“Despite the loss, we are trending up.”

Those were the positive words Seaside High School head coach Aaron Tanabe told his team after their third-straight loss Friday night. Those words might seem surprising, as the Seagulls saw a 10-point lead disappear late in the fourth quarter to rival Scappoose.

But even though the loss more than likely means Seaside won’t win the Cowapa League, Tanabe is looking ahead and saw a team trending in the right direction.

After two sloppy games in a row against Banks and Marist Catholic, the Seagulls came out of the bye week much sharper. Though they got clipped at the end 26-22 by the Indians, Tanabe finally saw a team he thinks can make a run in the playoffs.

“We made a lot of mistakes the last two weeks, so I thought the kids responded,” he said. “I thought we played cleaner, we competed, we were physical, we did everything we could have done. I’m proud of the kids, they played their butts off. This is something for us to build on as we finish up the regular season.”

Friday night’s game looked reminiscent of the Seagulls of last year. That team was hard-nosed, physical at the point of attack and fed off the dynamic play of Ryder Jackson. Friday saw Jackson carry the ball 36 times for 155 yards and one rushing touchdown. Quarterback Zayden Anderson had 53 yards on 15 carries and a rushing touchdown. He also added a passing touchdown to Jordan Westerholm as time expired in the first half.

“Ryder is a great player,” Tanabe said, “I think he’s the best player in the Cowapa League. We made a point to feed him tonight and he responded.”

Though the Seagulls fell to 2-3 on the season after the loss, they’re still No. 8 in the Oregon School Activities Association rankings. Tanabe is confident the Seagulls can beat both Marist Catholic and Scappoose if given the opportunity for rematches.

“We made a deep playoff run last year so they can keep this in perspective,” Tanabe said. “I told them it hurts right now, but we’re going to build on this and want to be peaking when we get to November and playing our best ball at that point, so I think this is a step in the right direction.”

Warrenton rumbles on homecoming

Warrenton High School football put on a show for homecoming weekend as they demolished Valley Catholic 61-12.

After running over North Marion a week ago, the Warriors were even more impressive Friday as they put up a season high in points.

The Warriors took a 40-6 lead into halftime. Ryder Sturgell came up three yards short of his second consecutive 200-yard rushing game, as he finished the night with 197 and five touchdowns. Kaison Smith ran for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Brayden Greenawald had 63 yards and a touchdown. Talon McGrorty tallied his third defensive score in two weeks as he took a botched punt attempt into the end zone.

With the victory, Warrenton is 3-2 on the year with four games left in the regular season.

Knappa dominant once again

It wasn’t quite 71 points like they put up against Regis High School a week earlier, but Knappa High School was dynamic once again.

The Loggers 43-7 victory over Corbett on Friday was their third straight and allowed them to keep pace with Nestucca in the 2A-1 Northwest League race.

The Loggers sit No. 5 in the 2A rankings and will travel to Nestucca for the league showdown this Friday.

Milwaukie handles Astoria

After coming so close to a win last week, Astoria High School football wasn’t able to build off their solid play as they fell to Milwaukie Academy of the Arts 48-8 on Friday.

The Fishermen return home this week, where they will host Tillamook.

Jewell/Vernonia stays winless

A 46-6 loss against Nestucca on Friday kept the Loggers of Jewell/Vernonia winless on the season.

The Loggers will have four more tries to get a win as they have another road game against Sheridan this week.