High School Football: The N2/BZM Power Rankings III
Pound for Pound – A loss unlike any other in Kelso; but Toutle, Wahkiakum and Clatskanie climb the ladder
Nick Sisson (N2 Media) and Jordan Nailon (Blast Zone Media) / blastzonenews@gmail.com
The first draft of this week’s power rankings read slightly differently than the emergency re-write that had to happen. The original post was set to be all business regarding the gridiron results of the weekend and the storylines of the past, present, and future would surely follow. And we still have plenty to say about all of that in the upcoming paragraphs, but there are more pressing matters that require the attention of true football fans before all that.
The Kelso community lost a legend late last week when former Hilanders head coach Ed Laulainen passed away at the age of 88. Ask literally anyone from Kelso and you’ll know that Coach Laulainen was so much more than just a football coach.
Of course, he was also a baseball coach and a wrestling coach in the offseason. What’s more, he was a teacher of discipline, leadership, and accountability. Hundreds of young men were not only molded into winners on the football field but set on the path of success in life at large thanks to the values and work ethic he taught so unwaveringly.
The Kelso Hilanders were as tough as any team in the state during Laulainen’s tenure, which spanned 32 years overall and 25 of those were as head coach. He compiled an overall record of 179-68-2 over that span, which included the school’s beloved State championship in 1983. Coach Laulainen decided to hang up his whistle and retire as coach in 1995 on the heels of some very good seasons that had incredible potential, and by no means did he leave the cupboard bare. Coach Laulainen was still winning plenty of games before calling it a career. Kelso went 15-5 in his last 20 games which lined up nearly perfectly with his 77% career winning percentage.
It is expected that Kelso High School will be honoring the memory of Coach Laulainen on Friday during a home game against Bremerton in the stadium that’s long been named in his honor. Our deepest sympathies go out to Coach Laulainen’s family members, former players, and the entire Kelso community.
There will never be another like him.
And for those of a certain age, the blindside hits just keep coming.
Take for example another bit of somber news that was shared widely in social media circles last week. Longview’s long-time legends of the pizza pie business announced they are closing their doors for good next month after a 40-year run on Washington Way. That’s right, Bruno’s Pizza, which has been a mainstay in The Planned City, and to anyone who knew what was good visiting from outside the 98632 zip code, for two generations.
Bruno’s always had those tiny pepperoni’s, their loaded 4 x 4’s, and the perfect cornmeal crust that no matter how charred it was, it never tasted as such. More than that, they had the brand. Virtually anyone that played youth sports growing up in the 1990’s and beyond either played for, or played against, a team sponsored by Bruno’s.
And who can forget that logo? It is one of those images we will always be able to conjure, along with the pictures hanging in the restaurant featuring nostalgic team photos, or those kids with the clown makeup. Everyone remembers team pizza parties in front of perhaps the bulkiest big-screen TV that ever existed. And to those of us who came of age in the 90’s, it always seemed to be showing the NBA Playoffs with Michael Jordan dominating someone new.
Once again, it feels like an important piece of our childhood is being taken away. And while we are adults now with children of our own, we were never going to be ready to say goodbye.
In fact, earlier this week the combined N2/Blast Zone Media headquarters was abuzz with our fondest memories from Wunderland, aka, “The Nickel Palace” arcade, which just so happened to be neighbors with Bruno’s. What a time to be alive. Kids today will never know the joy of literally turning a single dollar into 20 arcade plays on the likes of NBA Jam, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Wrestlefest.
Nowadays we may spend a lot of our free time coming up with the most important high school football rankings in the land, but we may soon have to debut our Top-5, pound-for-pound favorite places to be a kid when growing up in the heart of The Blast Zone. (Editors’ Notes: We’re looking at you Skate World and the old aquarium at The Merk!) It didn’t seem possible for Longview to lose even more of its character than it already had. In fact, the quantity of top notch pizzerias in town has long been one of its finer points. As it turns out, we greatly underestimated what a city like L-Town can take away from a person without warning.
Next thing you know they’ll take down the squirrel bridges and turn the Civic Circle into a square.
Alas, let’s get to some football.
Toledo continues to play with what locals consider to be one the worst mascot names in the history of mascot names, but it seems to work for them. (Editor’s Note: Does it though?) That’s right, the Riverhawks (or the Rivarians, as one school board member would prefer to call them) soared once again in Week 3 after dive-bombing Pe Ell/Willapa Valley 40-6. Toledo came into the season extra salty after a controversial ending to their final playoff game last fall against Tri-Cities Prep, and the AquaHawks weren’t shy about sharing their feelings with the media.
The Riverhawks haven’t had to worry about any controversy thus far in 2025, but a showdown with Toutle Lake loom on Saturday evening, and there are almost always fireworks between the rivals every time they face off.
And how about those Fighting Ducks? They hit the road last Saturday and came away with a gritty 8-6 win in enemy territory against Bellevue Christian of the 1A ranks. We really liked that win by Toutle, and everything else that town has been up to recently, as reflected below.
We were also thoroughly impressed by Clatskanie during a visit to Oregon country. The Tigers renewed the Highway 30 Hootenanny rivalry with Rainier last Friday, and Blast Zone Media was there in person to witness Clatskanie come up with a hard-fought victory.
The Columbians (great mascot name and image!) didn’t roll over in this one, but also didn’t just “run out of time” during a furious comeback. Rainier simply didn’t have enough athletes to keep pace with their old foes from over yonder.
On a non-related, but alphabetically adjacent note, the Mountaineers of Rainier, Wash., saw a huge lead evaporate (during homecoming no less!) against Morton-White Pass last week and ended up losing 32-30.
T’was a tough weekend overall for the assorted high schools of Rainier.
And so, without further adieu, let’s get to the overall league rankings, followed by our infamous weekly pound-for-pound power rankings of the Top-5 teams who call the Blast Zone home.
— Content below this line is reserved for paid subscribers. Thank you for supporting Blast Zone Media and all local athletes with your subscription. —