Battle Ground football dominates Todd Beamer, 50-0

Some defenses set a lofty goal of not allowing a single point in a game.

Saturday, Battle Ground did that and more.

The tenacious Tigers didn’t allow a single first down in a 50-0 rout of Todd Beamer at District Stadium.

Of Todd Beamer’s 19 plays, only eight netted positive yardage. The Titans from Federal Way finished with minus-8 total yards.

It’s the second straight game that Battle Ground’s defense has dominated. The Tigers allowed just one first down in a season-opening 43-0 win over Mark Morris.

“That’s our mentality, defense first,” said senior lineman Thomas Anders. “We’re not going to let you score any points. We’re not going to let you do anything. To have two shutout games like this is huge.”

Battle Ground’s win was the first on its home turf since Sept. 14, 2019, a span of 16 games.

Tigers coach Mike Woodward said the team’s experienced linebackers and overpowering linemen have taken the pressure off a young secondary.

“It’s been the perfect mix of good positive energy, guys flying around and no missed tackles,” Woodland said. “It’s not just the starting group, it’s a full-on effort.”

The same push up front that drove Todd Beamer’s rushers backward was duplicated on offense. Battle Ground linemen cleared the way for a rushing attack that rolled up 248 yards.

Jacob Young rushed for 78 and three touchdowns on eight carries. Jacob Champine had 84 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Young broke multiple tackles while crafting touchdown runs of 2, 11 and 10 yards.

“Our coaches really push on us to never go down on first contact,” Young said. “We came out here and didn’t let anybody take us down. We just dominated.”

Woodward said a blue-collar running game suits his team.

“We don’t have any speed burners running down the field,” Woodward said. “But we have a strong offensive line that put in the work in the weight room during the offseason.”

Battle Ground scored on its first drive when sophomore quarterback Ethan Adams found Grayson Gambee, who juked a defender and ran 19 yards for a touchdown on third and 10.

The Tigers went on to score touchdowns on all five of their first-half drives, taking a 36-0 lead into the locker room.

Young’s third touchdown then capped Battle Ground’s first drive of the second half, sending the game into the running-clock mercy rule.

BATTLE GROUND 50, TODD BEAMER 0

Todd Beamer 0 0 0 0—0

Battle Ground 14 22 7 7—50

First quarter

BG — Grayson Gambee 19 pass from Ethan Adams (Bryland Fick kick)

BG — Jordan Young 2 run (Fick kick)

Second quarter

BG — Jacob Champine 2 run (Young run)

BG — Dominick Rivas 13 run (Fick kick)

BG — Young 11 run (Fick kick)

Third quarter

BG — Young 10 run (Fick kick)

Fourth quarter

BG — Tristan Harrier 3 run (Fick kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Battle Ground: Jacob Champine 14-85, Ethan Adams 2-4, Jordan Young 8-78, Tristan Harrier 4-9, Dominick Rivas 4-41, Xavier Ortegon 1-0.

PASSING — Battle Ground: Ethan Adams 7-11-0-91, Jacob Champine 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Battle Ground: Grayson Gambee 1-19, Saveliy Tkachenko 2-24, Artem Bahnyuk 2-15, Noah Currie 1-33.