High School Football: Toledo not taking any lip on cusp of 2B State semifinals
Letting It Fly – No. 1 ranked Riverhawks roll into matchup with No. 5 Okanogan
Jordan Nailon for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
Prep Football / Semifinal Preview
The Riverhawks have heard all the slander and taken everyone’s best shot week in and week out, and every step of the way they’ve replied emphatically. So it’s not surprising that at least a few feelings have been hurt on the way to an 11-0 record, a No. 1 ranking, and a spot in the 2B State football semifinals.
Those ruffled feathers were most apparent at the end of last week’s 42-0 shutout of No. 8 Napavine at Laulainen Stadium, which included a short rushing touchdown by Carter Swofford as time expired. A heated conversation ensued between members of each coaching staff at the end of the handshake line. The accusations and insults were swift and full-throated from the Tigers’ side in the shadow of their season-ending loss. Conversely, the explanation was viciously succinct from the Riverhawks in the light of their season-extending victory.
“We tried not to score at the end, but Eli (Weeks) got horse-collared (on the second-to-last-play) and I don’t know,” Toledo head coach Mike Christensen said. “I get why they’re upset. But I think our guys have a right to be upset, too. And that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
It was the first time Toledo has defeated Napavine since 2015, and just its second victory over the Tigers since dropping down to the 2B ranks. The victory also served as redemption for the Riverhawks, who had been eliminated by Napavine four times at the state tournament over that same span.
And it certainly didn’t help that someone with access to orange and black paint had made their way over to Toledo High School the night before quarterfinal matchup and painted – let’s call them specific and vulgar – phrases that called out at least one Riverhawk by name. Add it all up, and it’s obvious the Tigers managed to wake whatever part may have still been sleeping in the Cheese Town giants.
“That’s what a little bit of that there at the end was… We scored on them at the end and their coaches were pissed, and they had a right to be,” Christensen explained. “But the stuff they wrote on our rock was really personal and inappropriate, I felt. I know that it’s a bunch of kids out here playing, but what they wrote about our guys was unacceptable…. So that’s a little bit about what the end was like.”
Anyway, the Riverhawks haven’t been concerned about any of that since they walked off Schroeder Field with their 11th straight victory last Saturday. Now that they’ve snapped a pesky four-game losing streak in quarterfinal affairs dating back to 2018, the ‘Hawks have bigger fish to fry.
Next up for Toledo is a date with No. 5 ranked Okanogan in the 2B State semifinals, but Toledo fans will have to travel to Tumwater for the season’s final “home” game.
“I feel good. We’ve got athletes at every position and as long as we stay healthy I think I feel good about what we can do offensively,” Christensen said.
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