Braves football cruised to a 34-6 win over rival Concrete, sparked by four first-half touchdowns from Yandel Rosales-Rojas. The volleyball squad also swept Concrete, then rallied from two sets down to shock Evergreen of Seattle for their fifth win. On the pitch, boys’ and girls’ soccer teams battled hard but came up short last week.
Football
The revved up football team jumped out fast and cruised to a 34-6 win over longtime rival Concrete at Whittaker Field Friday night.
La Conner (2-1) surged ahead with four first-half touchdown runs by Yandel Rosales-Rojas — scoring from 16, 3, 52 and 55 yards — to lead by 28 at halftime. Benny Allen added a four-yard TD, with Duron Clark and Keaton Bailey converting two-point tries. On defense, Brent Bobb had an interception and a fumble recovery, while Landon Stevens swatted down two passes.
With the outcome secure and several starters cramping on a humid night, head coach Kirk Melton emptied his bench in the second half. Neither team scored after intermission.
La Conner hosts longtime rival Darrington in its homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Volleyball
The Braves swept Concrete on Sept. 16, then rallied from two sets down to beat Evergreen of Seattle 3-2 last Thursday, improving to 5-4-1. Line score: 18-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 15-5.
Maeve McCormick led La Conner with nine kills, 14 digs and four aces. Nora McCormick added eight assists, seven kills, four digs and an ace. Reese Bird tallied 12 digs, eight assists, four kills and four aces, while Addie Keller had 15 digs, four assists and a kill. Rory Bird contributed two blocks, a kill and a dig. Isla Jones finished with six digs and an ace, Madi Larson had five digs, a block and a kill, and Izzy Villard chipped in three digs.
The come-from-behind triumph over Evergreen preceded La Conner’s much-anticipated Sept. 23 home match with defending NW2B/1B champion Coupeville.
The Braves spikers remain home for a league date today with Friday Harbor at 4 p.m. La Conner also entertains 1A South Whidbey at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Boys soccer
The boys’ soccer team played visiting Crosspoint Christian to a 1-1 draw Sept. 17 and dropped a hard-fought 4-1 league decision to Friday Harbor at Whittaker Field on Friday.
Friday Harbor led just 1-0 eight minutes into the second half. The Wolverines found the net three times in the final 32 minutes, however, to clinch matters.
Riley Miller scored twice for Friday Harbor while Atticus Bourne and Maxwell Matsumura had one goal each to round out the Wolverines offense. Kale Navarrete-Higgins converted a penalty kick for La Conner’s lone goal with 6:30 left to play. Braves’ goalkeeper Kamien Lopez notched six saves to help keep the score close. Kaleb Otis twice nearly connected on headers off throw-ins from Hadden Zimmerman that would have further tightened the final margin.
La Conner (0-2-1) resumes NW2B/1B play at home Friday with a 3:30 p.m. match against Orcas Island.
Girls soccer
In its only match of the week, the girls’ soccer team was edged 1-0 at undefeated Lopez Island last Thursday. La Conner is slated for a home non-conference match at noon Saturday with South Whidbey.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
