Rivenes, R.A. Long scratch out OT win at Centralia
Jordan Nailon for Blast Zone Media
Rivenes, R.A. Long scratch out OT win at Centralia
It had been more than a year since the Lumberjacks were able to linger on the gridiron in postgame celebration mode. A long, contemplative, work while nobody is watching trip around the sun.
But on a crisp Friday the 13th in Centralia, the R.A. Long boys put together a second half charge and put a bow on it with a touchdown in overtime to defeat the Tigers 21-15 in non-league 2A prep football action.
“We were feeling it tonight,” R.A. Long coach Jon Barker said. “The kids really believed and it was just a matter of putting together.”
In the first half, though, it looked as thought it might wind up being more of the same for the Lumberjacks as they watched an early 7-0 lead turn into a 12-7 deficit with less than two minutes remaining before halftime. After earning first blood on a two-yard quarterback keeper by Jaxson Rivenes, the Jacks began to fall into old habits. Namely, they were nullifying big plays on offense with penalties that sent them walking back in the opposite direction they’d just ran.
Those mistakes helped Centralia steal the momentum, and the lead, away behind touchdown runs by Terrell Sanders and Kellen Rooklidge.
The way Barker saw it, his guys had simply become too frenzied once they sensed the Tigers were ripe for the picking.
“We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, but unlike last week where it seemed like everything just fell apart, we were able to overcome that,” Barker said. “In the first half I had to tell the guys, ‘Give me about five percent less pirate.’”
That Jimmy Buffett approach to plundering paid off when R.A. Long marched down the field and scored on a pass from Rivenes to Taijon Reagins with just 6.5 seconds left before intermission. That score, and the ensuing two-point conversion pass to Devin Harris, put the Jacks ahead 15-12, and they would never trail again.
However, R.A. Long saw linebacker Franklin Pihl go down with a hand injury in the fourth quarter before a 23-yard field goal by Page Miles put the visitors back on high alert and sent the game to overtime in the Hub City.
Utilizing Kolby Knudsen at fullback in the stead of Pihl, the Jacks moved the ball slowly but surely toward the end zone before letting Rivenes take over from the six-yard line. A designed quarterback draw set Rivenes up for a dive across the goal line as he negotiated traffic for the go-ahead touchdown.
Rivenes finished the game having completed 12 of 17 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing in two touchdowns. TraMayne Jenkins was his favorite target with six catches for 121 yards.
“Rivenes did a great job using his legs tonight,” Barker said. “Just good, sound decision making from him.”
After failing to convert on the two-point conversion the Jacks needed a stop on defense, lest their fate be decided by a kicker. And that’s precisely what they got.
“We came out and played defense and stopped them a yard and a half short on 4th and 2,” Barker noted.
The head Lumberjack pointed out the defensive contributions of Jenkins after moving him away from the middle of the field on defense, along with the tackling of Pihl and Knudsen and the meat of the defensive line..
“We moved Tra down and had him play overhang rather than playing over top and that set him up for some big plays,” Barker said. “Antonio Navarro (-Guizar) and Angel Gallardo honestly played good games at defensive tackle for us.”
So what were the vibes in the locker room and on the bus after R.A. Long’s first varsity win since Week 1 of 2023?
“It’s the most validating thing,” Barker said. “The kids recognize that we won, but if we’re going to beat Bay we’ve got to play even better.”
R.A. Long (1-1) will play Hudson’s Bay on the road at Kiggin’s Bowl on Friday.
Centralia (0-2) will host Foster on Friday for homecoming.
BOX SCORE
At Tiger Stadium
LUMBERJACKS 21, TIGERS 15 (OT)
R.A. Long 7 8 0 0 6 — 21
Centralia 0 12 0 3 0 — 15
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
RAL — Jaxson Rivenes 2 run; kick good
2nd Quarter
CEN — Terrell Sanders 1 run; kick failed
CEN — Kellen Rooklidge 9 run; conversion failed
RAL — Rivenes 9 pass to Taijon Reagins; 2-point pass to Devin Harris
4th Quarter
CEN — Page Miles 23 field goal
OT
RAL — Rivenes 7 run; run failed
Team Stats RAL CEN
First Downs 12, 10
Rushing Yards 60, 208
Passing Yards 158, 42
Total Yards 218, 250
Comp-Att-Int 12-17-0, 4-10-1
Fumbles/Lost 1/0, 1/0
Individual Stats
Rushing: RAL — TraMayne Jenkins 1-27, Kolby Knudsen 5-18, Franklin Pihl 7-15; CEN — Kellan Rooklidge 19-97, Roman Cando-Young 2-52, Terrell Sanders 11-33; Donovan Galloway 7-26
Passing: RAL — Jaxson Rivenes 12-17-158-1-0; CEN — Terrell Sanders 4-10-42-0-1
Receiving: RAL — TraMayne Jenkins 6-121, Nicholas Niday 2-19 Taijion Reagins 1-9, Franklin Pihl 1-5, Kolby Knudsen 1-3, Brenner Coates 1-1; CEN — Hudson Waterfield 3-32, Talan Sayers 1-10
FRIDAY NIGHT SCORES
R.A. Long 21, Centralia 15
Kelso 40, River Ridge 21
Seton Catholic 46, Mark Morris 6
La Center 28, Woodland 0
Kalama 38, Tenino 35
Castle Rock 30, Rochester 14
Ilwaco 58, Winlock 12
Toutle Lake 34, Fort Vancouver 0
Naselle 72, Wahkiakum 6
Willamina 42, Rainier, Ore. 6
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Toledo vs Goldendale, 2 p.m.
Clatskanie at Stanfifeld, 1 p.m
.