2 takeaways from Life Christian vs. Napavine: Small-school showdown lived up to billing

Eagles win it on a Jabez Boyd tipped touchdown pass with 33 seconds to go, 35-28

Jabez Boyd accounted for 237 yards of total offense and five touchdown in Life Christian's 35-28 win over Napavine. / Photo by Todd Milles

TACOMA, Wash. - Jabez Boyd capped a big night by throwing a tipped 14-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Hamm with 33 seconds remaining, lifting Life Christian Academy to a 35-28 victory over Napavine, the 2022 WIAA Class 2B champion.

Coming into the game, the Eagles were ranked No. 7 in Class 1A; Napavine was No. 2 in Class 2B.

Cayle Kelly had tied the game for the Tigers with his 50-yard touchdown scamper three minutes earlier, and the Tigers went for a two-point conversion, and got it on Colin Shields' run to grab a 28-27 lead.

The two teams combined for five touchdown plays or 37 yards or longer in the final 15 minutes of the game, leaving both coaches encouraged about their season outlooks.

"When you are facing a team (Napavine) that has been to the (WIAA) championship multiple years at a time, that is what you are going to run into," Eagles coach Hershel Dennis said. "You are going to run into them not giving up. going hard every play and fighting to the last second."

Here are two takeaways from the Life Christian-Napavine game:

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LIFE CHRISTIAN GROWING UP FAST

Three years ago, when Dennis took over this program, the Eagles would have been left by the roadside in a game of this magnitude.

Now, the Eagles absorb shots to give them, showcasing a talented signal caller in Boys (237 yards of total offense, four passing touchdowns, one rushing score) and a cadre of big, athletic skill-position players. Oh yeah, they arguably have the biggest lines in the classification.

Their final series was a thing of beauty, mixing in physical tailbacks Atinae Nau (who was a lineman the past two seasons) and Zach McKnight in the run game, and finally finishing it off with Boyd's touchdown pass that bounced off the hands of Champ Seumalo - but right to Hamm in the back of the end zone.

Managing lack of depth will be a challenge all season for Dennis, but he has the front-line players to make a serious run.

"Speaks to the growth and where we are headed in this program," Dennis said. "These are the kind of games we need to be prepared for late November."

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NAPAVINE EQUIPPED FOR ANOTHER TITLE RUN

For those wondering if Napavine has what it takes to make a serious push at another Class 2B championship and a potential rematch with Okanogan ... after Saturday that would be a resounding thumbs-up.

Totaling just 57 first-half yards and trailing 13-0 at intermission, the Tigers came out and gave the Eagles a taste of their own medicine with a bruising run game and downfield pass-game shots with new quarterback Grady Wilson.

Wilson hit Karsen Denault on a 37-yard scoring pass. And then he connected with Jackson Calder on a 59-yarder.

What is interesting about this offense is its versatility. Denault, Kelly and Beckett Landram are all rushing-receiving options. In fact, Kelly finished with eight carries for 84 yards (and the 50-yard score) and a reception for 5 yards. Denault had five catches for 124 yards.

Equally impressive was how Napavine's defense held up against the Eagles' physicality - a good sign if it sees Okanogan in its near future.

"I am going to leave here feeling good," Napavine coach Joshua Fay said. "Did we execute very well? No. Do we have a lot of things to fix? Yeah. We can do that. We are going to get better.

"If the pinnacle of our season is Week 2 or 3, we’ve got bigger problems. But this is encouraging for me."

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