Patience pays off for Farrell, Washougal in win over Mark Morris

WASHOUGAL – For two seasons, Tristan Farrell waited in the wings as Washougal’s backup quarterback.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the football season back five months, so Farrell waited some more.

Saturday, the senior finally got his chance to start a high school game. Farrell threw for two touchdowns, Gavin Multer rushed for two more and the Panthers beat Mark Morris 33-19 in a season-opening game 2A Greater St. Helens League game at Fishback Stadium.

“We put in so many hours when nobody was watching,” Farrell said. “We just kept working out here not knowing if we were going to have a season. It felt amazing to come out here, get the win and make sure all our hard work wasn’t for nothing.”

Farrell threw for 255 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown to Xavier Gilmore with 2:20 left in the second quarter. He completed 18 passes to eight different receivers. Gilmore led Washougal with 73 receiving yards and Brig Griffin had 67 yards.

“All our receivers had a great game,” Farrell said. “We have so many threats out here. There’s a lot of guys I can throw to. Credit to the offensive line. They were protecting me for a lot of the game and opening up running lanes.”

Multer also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass as the Panthers surged to a 26-6 halftime lead. He finished with 46 yards rushing, most coming on a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

After giving up an opening-drive touchdown on a 15-yard run by Deacon Dietz, Washougal’s defense clamped down. The Panthers had seven sacks and scored a touchdown when Liam Atkin recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Mark Morris finished strong with George Mosier rushing for two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Dietz rushed for 96 yards on six carries and caught three passes for 82 yards.

WASHOUGAL 33, MARK MORRIS 19

M.Morris 6 0 0 13 – 19

Washougal 12 14 7 0 – 33

First quarter

MM – Deacon Dietz 15 run (kick failed)

W – Gavin Multer 2 run (kick failed)

W – Multer 9 pass from Tristan Farrell (pass failed)

Second quarter

W – Liam Atkin fumble recovered in end zone (Sam Evers kick)

W – Xavier Gilmore 31 pass from Farrell (Evers kick)

Third quarter

W – Multer 38 run (Evers kick)

Fourth quarter

MM – George Mosier 7 run (Kellen Desbiens kick)

MM – Mosier 1 run (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – MM: Owen Huhta 11-3, Jaden Anderson 5-26, Deacon Dietz 6-96, Jared Noel 9-(minus-10), George Mosier 8-43, Justus McCann 1-0.

Washougal: Gavin Multer 8-46, Tristan Farrell 5-2, Tyler Haugen 1-2, Liam Atkin 3-48, Garrett Mansfield 1-4.

PASSING – MM: Jared Noel 8-15-0-128. Washougal: Tristan Farrell 18-32-1-255.

RECEIVING – MM: Langston Bartell 3-36, Deacon Dietz 3-82, Jaden Anderson 1-6, Jamison Watson 1-4.

Washougal: Gavin Multer 4-40, Brig Griffin 4-67, Justin Nichols 1-13, Xavier Gilmore 3-73, Gavin Tyacke 2-45, Michael Egger 2-14, John Davy 1-5, Liam Atkin 1-(minus-2)