Marysville-Pilchuck runs wild in 63-6 rout of Columbia River

As the members of the Columbia River football team huddled on the field following Saturday’s state quarterfinal playoff, each of the River coaches tried to explain why he was so proud of the Chieftains.

• Their nine victories this season.

• A Class 3A Greater St. Helens League title.

• Two playoff wins resulting in River’s deepest postseason push since 2002.

And as each coach spoke, each had to pause a moment to compose himself, as the reality of what happened Saturday glared brightly behind them.

It was the Kiggins Bowl scoreboard that read: Marysville-Pilchuck 63, Columbia River 6.

“It’s kind of like what I told the guys at halftime,” River coach John O’Rourke said. “Their legacy is going to be defined by what they did all season, and not by what happened tonight.”

What happened Saturday at Kiggins was a showcase for Marysville-Pilchuck.

Austin Joyner rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns and Killian Page ran for 187 yards and three TDs as the Tomahawks piled up 490 yards of offense — all on the ground.

“I knew we were going to have a hard time stopping them,” O’Rourke said of the Tomahawks. “But I thought we’d do a better job of keeping up with them by scoring more. But we had a couple big turnovers in key spots that really took the air of that thought.”

After River opened the game with a three-and-out, the Tomahawks drove 58 yards on four plays with Joyner scoring on a 12-yard run.

River drove into Marysville-Pilchuck territory on its next drive, but Page intercepted a pass on the 18 and returned it 44 yards. On the Tomahawks’ next play, he ran 38 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

Again River drove deep into Tomahawk territory before turning the ball over on downs at the 19 yard line.

The Tomahawks needed three plays to score, the last being a 45-yard TD run by Joyner, making it 21-0 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

From there, River managed one first down the rest of the half, while Joyner added three more TD runs as Marysville-Pilchuck led 49-0 at the intermission.

“That’s a once-in-a-lifetime player they have there,” O’Rourke said of Joyner, a Washington State commit. “You could see why he’s going to be a Division I player.”

Three plays in the third quarter, the Tomahawks led 56-0 as Joyner and Page checked out of the game.

Jacob Bystry provided River fans something to cheer about when he pulled a nifty 31-yard touchdown reception to get River on the board with 3:05 left in the game.

“I was really proud of the way our kids battled all season,” O’Rourke said. “They bounced back from adversity and some tough losses this season. They’ve got a lot to be proud of.”

MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK 63, COLUMBIA RIVER 6

M-P 28 21 14 0–63

CR 0 0 0 6– 6

First quarter

M-P — Austin Joyner 12 run (Sebastian Navarro kick)

M-P — Killian Page 38 run (kick blocked)

M-P — Joyner 45 run (Joyner run)

M-P — Joyner 48 run (Navarro kick)

Second quarter

M-P — Joyner 4 run (Navarro kick)

M-P — Joyner 5 run (Navarro kick)

M-P — Page 12 run (Navarro kick)

Third quarter

M-P — Page 40 run (Navarro kick)

M-P — Keshaun King (Navarro kick)

Fourth quarter

CR — Jacob Bystry 31 pass from Gabe Evenson (run failed)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Marysville-Pilchuck: Joyner 12-200, Page 14-187, Galdino Fajardo 2-68, JJ Valencia 3-23, Garrett Anderson 1-1, King 2-5, Jacob Carr 2-(-2), Eian Adcock 1-5, Justin Trueax 3-8, Justin King 2-(-7), Chris Snyder 1-1, Jordan Luton 1-(-1). Columbia River: Vincent Daniels 13-48, Evenson 9-53.

PASSING — Marysville-Pilchuck: Erik Lind 0-2-0-0. Columbia River: Evenson 12-29-2-109. Nathan Hawthorne 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Marysville-Pilchuck: None. Columbia River: Bystry 3-45, Holden Fielding 5-36, Hawthorne 2-10, Daniels 1-6, Rory Menegat 1-12.