Braves force turnovers to beat Waterville-Mansfield

The improving La Conner Braves football team shocked the Shockers at Whittaker Field Saturday afternoon.

The Braves (2-3) held Waterville-Mansfield scoreless in the second half and capitalized on key Shocker turnovers to post a 22-14 comeback triumph in non-league eight-man grid action.

Senior quarterback C.J. Edwards ran for two touchdowns after the break and freshman running back Yandel Rosales-Rojas dashed 25 yards to pay dirt late in the first period to fuel the La Conner attack.

It was the home team's defense that sealed the verdict.

Freshman defensive back Charlie Jackson recovered a fumble in the Braves' end zone that thwarted a long W-M march on the visitors' first possession. Junior defensive lineman Chas James stripped the ball from Shocker signal caller Ty Nelson near midfield in the third quarter and rambled to within two yards of the goal line, setting up the second of Edwards' rushing TDs.

Jackson and Edwards also intercepted Shocker passes in the second half.

Braves head coach Charlie Edwards praised the work of La Conner's stop unit and its defensive coordinator.

"The defense under coach Eddie Almaraz really played hard and was in control," Edwards said.

La Conner defeated a Shocker club that was coming off respective 68-7 and 48-6 victories over Pateros and Bridgeport.

Located northeast of Wenatchee, W-M teams are named the Shockers in honor of Eastern Washington's wheat harvest (called "shocking").

The Braves, rebounding from a wild 56-50 shootout loss at Crescent one week earlier, provided their own shock value on a picture-perfect sunny day.

Following Jackson's fumble recovery, La Conner mounted an 80-yard scoring march highlighted by several long gains from Edwards and capped by Rosales-Rojas' touchdown run at the 3:52 mark of the opening stanza.

W-M responded less than a minute later with a 69-yard TD strike from Nelson to wideout Junior Mendoza, tying the score at 6-6.

The Shockers took a 14-6 lead midway through the second quarter on a Max Murison three-yard touchdown plunge and a Nelson to Mendoza two-point conversion pass.

La Conner knotted the score 14-14 with 7:34 to play in the third period with an elusive 37-yard Edwards run on a fourth down scramble and his subsequent conversion completion to Rojas.

On W-M's next series, the Shockers had driven to just short of the 50-yard line when James changed the flow of the game. As Nelson fought for extra yardage on a run off right tackle, James, a 5-6, 245-pound two-way starter, grabbed the ball from the Shocker QB's grasp and ran it to the W-M 2-yard line.

Edwards followed with a short blast that proved to be the game-winner. He then provided the 22-14 final margin with a two-point conversion run.

Edwards stymied a last-gasp W-M attempt to tie the score with an interception on the contest's next-to-last play.

"C.J. did what he does," said coach Edwards. "Jaydin Clark played with heart as always. Charlie Jackson really stepped up defensively. Keaton (Bailey) played great. So did Yandel, Evan Magill, Duron Clark, everybody. Our young boys have learned on the fly and stepped up big, and our seniors lead like they're supposed to."

La Conner resumes play at 7 p.m. Friday at Tulalip Heritage High School. Tulalip is 6-0 following a 58-50 win over Darrington last week.