Hudson’s Bay crushes Fort Vancouver for Peace Pipe

The Hudson’s Bay players danced at midfield with the Peace Pipe Trophy in hand.

The Eagles had just finished off rival Fort Vancouver 51-0 in a 3A Greater St. Helens League matchup Friday night at Kiggins Bowl, and with one eye on the trophy, they focused the other on an even bigger prize.

Hudson’s Bay needs only a victory next week at home over Kelso to wrap up the league’s No. 2 regional playoff spot.

“We’re going to prepare for it like we have no other game after this,” said senior quarterback Jordan Hickman, who was 7-of-9 for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

In reality, the Eagles (5-3, 2-2) wouldn’t be eliminated with a loss to the Highlanders.

Depending on what happens in the Mountain View-Evergreen game next week, there’s a possibility of a three-team tiebreaker playoff between Bay, Evergreen, and Prairie for the 3A GSHL’s No. 3 regional berth.

“It’s time to focus on Kelso,” said sophomore linebacker Toa Kamatule, who five tackles, two for loss, and a sack to lead the Eagles defense.

“We’ve got a whole week of practice to get the job done and come through with the W.”

Bay won the Peace Pipe Game for the third straight year and the ninth time in 12 seasons over Fort (1-7, 0-4).

It was the largest margin of victory ever in the series and the Eagles’ biggest win since the 1983 season.

“It’s the Peace Pipe, a rivalry game,” Kamatule said. “We’ve got to keep the pipe in the commons, see it every day.”

The win also clinched Bay’s first winning season since 2002. Now, the Eagles shoot for their first playoff appearance since they went three straight years from 1999-2001.

“We’re excited to have this opportunity,” said Bay coach Mark Oliverio. “It’s a special opportunity. I think we’re ready to take that next big step.”

The Eagles held Fort to negative total yardage until the final two minutes, when the Trappers earned two first downs to get their final total to 16 yards of total offense.

“Last year, we shut them out, so this year, we had to do it again, keep it going,” Kamatule said.

The Eagles scored on all six of their first-half possessions, taking advantage of short fields to build a 42-0 halftime lead.

“We were on our script,” Hickman said. “It’s like, it was perfect. You can’t ask for nothing better than that. It was so much fun.”

Bay took the opening kickoff and marched 58 yards in seven plays, with Kamatule scoring on a 10-yard run.

Hickman then tossed TD passes of 35 yards to Julio Vara and 7 yards to Myles Artis to extend the lead to 21-0 after one quarter.

The Eagles capitalized on a pair of Fort fumbles in the second quarter to blow the game open.

“I was proud to see the way our defense played,” Oliverio said. “We were a little anxious at the beginning with all the penalties, but once we settled down, the defense played very well.”

Hudson’s Bay junior Marco Cadiz ran for 110 yards and a touchdown before sitting out the entire second half.

Fort’s Nehemiah Polk had a game-high seven tackles, and Cody Loyer-Hiebert made two tackles for loss.

HUDSON’S BAY 51, FORT VANCOUVER 0

Hudson’s Bay 21 21 7     2 – 51

Ft Vancouver 0 0 0     0 –  0

First Quarter

HB—Toa Kamatule 10 run (Alfonso Barajas kick)

HB—Julio Vara 35 pass from Jordan Hickman (Barajas kick)

HB—Myles Artis 7 pass from Hickman (Barajas kick)

Second Quarter

HB—Marco Cadiz 2 run (Barajas kick)

HB—Elijah Fishel 6 run (Barajas kick)

HB—Vara 8 run (Barajas kick)

Third Quarter

HB—Junior Flores 9 pass from Brian Perez (Barajas kick)

Fourth Quarter

HB—Safety, T.J. Willingham tackled in end zone

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—HB, Cadiz 12-110, Robert Patterson 5-19, Kamatule 3-11, Derek Barnes 3-16, Hickman 2-6, Fishel 2-8, Nathan Newo 1-14, Carter Morse 1-11, Vara 1-8, Perez 1-2, Parker Marsh 1-(minus 4), Darien Williams 1-(minus 3). FV, Willingham 8-2, Brandon Millard 5-24, Myron Lawrence 4-11, Cruz Holiman 4-(minus 12), Erik Coppinger 3-(minus 24), Cody Loyer-Hiebert 1-1, team 1-(minus 1).

PASSING—HB, Hickman 7-9-0-114, Perez 2-3-0-19. FV, Coppinger 1-5-0-15.

RECEIVING—HB, Artis 3-20, Vara 3-68, Flores 1-9, Morse 1-41, Perez 1-(minus 5). FV, Kyron Lowe-Ash 1-15.