1B High School Football: Naselle Slobber Knocks Winlock, Pulls Away Late |

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Naselle's Joe Strange and William Anderson leap to celebrate after Strange hauled in a touchdown pass from Jacob Lindstrom in the first quarter of a high school football game against Winlock, Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock. The Comets went on to win the 1B Columbia Valley League contest 38-24.

Winlock running back Carter Swofford looks for an opening as the Naselle defense converges during the second half of a 1B Columbia Valley League high school football game Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock. Naselle won 38-24.

The Naselle Comets celebrate after Luke Johnson (3) ran in a 21-yard touchdown during a 38-24 win at Winlock, Thursday, Sept. 22.

Naselle football players watch the action from the sideline during the 2022 season.

The Winlock Cardinal mascot stares into the soul of anyone who dares lock eyes with the dirty bird.

An abandoned mouth guard lies forgotten in a pool of water near the end zone of a local football field.

WINLOCK — It’s hard to be an elite athlete while on your hands and knees, trying to find your wind in the short grass like some invisible diamond in the rough after an opponent has knocked it out of you. That’s a lesson that Winlock learned the hard way beneath the Thursday night lights of The Nest in a 38-24 loss to Naselle.

The biggest game of the night featured two teams from the 1B Columbia Valley League who are trying to get back to the state tournament. Both had plenty to prove and both showed flashes of what keeps them up in top tier of the 8-man ranks, but on the first night of autumn it was the Cardinals who took the hardest fall.

Winlock took an early lead over the highly touted Comets who sit just one spot outside the Top-5 in the AP rankings. After bending on the first drive of the night the Cardinals’ defense flexed on 4th and 9 inside the red zone, chasing a scrambling Jacob Lindstrom from the pocket before Carson Borts and Payton Sickles combined to force him out of bounds to force a turnover on downs at their own 15 yard line.

On the next play, James Cusson took a handoff and burst through a seam up the middle and rumbled 80 yards toward the south end zone before being dragged down by a Comet defender. One play later, Sickles who took the snap from under center and packed the pigskin the final five yards for the score. After Sickles took care of the two-point option himself the Cardinals held an 8-0 lead less than four minutes into the game and notice had been served that the Egg City fans were in for a doozy.

Winlock quarterback Payton Sickles looks for room to run as Naselle's Kolten Lindstrom dives to make a tackle during an 8-man high school football game Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock. Naselle won 38-24.

“They had a good game plan, they did some things that got to us and they are a good football team,” Naselle coach Kevin McNulty said.

As the game wore on, though, it was Sickles who time and time again bore the brunt of a nasty Naselle defense. The first of those shots was a highlight reel block by Jack Strange that left Sickles praying to the football gods that the world would stop spinning. He would have to leave the game for a few plays to search for his equilibrium, but soon enough the Winlock quarterback/strong safety was back in the game and playing the part of glutton for punishment.

“We start four sophomores and a first-year junior so for them, they’ve got to get the feeling of what it’s like to hit and that you’re not hurt,” McNulty said. “We got that tonight. We had some hellacious hits and the kids brought it. It was exciting.”

Winlock tailback Carter Swofford is gang tackled by the Naselle defense during a 36-24 loss to the Comets, Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock.

Naselle’s first scoring drive began with a diving interception by Jack Strange at the 30-yard line and ended several minutes later with Sickles still trying to locate his druthers. That score came when Jacob Lindstrom lofted a pass into an abalone shell sunset and into the waiting arms of a wide open Joe Strange in the front corner of the end zone.

The Comets wouldn’t wait long to double down on that drive.

Naselle's Joe Strange drags Winlock's James Cusson for extra yardage after hauling in a catch Thursday, Sept. 22, during a high school football game at Winlock. Naselle won 38-24.

After Elmer Toftemark recovered a Winlock fumble inside the 15-yard line, the brothers Lindstrom then played a little backyard ball on the big field with Jacob sending a 40-yard pitch and catch Kolten’s way to reach the cusp of the red zone. Luke Johnson did the rest of the work when he took a sweep to the sideline, bounced off one would-be tackler and then moon walked into the end zone to put the visitors up 12-8 with 5:02 left in the half.

That four point lead held up well into the third quarter as the teams figured one another out defensively. Even when Naselle gave up yards it had a knack for making the big play at the right time, like Luke Johnson’s interception at the goal line to extinguish Winlock’s opening drive of the second half.

The Cards couldn’t be held down forever, though, and Sickles is nothing if not dogged in his efforts to remain upright. That tenacity paid off with 4:33 left in the third quarter when Sickles found Chase Scofield open in the flat at the six yard line and then enjoyed the view as the senior wide receiver won a footrace with Kolten Lindstrom to the pylon for the score.

But those warm and fuzzy feelings wouldn’t last long, even after another successful play call.

On the point after attempt the Cards dialed up a fake kick, with Sickles taking the snap, rushing toward the line of scrimmage and then pogo sticking off of collective rump of the offensive line to lob the ball end over end like a loaf of bread into the hands of Scofield in the back of the end zone. The conversion gave Winlock a 16-12 lead.

Winlock wide receiver Chase Scofield makes a break for the end zone after catching a pass from Payton Sickles. Scofield beat Naselle's Kolten Lindstrom to the pylon for the score in the third quarter but the Cardinals lost 38-24 in the 1B Columbia Valley League matchup, Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock.

The home team would have had all the momentum, too, if it weren’t for the punishing shot to the ribs Sickles took from an anonymous Comet as he hovered entirely exposed above an angry line of Comets for the pass.

Once again, the hit left Sickles inspecting the roots of the grass for abnormalities as he gathered his wind. And once again the dirty bird rose like the phoenix much to the relief of the Winlock faithful.

“At times I feel like we really lined up and attacked them, and I didn’t know if that was going to happen,” Winlock coach Ernie Samples said. “We ran at them a little bit more than I thought we were going to. That shocked me.”

Playing the role of rabid underdog to perfection, all the Cardinals needed was a defensive stop to put the pressure squarely on Naselle. Unfortunately for the hosts, the Comets had other ideas.

Naselle's Kolten Lindstrom looks for yards up field while Winlock's James Cusson (32) and Kaiden Perkisn (20) give chase. Lindstrom led the way as Naselle chalked up a 38-24 win over the Cardinals in Winlock, Thursday, Sept. 22.

A quick strike from Jacob Lindstrom to Joe Strange saw the latter cut back across the field for a 60-yard gain before he was chased down at the goal line and coughed up the ball. The fumble didn’t cost the Comets, though, as Kolten Lindstrom came up with the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Kolten Lindstrom then ran in Naselle’s first successful two-point try of the night and put the visitors back on top 20-16 with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

A pair of unsportsmanlike penalties were doled out to Winlock following the touchdown play, allowing Naselle to kick off from the Cardinals’ 30-yard line. Kolten Lindstrom recovered the ensuing onside kick at the ten yard line and the Comets needed just two plays to turn the possession into points, with Luke Johnson cashing in for a three yard score.

That turn of events took the rest of the wind out from beneath the Cardinals' wings and Naselle made sure to pile on. The Comets gained a cool 501 yards on offense in the contest and 19 first downs.

Jacob Lindsdtrom notched the next touchdown for Naselle on a 10-yard keeper with 9:57 left in the game, and the Comets recovered the ensuing onside kick to deliver the death knell.

Even after Winlock held strong on defense, its offense fumbled the ball right back inside its own ten yard line. It was one of five lost fumbles on the night for the Carsdinals, including the two muffed onside kicks, and Naselle capitalized quickly with a five yard touchdown run from Johnson to push the lead out to 38-16 with 3:31 left in the game.

Johnson finished with three touchdowns and an interception to go with 69 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Naselle tailback Luke Johnson rushes for a five-yard touchdown in the second half of a 38-24 win over Winlock, Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock.

“Last week (Johnson) had what was the best game of his career and today he topped that,” McNulty said. “It’s fun to see him evolve because he’s so quick to the hole that he really adds a dimension for us. He was by those guys on the goal line before they even knew he had the ball.”

Kolten Lindstrom led Naselle with 129 yards rushing to go with 92 receiving yards on four catches. Jacob Lindstrom rushed for 71 yards and accounted for 232 yards through the air, connecting on 11 of 20 passes. Joe Strange led the Comets’ receiving corps with six catches for 132 yards.

With multiple big play athletes for opponents to keep an eye, Naselle has earned an advantage at the drawing board.

Naselle's Kolten Lindstrom hauls in a pass from his brother Jacob Lindstrom during the second half of a 38-24 win over Winlock, Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winlock.

“Everyone knows what Kolten’s gonna bring and some teams have defended us that way,” McNulty said. “Jacob threw the ball pretty well tonight even though he was under pressure a little bit.”

Winlock added a score to their tally on a 17-yard run by Kaiden Perkins with 2:43 left in the game and Scofield punched in the two point run. But by that point the die had already been cast for the Cards.

Still, Winlock managed to impress the head coach across the field with their athleticism and toughness. It’s a set of traits he expects to see in spades when his Comets face Mossyrock for the de facto league championship later this season.

“We know that Mossyrock is a tough football team, and we knew that Winlock would be too, especially at home," McNulty said. "They gave us everything we could handle and then some.”

Winlock nearly matched Naselle in the ground game with 208 yards rushing, but managed just 69 yards through the air. James Cusson led the Cardinals'' offense with 107 yards on nine carries. Perkins added 61 yards and a touchdown on six carries for the Red Birds.

“Kaiden Perkins ran really hard and I’ve got a freshman tailback James Cusson who’s frickin’ bringing it,” Samples said.

Scofield caught five passes from Sickles for 49 yards and a touchdown in the contest.

“If we clean some things up we can compete with those guys,” Samples said. “I feel like we were a little more in this game than last year but we still made those mistakes and that’s what cost us the game. They don’t make that many mistakes.”

Winlock (3-1, 0-1 league) will look to rebound next week at Sound Christian. That game was originally scheduled for a Friday kickoff but Samples said the ongoing shortage of officials will likely force a reschedule to Thursday or Saturday.

Naselle (3-1, 1-0) will host Oakville next Friday at 7 p.m. for the Comets homecoming game.

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