Prairie’s defense shines bright in 36-6 win over Washougal

BATTLE GROUND —There was a full moon at District Stadium on Friday night.

It wasn’t the one in the sky obscured by clouds, but the one the Prairie defense put up on the scoreboard most of the night.

Washougal finally broke through with a touchdown in the final two minutes, but it could not diminish the job the Falcons did on defense in a 36-6 non-league win.

“We wanted the shutout,” senior Zeke Dixson said. “But we also wanted our second- and third-string to get in too, so that they’re ready when we make the playoffs, or if there is an injury. The shutout is important to us, but get our secondary guys in is more important.”

Prairie held Washougal to a negative-21 net yards rushing for the game, and the Panthers only had 54 yards of total offense before finally mustering some yards late in the fourth quarter.

“I think it was the fact that our team played together as a group,” senior linebacker Ben Matson said. “It was just 11 hats to the ball, and we flew around and made some tackles.”

Dixson said the 275 yards that Prairie gave up last week to Parkrose were a result of the defense being on the field so much after the offense’s quick scores.

This week, the Falcon defense returned the favor, quickly shutting down Washougal drives and setting up the offense for some scoring opportunities.

AJ Dixson and the Prairie offense cashed in, building a 28-0 halftime lead that could have been more if not for a couple turnovers.

“The defense set the tone from the very beginning and got us momemtum , put us in really good position on offense,” Prairie coach Mike Peck said. “There are still things we can do better. We had three trips to the red zone without any points, which is never good. But overall, I’m pleased with how we’re playing.”

Key moments

• AJ Dixson hit Jimmie Barton with two touchdown passes – 53 yards and 40 yards – with 80 seconds of each other to give Prairie a 16-0 lead in the first quarter.
• AJ Dixson capped the first-half scoring breaking a few tackles to score on a 66-yard touchdown run, giving Prairie a 28-0 lead.

Key players

• AJ Dixson: The Prairie quarterback passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 109 and one score. Of his 297 yards of offense, 266 came in the first half.
• Dustin Shelby: The junior rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

Quotable

“Everything starts with the (offensive) line and (defensive) line. They set the tone for us. People talk about our skill kids a lot, but I tell you what, our offensive line battles their butt off, and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of them.” – Mike Peck, Prairie head coach.

PRAIRIE 36, WASHOUGAL 6

Washougal 0 0 0 6—6

Prairie 16 12 8 0—36

First quarter

P — Jimmie Barton 53 pass from AJ Dixson (Dixon run)

P — Barton 40 pass from Dixson (Dustin Shelby run)

Second quarter

P — Shelby 28 run (run failed)

P — AJ Dixon 66 run (run failed)

Third quarter

P — Shelby 10 run (Ian Davis pass from AJ Dixon)

Fourth quarter

W — Jakob Davis 28 pass from Dalton Payne (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Washougal: Judson Mansfield 1-4, Peter Moylan 5-2, Aiden Kestner 1-(-2), Brevan Bea 3-(-6), Dalton Payne 6-(-19). Prairie: AJ Dixson 17-109; Shelby 7-62, Devante Clayton 7-39, Treyce Teague 2-3, Zack Brown 2-(-18), team 3-(-13).

PASSING — Washougal: Payne: 17-38-1-134; Prairie: AJ Dixson 16-24-1-188; Brown 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Washougal: Jakob Davis 5-53, Bea 4-43, Julien Jones 3-22, Kestner 2-9, Mansfield 2-10, Boylan 1-(-3). Prairie: Ian Davis 4-24, Barton 3-104, Shelby 1-2, Teague 7-51, Clayton 1-7.