
“Our coaches have been talking about it. They played here before us. When you come to Kelso football, you beat the Monarchs,” Kelso senior Mason Hanson said. “We come to their new stadium – yeah, it’s nice and we respect them, but we came here to win. We’re gritty boys and we like to win.”
— Kelso running back Mason Hanson (15) bursts through the Monarchs’ defense and caps the drive with a hard-charging 10-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Hilanders on the board first during Friday night’s matchup, Sept. 5, at Memorial Stadium. / Video by Skyler Smith for Blast Zone Media —
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