Washington 2A football playoffs: Orting's efficient run game leads to first-round victory
ORTING, Wash. – The Orting Cardinals made a plan.
Facing one of the top quarterbacks in the Class 2A ranks in Washougal’s Holden Bea, Orting was determined to at least try and keep Bea off the field as much as possible. So the seventh-seeded Cardinals eschewed the passing game almost entirely.
It paid off in what became a runaway 33-10 state first-round playoff victory at Cardinals Stadium on Friday night.
“What did we throw it, just one time I think,” Orting coach Tom Bannan said. “We knew how good No. 5 (Bea) was over there. We had to keep him off the field.”
Orting actually threw it three times. Quarterback Zach Gemar completed two of those three attempts for 61 yards and the go-ahead touchdown – a 13-yard completion to Jace Lowdermilk – with 29 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Cardinals (10-1) led it 14-10 at the half and No. 10 seed Washougal (9-3) never caught them again.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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WE'RE BACK, BABY!
The Cardinals advanced to the state quarterfinal round for the first time since 2005 with the victory. Orting beat Woodland, 28-6, in the round of 16 that year before dropping a 40-7 decision to eventual 2A champion Pullman.
“It’s just amazing,” Bannan said. “Last year was such a rough year for us. To see the improvement, what they’ve done. It’s just so great to have one more week with them.”
Orting will face the winner of Saturday’s No. 15 Rogers of Spokane versus No. 2 Anacortes contest, set to kick off at 1 p.m. That makes the Seahawks the likely opponent.
“Which is crazy when you think of their story, right,” Bannan said. “You go back six or seven years and they (Anacortes) couldn’t even field a team. Then all of a sudden the incredible, total turnaround up there.”
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SUSTAINING DRIVES, LIMITING CHANCES
Both teams moved the ball so efficiently that neither got many chances. That made possessions precious. Take the first half.
Throw out the three plays for Washougal in the final 29 seconds and each team had a total of three times with the ball. The Panthers used 8:23 of the half on a single, 19-play drive covering the final 5:03 of the first quarter and first 3:20 of the second.
It ended in a 43-yard field goal to give Washougal a 10-7 lead at the time.
Neither team punted in the half. Orting was only stopped by a bad-snap fumble and turnover at the Panther 27-yard line. Washougal failed on a fourth-and-3 run at the Cardinal 45 and was stopped by halftime.
The second half was more of the same, except that the Orting defense held the Panthers scoreless on their three possessions while the Cardinals continued to score on theirs.
“It was fun,” Washougal quarterback Holden Bea said. “There was energy on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done in the second half.”
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RUNNING AND DEFENSE
Seven different Cardinals carried the ball Friday, led by Kaiden Whitaker’s 70 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Carson McCall added 53 yards and a score on just six carries before he sprained his left ankle early in the third quarter and had to leave the game.
“Once we taped it up, he was ready to come back in the game,” Bannan said. “He’s okay. We just decided to hold him out.”
Meanwhile, after an efficient first half, Bea had his difficulties against the Orting defense in the second half. Bea ended up completing 16 of 32 passes for 160 yards in the loss.
“Once we started getting into the backfield, we got to him a little,” Orting defensive back Jonavin Camacho said. Camacho was also one of the seven running backs to get carries, going for 26 yards on three rushes.
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