No. 5 Rainier runs by Life Christian to begin 2B Pacific Mountain gauntlet

There’s no doubt Life Christian Academy’s football program is headed in the right direction, the problem is the road the Eagles have to take passes through the toughest Class 2B league in the state.

Every team in the 2B Pacific’s Mountain division was ranked in this week’s Associated Press poll except for Life Christian.

So, while the Eagles (4-1) came into Friday night’s game against fifth-ranked Rainier sporting a deeper roster than in years past, an undefeated record and some gaudy offensive statistics, they couldn’t change the outcome from previous meetings.

The Mountaineers (5-0) piled up 575 yards of total offensive in a game shortened by the 40-point mercy rule and a running clock, staying undefeated after five games for the third straight season with a 53-12 victory at home.

“We don’t evaluate ourselves completely on wins or losses,” Rainier coach Terry Shaw said. “It’s about us being our best football team. A lot of good stuff happened tonight, but we have a lot of stuff to work on, too.”

That “good stuff” included a stellar all-around game from versatile offensive skill player Brody Klein, who rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries, caught two touchdown passes from Zach Lofgren, and completed a pass himself as one of four Mountaineers to take at least one snap at quarterback.

Lofgren, bolstered by an 80-yard touchdown run, finished with 141 yards rushing on just seven carries and completed three passes for 99 yards and two scores.

Cole Reise was just short of triple digits with 96 rushing yards on eight carries, and reached the end zone twice.

“Our offensive line was the best I’ve seen it in a while,” two-way lineman Easton Holmes said. “We’ve gotten really good at our blocking skills, but it helps when you have really fast quarterbacks and receivers who can get open and catch balls.”

Defensively, Holmes and the Mountaineers cadre of two-way players also did what the coaching staff hoped they would.

“We were playing fast. That’s an emphasis for us,” Shaw said. “We’ve got fast kids. Even our linemen are pretty fast. The emphasis is get to your job, get to your assignment and get to it right now.”

Life Christian broke a couple of big plays. Derek Wallace briefly tied the game with a 60-yard first quarter touchdown run and freshman Dai’Shaun Nichols ran a kickoff back 82 yards for a score.

But, for the most part, Rainier kept the Eagles in check.

The Mountaineers held a Life Christian team averaging 271 yards of total offense per game to 184. After the opening minutes, the game was never close.

Rainier, set up by a 24-yard return by Reise of a short opening kickoff, drove 52 yards on 11 running plays to take a 6-0 lead on a keeper by Lofgren.

Life Christian only let the Mountaineers stay up for a minute.

On the third play after Rainier kicked off following Lofgren’s score, Wallace swept left and all the way into the end zone from 60 yards away to tie it at 6-6.

“That was a wrinkle in our defense that was my fault,” Shaw said. “Our linebacker did his job to follow the motion man. He’s not supposed to do that in the defense we were in, but we didn’t practice it this week. I told them when they came off the field it was on me.”

Holmes made sure the Eagles didn’t take a lead, though, barging through the middle of Life Christian’s line to block the PAT attempt.

“I didn’t want them to get ahead of us, so I put all my heart and effort into it,” he said.

After that, the Eagles never had a chance to take the lead.

Neither team has an easier assignment next week. Life Christian will host the state’s top-ranked 2B team in Adna, while Rainier will travel to meet No. 7 Onalaska.

“The competition’s going to get a little stiffer here,” Shaw said. “We’ve got to clean up a lot of little stuff.”

R – Zach Lofgren 1 run (run failed)

L – Derek Wallace 60 run (kick failed)

R – Cole Reise 8 run (Lofgren run)

R – Lofgren 80 run (kick failed)

R – Brody Klein 3 pass from Lofgren (kick failed)

R – Klein 55 pass from Lofgren (Ted Lester run)

R – Reise 15 run (run failed)

L – Dai’Shaun Nichols 82 kickoff return (kick failed)

R – Lester 1 run (Michael Green kick)

R – Klein 64 run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: L – Nathan Joslin 4-12-1-50. R – Lofgren 3-7-0-99; Klein 1-2-0-13.

Rushing: L – Nichols 10-31; Wallace 3-69; Andrew Cheng 4-20; Joslin 4-13; Marcus Hamel 1-2; Marquis Trimble 1-(-8). R – Green 7-48; Lofgren 7-141; Klein 20-125; Reise 8-96; Lester 11-49; Rickey Reeves 1-4; Carson Edminster 2-0.

Receiving: L – Nichols 2-0; Noah Robinson 2-50. R – Lester 1-41; Klein 2-58; Edminster 1-14.

This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 12:55 AM.