Andrew Scott caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tom Lambert with one second remaining as La Center beat Columbia-White Salmon 35-28 for a crucial road win in the 1A Trico League.
Wyatt Dodson rushed for 290 yards and three touchdowns as La Center (3-5, 3-1) pulled into a second-place tie with Columbia-White Salmon (5-3, 3-1) with one game remaining.
The Wildcats still have hope of a three-way tie atop the Trico. La Center needs to beat Castle Rock next Friday and hope White Salmon beats Stevenson (6-1, 4-0).
But La Center coach Tom Lambert was proud of how his team handled what it could control on Friday. The Wildcats found a way to win despite surrendering a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and facing some tough breaks on penalties.
“To be able to finish the game really meant the world to the kids,” Lambert said. “It created an environment where we had to flush what happened and move forward.”
White Salmon’s Chandlor Bucklin rushed for 105 yards on just four carries, including touchdowns of 69 and 24 yards. He also had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
LA CENTER 35, WHITE SALMON 28
La Center 14 0 7 14–35
Columbia-WS 7 7 0 14–28
First quarter
LC — Wyatt Dodson 9 run (Sean Fox kick)
LC — Dodson 16 run (Fox kick
CWS — Chandlor Bucklin 89 kickoff return (Cesar Isordia kick)
Second quarter
CWS — Bucklin 69 run (Isordia kick)
Third quarter
LC — Tom Lambert 19 run (Fox kick)
Fourth quarter
LC — Wyatt Dodson 1 run (Fox kick)
CWS — Cesar Isordia 5 pass from Austin Charters (Isordia kick).
CWS — Bucklin 24 run (Isordia kick)
LC — Andrew Scott 13 pass from Lambert (Fox kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — La Center: Wyatt Dodson 36-290, Tom Lambert 17-106. Columbia: Trenton Howard 12-64, Chandlor Bucklin 4-105,Austin Charters: 4-0.
PASSING — La Center: Tom Lambert 5-9-0-49; Columbia: Austin Charters 4-6-52.
RECEIVING — La Center: Andrew Scott 3-33, Jeremy Humphrey 1-11, Nick Budke 1-5. Columbia: Chandlor Bucklin 1-11, Dom Raether: 2-37, Cesar Isordia: 1-4.
