LA CONNER — The Concrete football team is healthy again.
That’s good news for the Lions and bad news for whoever they’re playing.
Concrete, which went through a midseason streak of injuries, was healthy Friday in beating La Conner 41-7 in a Northwest 2B League game.
The win clinched at least a share of the league title for the Lions (5-0 in league, 8-1 overall).
“We’re not going to celebrate too much,” said Concrete coach Ron Rood. “We want the No. 1 seed (from the league). We want to stay at home (in the first round of the playoffs).”
The Lions, ranked No. 5 in the state Class 2B poll, finish the regular season on Friday at home against Darrington.
Concrete played shorthanded in its first meeting against La Conner — a 14-0 Concrete win. Everyone was there this time around, and it showed.
The Lions scored on their first four possessions, taking a 28-0 lead only 16 minutes into the game.
Three of those scoring drives began after La Conner turnovers.
“The top thing in our keys to the game was ‘Take care of the ball,’” said La Conner coach Patrick Brown. “We didn’t do that.”
Altogether, La Conner had four turnovers in the first half.
Concrete’s Derek Rice, Tyler Clark and Chris Smith had interceptions, and the Lions recovered a fumble.
The Lions led 35-0 at halftime as sophomore running back Kyle Howell had three touchdowns, while Rice and Luke Scherer had one each.
The second half was played tight as the teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“We just told them at halftime, ‘It’s 0-0. That’s a great team and they’re going to do well. We just need to go out and win the second half,’” said Brown.
Concrete had turnovers on its first two possessions of the second half — a fumble off a pass play on the La Conner 5-yard line and a fumble after a La Conner punt.
That’s when the Braves got their only points.
They drove 79 yards on 16 plays, and were helped along by three Concrete penalties. Matt Burlingame scored on a three-yard run.
“It’s not a lack of effort or a lack of positive attitude,” said Brown, whose team is 1-8 overall. “They just keep after it.”
Scherer added a fourth-quarter touchdown run to complete the scoring.
Smith and Howell were the big offensive weapons for Concrete. While Smith rushed for 122 yards on nine carries and complete four of eight passes for 84 yards, Howell gained 93 yards on 13 carries and had one catch for 23 yards.
Add in Rice (42 yards rushing) and Scherer (56 yards) and the Lions were too much to handle.
“All four of those kids are real threats,” said Rood. “That’s one of the real advantages of our team.”
La Conner has played against Smith, Concrete’s senior quarterback, for three seasons.
He is as good as they come, said Brown.
“When he gets going, he gets you on your heels and it’s pretty tough,” he said.
La Conner concludes its season Thursday at Orcas Island.
• Dan Ruthemeyer can be reached at 360-416-2133 or by e-mail at
