La Conner sports roundup: Oct. 6-7

The traffic volume in town last weekend teased that it was the height of tourist season.

That wasn't the case, of course.. But it was a peak weekend in terms of La Conner High School's fall sports schedule.

The football and volleyball teams played simultaneously on campus Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Braves' boys soccer team hosted league rival Mount Vernon Christian.

Results were mixed.

The La Conner grid program broke into the win column with a convincing 30-0 shutout win over visiting Mabton of the Eastern Washington 2B East District. The Lady Braves' net team fell 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-9) to undefeated Central Washington 2B power Manson. The Braves' soccer squad came up just short against MVC, falling 1-0 in the late going of a key NW2B/1B match.

Football

Kenai Zimmerman rushed for two touchdowns and Ivory Damien completed a pair of scoring tosses to Logan Burks as La Conner imposed its will on both sides of the line of scrimmage against the Vikings.

Tommy Murdock also had a big day. The reigning state hurdles champion teamed with Damien defensively to wreak havoc in the Mabton backfield, recording repeated sacks of beleaguered signal caller Marco Espinoza.

La Conner set the tone early by recovering an onside kick to start the game. That set up a five-minute touchdown drive capped by the first of Zimmerman's two TD blasts – this one from two-yards out – and keyed by a 21-yard pass play on fourth-and-11 from Damien to C.J. Edwards.

On its next series, La Conner marched 58 yards to paydirt. The big play was a 36-yard pass reception by Murdock. That set up a 20-yard Damien TD strike to Burks with 3:51 to play in the first period.

Damien's two-point conversion pass to Tai Nelson gave the hosts a 16-0 lead that held through the opening half.

The Braves extended their lead to 24-0 midway through the third quarter on a six-yard Zimmerman run. The drive was kept alive when Edwards bulled for 11 yards on a fourth-and-one from the Mabton 26. Edwards' conversion run stretched La Conner's margin to 24-0.

The Braves later added an insurance score on another Damien to Burks hookup.

"Our boys played great," La Conner head coach Charlie Edwards, whose club improved to 1-4 overall – with two of those losses coming to 2A foes – told the Weekly News afterward. "The line did its job. The defense played with intensity.

"I'm so proud and happy for this team," he added, "to realize how they are capable of playing. I can't thank the players enough for always playing with heart. And I can't thank my coaching staff enough."

La Conner returns to league action Friday at conference leading Friday Harbor. The Wolverines (3-2 overall, 2-0 in league) defeated La Conner 41-0 Sept. 14.

Volleyball

Despite several big hits by Morgan Huizenga, crisp setting from Abi Udlock and strong play at the net by Abi Poulton, La Conner couldn't keep pace with a veteran Manson team that the Lady Braves defeated in postseason a year ago enroute to their seventh state title.

Manson junior outside hitter Stella Petersen was a force throughout the three-set match, repeatedly delivering kills from both the front line and back row.

Manson bolted to a 10-1 lead in the opening set before Huizenga stopped the run with a kill to the back left corner. La Conner pulled to within 15-8 on a service ace by Maeve McCormick but could get no closer.

It was a similar story in the second set. Manson, fueled by two Petersen kills, took an early 8-1 lead and was never threatened despite a series of long rallies. Those rallies, more often than not, were decided by spikes from Petersen or teammates Teagan Byquist and Camille Hutton.

In the third set, La Conner trailed from wire-to-wire, but closed the gap a bit late on a Huizenga block and kills by Poulton and Reece Bird.

"Manson," head coach Pam Keller acknowledged afterward, "is a very solid team stacked with older players."

The good news is the Manson match does not affect NW2B/1B standings where La Conner (5-0) remains unbeaten. The Lady Braves, 6-5 overall, were at league rival Darrington Tuesday night. They visit 4A Glacier Peak tomorrow (Thursday).

Soccer

The La Conner boys' soccer team nearly forced overtime with MVC on Friday in a match that was a scoreless defensive battle until the late going.

"We dominated most of the game," said Braves head coach Galen McKnight, "but we let up on a late throw-in with three minutes in regulation."

With the loss, La Conner fell to 1-2 in league standings and 3-5 in all matches. The Braves hosted Lopez Island Tuesday afternoon. They entertain Orcas Island tomorrow.

In addition, the La Conner High School girls' soccer team visits Friday Harbor today (Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. They travel to North Mason on Friday and are at Sultan Saturday afternoon.