BATTLE GROUND — With just seconds left on the clock, Prairie coach Mike Peck turned to the packed house at District Stadium and let out a roar. Water droplets flew from his hat and jacket, remnants of the second-year coach’s first ice-water bath just moments before.
Prairie is league champion for the first time since 1992 after a dominating 42-14 win over Evergreen on Friday. The Falcons are co-champions with Kelso, but earned the top seed to next week’s playoffs by virtue of their win over the Hilanders.
“Most of all I’m happy for the kids, the school and the community,” Peck said. “It’s a great group of people and they deserve this. … Prairie is a special place and it’s awesome to be able to give them this championship.”
The Falcons (8-1, 3-1) rolled through 3A Greater St. Helens League play this season, a one-point loss to Mountain View the lone blemish. They will host Capital in a playoff game at District Stadium next week.
“We’ve worked so hard for this for as long as I can remember,” junior runner Dustin Shelby said. “We’re finally here. It feels great.”
On Friday, the Falcons showed just how potent this team can be. Three players rushed for over 100 yards, the defense didn’t allow a score and one of the state’s most talented offenses managed just 116 offensive yards.
AJ Dixson ran for 109 yards on 17 carries, including touchdown runs of 4 and 1 yards. Shelby was the elusive alternative with 141 yards on 18 carries and a 21-yard score that saw him cut back from the hashes to the far-side pylon for the score. Devante Clayton was the bruiser with 148 yards on 17 carries and touchdown runs of 14 and 3 yards.
“I was meant to come to Prairie,” said Clayton, who joined the Falcons his sophomore year. “I’m here now, and it means a lot.”
Defensively, the Falcons recovered three fumbles, including Shelby’s 16-yard touchdown return on a fumble. Evergreen’s only scores came via Zyell Griffin — a 36-yard fumble return and an 82-yard kickoff return.
“We had a couple of things we were holding back just for this game, a couple of wrinkles we threw out there,” Peck said of shutting down an offense that averaged nearly 40 points entering the game. “The kids flew around, tackled well, swarmed to the ball. They really wanted to make a statement.”
Evergreen (5-4, 2-2) will visit Garfield of Seattle in a state preliminary game.
Key moments
• Prairie senior Isaiah Braker jumped on Evergreen quarterback Carter Monda’s back, wisely punching the ball out of Monda’s grasp during the action. Dustin Shelby was there to pick the ball up and trot into the end zone for a 16-yard score and 12-0 Prairie lead in the first quarter.
• Down 26-7 at the half, Evergreen senior Zyell Griffin took the opening kickoff of the second half 82 yards for a score, cutting the Plainsmen deficit to 14 points.
• Needing to close the game out, Prairie went 10 plays and 66 yards, including a fourth-down conversion pass from AJ Dixson to Nickolas Lawhead, to score on a 3-yard Devante Clayton touchdown run. With 9:46 remaining and a 42-14 lead, it effectively sealed the league title for Prairie.
Key players
Devante Clayton — The bruising senior had 148 yards on 17 carries and touchdown runs of 14 and 3 yards. He also had two fumble recoveries.
Dustin Shelby — The Evergreen junior ran for 141 yards on 18 carries and a 21-yard touchdown. He also had a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Zyell Griffin — The senior was one of the few sparks the Plainsmen had Friday. He had a 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown and an 82-yard kickoff return for a score.
Quotable
“We’re 8-1, league champs, we get to host a playoff game. League championship was part of our season goals, but we want to keep going. We feel like we can play for a few more weeks.” Prairie coach Mike Peck
PRAIRIE 42, EVERGREEN 14
Evergreen 0 7 7 0–14
Prairie 18 8 8 8–42
First quarter
P — AJ Dixson 4 run (run fail)
P — Dustin Shelby 16 fumble return (pass fail)
P — Shelby 21 run (run fail)
Second quarter
E — Zyell Griffin 36 fumble return (Ely Del-Angel kick)
P — Devante Clayton 14 run (Dixson run)
Third quarter
E — Griffin 82 kickoff return (Del-Angel kick)
P — Dixson 1 run (Shelby run)
Fourth quarter
P — Clayton 3 run (Clayton run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — E: Zyell Griffin 2-13, Tyvaunte Deloney 1-0, Derrick Webb 5-16, Carter Monda 3-(-1), Tae Marks 1-(-6); P: Treyce Teague 1-5, AJDixson 18-111, Nickolas Lawhead 2-20, Devante Clayton 17-148, DustinShelby 18-141.
Passing — E: Monda 11-18-0-94; P: Dixson 4-10-0-28.
Receiving — E: Griffin 7-38, Camren Smith 1-5, Jaylen Fite 2-46, TaeMarks 1-5; P: Treyce Teague 2-12, Lawhead 1-17, Clayton 1-(-1).
