If anyone questioned the ability of Garfield High School to advance to the round of 16 in the WIAA State 3A Football Playoffs, the Bulldogs quickly laid that notion to rest. The Bulldogs quickly built a 21-point lead in their first-round playoff matchup against Kelso and never looked back as they posted a 41-0 victory.
Reylen Witherspoon got things started for the Bulldogs with a touchdown run early in the first quarter. On their next offensive drive, quarterback EJ Caminong went to work as he completed a 23-yard pass to Rahshawn Clark and followed it up with a 28-yard pass to Reggie Witherspoon, III to give Garfield a first down at the Kelso one-yard line. Caminong would call his own number and score on a one-yard touchdown run as the Bulldogs increased their lead to 14-0 with 7:00 minutes left in the first half.
After another stout stand by their defense, the Bulldogs were back in business again as Caminong connected with Witherspoon on a 14-yard touchdown pass as the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
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During the second half, Garfield imposed their will and physicality on Kelso as they kept their foot on the gas. Garfield would go on to score 20 unanswered second-half points to secure a date in the round of 16 in the state 3A playoffs.
Coach Reggie Witherspoon, whose team has been dealing with quite a few injuries lately, was very pleased to have all of his key players back in the lineup and his team’s overall performance.
“We just wanted to win the week,” said Witherspoon. “We wanted to come out today and make a statement game for our self-confidence in our football program.”
“Our D-line did a really good job, you know we’re healthy, we have all of our guys back,” continued Witherspoon. “When we stay healthy, we’re a really, really good football team, but when we’re not, it shows. We’re just praying to God that we can stay healthy the rest of the way, and we’ll be fine.”
