Skyview screens out River

Skyview quarterback Kieran McDonagh was perfect in the first half Friday night.

His receivers were, too.

And with a flash of offense in the second quarter, the Skyview Storm took control of their rivalry game with Columbia River and ended up beating the Chieftains 48-13 at Kiggins Bowl.

McDonagh threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Storm (6-2) erased a six-point deficit to lead by 21 at the half. McDonagh would be the first to tell you, though, that a lot of the credit should go to his receivers and the big guys up front.

“The line blocked great on all the pass plays, and we probably have the best receiving corps in the state,” McDonagh said. “Pretty much my job is to get the ball to the playmakers. We know they all have skills. Just about everybody got a touchdown tonight.”

McDonagh certainly did his job, then, completing 13 of 14 passes for 215 yards and those four scores.

Ellis Henderson caught five passes for 117 yards to celebrate his final game against the Chieftains (5-3).

“It’s just a whole different atmosphere. I can’t explain it,” he said of the big game. “It’s River week. It’s all up-tempo at practice. No offense to River, it’s not as competitive as it used to be, but it still means the world. And (the Chieftains) came out hard tonight.”

Indeed, Columbia River led 13-7 after the first quarter, rushing through the Skyview defense for the first 12 minutes.

But the Storm responded with 41 unanswered points, highlighted by a 27-point explosion in the second quarter.

McDonagh’s first three TD passes were the short, quick passes to the wide receivers near the line of scrimmage. But Reiley Henderson, Forrest Russell, and Ellis Henderson turned those short passes into points.

Ellis Henderson brought the home crowd to its feet with an 84-yard catch-and-dash on a third-down play, giving the Storm a 27-13 lead.

“We’ve run that play for three years now. I feel like I’ve got it down a little bit,” Henderson said. “The line has to block it, and they did a great job.”

McDonagh wasn’t just doing dink and dump passes. After finding Parker Henry for a downfield pass to get in position, McDonagh connected with Mo Morrison for a 15-yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in the half.

His stats at the break: 8 for 8, 167 yards, and four touchdowns.

Columbia River’s biggest problem in the first half, other than its pass defense, was ball security. The Chieftains rushed for 162 yards in the half, but three turnovers — a fumble and two interceptions — led directly to Skyview touchdowns; thus, the three-touchdown gap between the two squads.

Morrison had one of his two picks in the competitive first half, giving him eight interceptions this season.

“We just want to get off the field and let our offense get to work,” Morrison said. “It’s a pretty big deal when we make a play like that.”

The Storm made plenty. Columbia River ended up with six turnovers, four that were converted into Skyview touchdowns.

Not to be lost in all the passing yards for Skyview, Parker Henry rushed for 105 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns for the Storm.

“Rivals. They’re five, six miles from us. We know about 90 percent of the guys on that team. It’s always fun to play against River,” Henry said.

For Skyview (6-2), this non-league rivalry contest was a tune-up for next week’s game against Union to determine the 4A Greater St. Helens League champion.

Columbia River (5-3) will face Mountain View in a must-win game to either make the playoffs or at least force a three-way tie for second place to get into a tiebreaker.

The Chieftains are hoping for a performance closer to the first quarter of Friday’s game than the last three. Sophomore running back Remick Kawawaki scored on a 29-yard run to tie the game at 7, then Kevin Sandison cashed in from two yards out for a 13-7 lead late in the first quarter.

Kawawaki finished with 118 yards on 23 carries.

Skyview’s defense, after a sluggish start, held Columbia River to 92 yards of offense in the second half.

“I just wish we did a better job in the first half,” said defensive lineman Albert Chon, who returned a fumble 41 yards to set up Skyview’s first touchdown of the night. “Once we focused up a bit more, we pulled together. I’m proud we did so well.”

Especially in a rivalry game.

SKYVIEW 48, COLUMBIA RIVER 13

Columbia River 13 0 0 0—13

Skyview 7 27 14 0—48

First quarter

Sky — Parker Henry 5 run (Nick Phillips kick)

CR — Remick Kawawaki 29 run (Ben Kraft kick)

CR — Kevin Sandison 2 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

Sky — Reiley Henderson 17 pass from Kieran McDonagh (Phillips kick)

Sky — Forrest Russell 19 pass from McDonagh (kick blocked)

Sky — Ellis Henderson 84 pass from McDonagh (Phillips kick)

Sky — Mo Morrison 15 pass from McDonagh (Phillips kick)

Third quarter

Sky — Henry 1 run (Phillips kick)

Sky — Henry 11 run (Phillips kick)

Leaders

Rushing — Columbia River: Kawawaki 23-118, Clayton Frank 14-70; Skyview: Henry 18-105.

Passing — Columbia River: Frank 5-10-4-29, Justin Rinta 1-3-1-15; Skyview: McDonagh 13-14-0-215.

Receiving — Columbia River: Thomas Jacobson 2-17, Kraft 1-15, Kevin Cotter 2-11, Dennis Henderson 1-1; Skyview: E. Henderson 5-117, Russell 2-33, Henry 2-24, R. Henderson 2-22, Morrison 1-15, Zack Brady 1-4.