La Conner goes the extra mile to rout Colfax

The La Conner Braves were true road warriors on Friday.

La Conner crossed the Cascades as part of a long trip to Kittitas, but the Braves saved their peak effort for the gridiron, romping past Colfax 47-16 to remain unbeaten in two starts on the young campaign.

The mountain passes were nearly eclipsed by those of La Conner quarterback James Hulbert, who completed 12 of 16 tosses for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“James had another solid game at quarterback,” Braves head coach Johnny Lee said afterward. “His decision-making is continuing to amaze the coaching staff.”

Hulbert threw 21 yards to Brady Nelson for one TD, then hooked up with Harrison Orkney on a 35-yard scoring strike.

The Braves were equally effective on the ground.

Seth Schuh and Budda Luna each reached the Century Mark in the rushing game.

Schuh ran six times for 102 yards, including a 66-yard jaunt that got La Conner on the board first.

Luna, who finished with an even 100 yards on five carries, capped a 20-point Braves explosion in the opening period with a 74-yard touchdown dash.

Sandwiched in between was a 65-yard pass interception return by Cameron Hansen.

“Seth got us going by breaking his long run for our first touchdown,” Lee said, “and then Cam had the interception return on their next drive.

From there on out,” said Lee, “the flood gates opened for us.”

La Conner took a 41-0 lead at the break, then coasted the rest of the way.

Nelson closed out the Braves onslaught with a two-yard TD blast in the third frame.

“We definitely had some explosive plays from our skill guys — Seth, Budda, Harrison, and Brady — which are going to create match-up nightmares for some of our future opponents,” Lee said.

In the meantime, the La Conner defense is causing plenty of headaches for its foes.

By storming to an early double-digit lead, the Braves forced Colfax out of its ground-and-pound game plan.

“Defensively,” said Lee, “I was proud of the way our kids executed and made Colfax one-dimensional. We took away the option early, and they seemed to struggle finding a rhythm. The credit goes to the kids for playing disciplined and fast.”

La Conner (2-0) has its third straight road date this Saturday when the Braves visit Lake Washington High School for a late matinee clash with Bellevue Christian. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.