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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Trico League championships never get old for La Center

Wildcats wrap up fourth title in a row

By , Columbian Sports Editor
Published:

KALAMA — Wearing the Trico League crown isn’t old hat for Zach McRobert.

Jazzed. Giddy. Proud.

The senior lineman was anything but jaded after La Center clinched its fourth consecutive Trico title Friday with a 42-22 win over Kalama.

“I still have that feeling that I did my sophomore year,” McRobert said. “It’s butterflies in my stomach, pride, excitement, everything.”

La Center (5-3, 4-0) clinches a Week 10 bye and a berth in the Class 1A state playoffs, where it will host potentially two games.

A Wildcats team that is unblemished in Trico play was just about perfect on offense Friday. All seven La Center drives ended in touchdowns except for the one that ran out the clock at the end.

The Wildcats did not do anything fancy. They simply broke off 8- to 12-yard runs consistently.

Cole Judd rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Wyatt Aguirre also had two rushing touchdowns and 71 yards.

“We really felt we could impose our will,” La Center coach John Lambert said. “It’s nice when the guys do everything we teach them during the week with great technique.”

Lambert said that strategy of long, sustained drives is crucial to playoff success.

“It tires out defenses, especially at this level where most kids play both ways,” Lambert said. “We’re going to play teams that have good offenses. The more we can have the ball in our hands is to our advantage.”

It certainly tired out Kalama. The Chinooks trailed 21-14 at halftime, but couldn’t muster much in the second half.

The first half we didn’t really have a grip on what we were doing on defense,” McRobert said. “As soon as we came out that second half, we knew exactly what to do. We performed excellently that second half.”

It also helps that La Center has the returning Trico League defensive player of the year healthy again. Max Hiller missed the first six games after undergoing an appendectomy and then dislocating his elbow.

The senior had seven carries for 56 yards and caught a 5-yard TD pass. He also had a sack.

Kalama tied the game 14-14 with 1:07 left in the first half, but gave La Center a short field by trying an onside kick. The Wildcats needed 42 seconds to cover 47 yards, taking a 21-14 lead on Aguirre’s 5-yard pass to Hiller.

La Center began the second half by covering 50 yards in eight plays to take a 28-14 lead.

After forcing a turnover on downs, La Center covered 57 yards in 10 plays to take a 35-14 lead with 8:40 to play.

LA CENTER 42, KALAMA 22

La Center 7 14 7 14 – 42

Kalama 6 8 0 8 – 22

First quarter

K – Colby Mazza 16 pass from Isaac Truesdell (kick failed)

LC – Wyatt Aguirre 1 run (Sergio Sandoval kick)

Second quarter

LC – Aguirre 5 run (Sandoval kick)

K – Jasper Pulido 15 pass from Truesdell (Truesdell run)

LC – Max Hiller 5 pass from Aguirre (Sandoval kick)

Third quarter

LC – Cole Judd 1 run (Sandoval kick)

Fourth quarter

LC – Cole Judd 8 run (Sandoval kick)

LC – Brett Judd 15 run (Sandoval kick)

K – Victor Leatzow 13 pass from Truesdell (Carl Hausserman run)

Individual statistics

RUSHING – La Center: Aguirre 16-71, Cole Judd 18-125, Max Hiller 7-56, Dalton Morgan 5-24, Brett Judd 2-15, Logan McLenithan 1-9, Jeremy Scott 1-45.

Kalama: Jasper Pulido 15-153, Isaac Truesdell 3-(minus-3); Jacob Herz 3-22; Carl Hausserman 4-12.

PASSING – La Center: Aguirre 5-5-0-59.

Kalama: Truesdell 7-18-1-95.

RECEIVING – La Center: Kellan Sullivan 1-11, Hiller 1-5, Morgan 2-31, Jacob Wise 1-12.

Kalama: Colby Mazza 1-16, Hunter Esary 3-43, Pulido 2-20, Leatzow 2-13.

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