Warriors start fast in 2007 grid opener

Aloha hammers Washington's Prairie High 41-13 ohn Friday night

By Miles Vance

The Beaverton Valley Times, Sep 1, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (4 Reader comments)

TD MAN – Aloha senior wide receiver A.J. Stephenson gets ready to haul in his team's first scoring pass, a 24-yard strike from quarterback Joel Whitley, in his team's 41-13 home win over Prairie, Wash., on Friday night.

MILES VANCE / Beaverton Valley Times

ALOHA — Aloha did what it came to do Friday night.

The Aloha High School football team opened its 2007 season in fine fashion Friday night, racing out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead before eventually settling for a 41-13 victory over Prairie High School of Vancouver, Wash., at Aloha High School.

"It feels real good," said senior wide receiver A.J. Stephenson, who caught three passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns. "We haven’t had a win like this in a long time. That’s what we plan to do every night."

"I think we did a really nice job of staying together tonight," said junior quarterback Joel Whitley, who teamed with Cameron Boone to throw for 206 yards and four touchdowns Friday night. "It was good to get off to a good start and then just keep on going the whole way through."

The Warriors (1-0) opened the game with a quick stop of Prairie's offense, then came back to take a 7-0 lead when Whitley connected with Stephenson for a 24-yard TD pass. Aloha added first-quarter touchdowns from Jared Dunivan (on a 12-yard run) and Ben Shelton (on an 88-yard run), took a 21-0 lead and never looked back.

Stephenson and tight end Patrick Prince finished with two touchdowns each in the win, while Shelton led all rushers with 130 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.

The Aloha defense did its part too, forcing two turnovers and allowing Prairie just 147 yards in total offense.

To see a complete game story and additional photos, please see next week's edition of the Beaverton Valley Times.

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