Video Gallery: High school football season dress rehearsals underway
Friday Night Lite – Kelso squares off with Woodland, Skyview; Castle Rock, Naselle to host Saturday jamborees
Jordan Nailon for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
SCHROEDER FIELD — Kickoff for the 2025 high school football season drew one step closer Friday evening when Kelso hosted Woodland, Skyview, and W. F. West for a jamboree in front of a few real fans at Ed Laulainen Stadium.
Some teams wore their finest game day attire. Others arrived in mesh practice jerseys. Whistles were quick, and reminders were frequent from the officiating crew. But the clap of pads and the roar of approval from teammates on the sideline — that was all authentic — like a thespian dress rehearsal, except it’s a competitive stage production against a rival school, and their biggest actors can bludgeon you at full speed if you flub a line.
Each team was allotted 10 offensive plays starting from the opposing team’s 40-yard line. Turn the ball over and you start over at the 40. Score a touchdown before play No. 10, walk back to the 40 and try to do it again. Play fast. Don’t get hurt. And for underclassmen making their varsity debut — try not to let your nervous knees knock together too hard.
The returns from the sneak preview were mixed for the Hilanders. The hosts played Woodland to open the varsity portion of the production, and then wrapped up their evening against Skyview. The Scots allowed touchdowns in both contests, but failed to find the end zone themselves despite several promising drives.
“Jamborees are interesting because you don’t spend any time scouting. We know these teams a little bit, but we don’t worry about that,” first-year Kelso head coach Darin Gardner said. “We have our camp rules that we try to go by. More than anything it’s just about making sure we get aligned, and making sure we understand our assignment, and that we’re flying around to the football. I thought that was really good.”
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