By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
The La Conner High boys soccer and football teams both used high-scoring attacks to notch victories over the weekend.
The soccer Braves debuted with a convincing 7-1 triumph in Tacoma over Concordia Christian Academy, fueled by three goals from senior captain Kale Navarette-Higgins and a pair of scores by Kaleb Otis.
The La Conner grid squad, meanwhile, won a wild 50-36 shootout at Neah Bay on the far northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula on Saturday to improve to 2-0 on the season, an impressive win over a team that enjoyed a deep playoff run a year ago.
On the soccer pitch, La Conner excelled at all facets of the game.
The Braves, who controlled field position much of the afternoon, displayed crisp passing, superb shot-making, and solid defense. They were especially sharp in those areas for a season opener.
In addition to finding the net three times, Navarette-Higgins — who was named Man of the Match — recorded a pair of assists. Otis contributed two assists as well.
Emmitt Alvord, Nolan Elde, and Conor Hornick likewise assisted on goals for the victors, who bolted to a 3-1 lead at halftime and never looked back.
Elde and Teddy Jones rounded out the Braves attack with one goal apiece.
Defensively, La Conner goalkeeper Wyatt Stevens collected five saves and Hornick set the tone with stellar midfield defensive play.
“Conor put together a strong performance in the midfield,” Braves head coach Galen McKnight said afterward. “He helped us control possession and create opportunities throughout the match.”
The lopsided win was seen as a springboard for La Conner (1-0) ahead of its Sept. 15 (6 p.m.) date at NW2B/1B rival Coupeville.
The Braves return home for matches Sept. 17 (4 p.m.) and Sept. 19 (1:15 p.m.) with Evangel Classical and Crosspoint Christian, respectively.
At Neah Bay, the football Braves amassed 561 total yards — all but 22 of those coming courtesy of La Conner’s punishing ground game — in their high-scoring road victory.
Running back Yandel Rosales-Rojas paced La Conner with 205 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also made his presence felt — literally — with 11 tackles on defense.
Braves signal caller Keaton Bailey ran for 184 yards and three scores and led the Braves stop unit with 12 tackles.
Max Page topped the century mark, too, finishing with 117 yards rushing. He also notched eight tackles.
Benny Allen tacked on another 33 yards and five tackles for the winners.
Landon Stevens (4), Vireo Angell (2), Josiah Herring (2), Evan Magill (2), and Caiden Shadrick (1) combined for 11 tackles as La Conner handed Neah Bay its second setback in as many starts.
“It was definitely a true battle,” said Braves football program operations director Gena Seaberg. “The team put everything out there. They all put their heart and grit into it.”
Coupled with its earlier 57-22 romp over Quilcene, head coach Kirk Melton’s high-scoring Braves offense has now rung up 107 points, an average of 53.5 per outing.
La Conner puts its unblemished mark on the line this Friday (Sept. 18, 6 p.m.) at home against undefeated Entiat, a 57-20 winner over Bridgeport last weekend.
The Braves defeated Entiat 16-6 in Wenatchee last year.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
