Sports For 30 minutes of football Friday at R.A. Long High School, the Washougal Panthers played with fire in their eyes. Only problem, high school football games go 48 minutes.
The hometown Lumberjacks scored three straight touchdowns in the second half to win 36-23.
For the first 24 minutes of the game, Washougal matched R.A. Long point-for-point. The Jacks struck first on a 35-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Panthers stalled and punted, but got the ball back on a fumble recovery by Caleb Howard.
Aleks Arzhanov and Ryan Erdwins each had two runs for first downs, and Sam O’Hara snatched a 15-yard catch. O’Hara finished off the drive with a goal line sprint into the end zone. R.A. Long responded shortly with a 59-yard touchdown run, and a run in for two points.
Unfazed, the Panthers marched down the field and scored again. A 38-yard catch by O’Hara set up Arzhanov for a touchdown run. O’Hara added a 2-point conversion run to tie the score at 15-15.
The game remained tied at halftime. Over the next 18 minutes, the Lumberjacks scored 21 points. The Panthers put together one more five-minute touchdown drive, scored by Austin Tofell. O’Hara carried in another 2-point conversion to make it a two-possession game, but there was not enough time for Washougal to get the ball back.
