Class B-11: It's rush hour in the Valley
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TACOMA — In a performance that seemed only fitting, the son of a dairy farmer set the all-time 11-man title-game rushing record yesterday in football championships sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Washington.
Brian Wilson of Willapa Valley High School in tiny Menlo in Southwest Washington rushed for 306 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 39-18 victory over DeSales High School of Walla Walla.
Wilson, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior, scored on runs of 68, 1, 52 and 65 yards in the Class B-11 showdown as top-ranked Willapa Valley finished the season a perfect 14-0. No other runner in any of the four other 11-man football classifications has ever covered more ground in a championship game.
Coach Rob Friese of Willapa Valley said, "All along, I said that when Brian got on turf, he would be fun to watch."
Wilson, who usually plays on rain-soaked grass, was a jet pack, reaffirming his credentials from last May when he finished second in all three sprints at the state Class B track meet.
Wilson said he was unaware of any record "until I heard it over the loudspeaker." His name was called early and often, and he launched his assault with a 68-yard TD on the second play.
Second-ranked DeSales evened the score on a 28-yard pass from sophomore T.J. Conley to Tim Lynch, who caught the ball at the 5 and dived across the goal line.
From that point on, it was all Willapa Valley. The score jumped to 24-7 just before halftime on a 40-yard field goal by Travis Pollard that broke the previous B-11 record of 34 yards.
Willapa Valley won its fourth state title without completing a pass. Senior quarterback Chris Bannish threw only three but contributed by rushing 13 times for 78 of his team's 467 ground yards. He also set up Pollard's record field goal with a graceful interception.
DeSales was led by Brian Hall, a 6-3, 220-pound Washington State recruit at linebacker who rushed 21 times for 117 yards.
"We knew coming in that they had some quick guys and that they were faster than us," Hall said.