THURSTON – You’ll forgive Colts fans if they didn’t see this coming. But there were signs.
Two weeks ago, Thurston was coming off a 31-24 win at Class 6A powerhouse Roseburg, notching its third straight road victory. However, it was the Colts’ closest game of the season, and they scored their fewest points this year.

Nothing to be too concerned about heading into a game against Churchill. Until Churchill scored on a 58-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes this past Friday.
Thurston fans, not accustomed to losing, were stunned. In particular, two students, coated in pink attire for Thurston’s “Pink Out” theme in support of breast cancer research, remarked, “Wow, we’re actually losing … Can you believe it?” In which the other responded, “Really?!”
The Lancers held on to beat the Colts 32-13, ending Thurston’s five-year winning streak in the series. Thurston is 7-4 overall vs. Churchill, including 6-2 in league play. It also marks the first time in six years Thurston has experienced a pre-playoff league loss, which was also to Churchill in 2017.
Colts head coach Justin Starck, after researching and preparing for the Lancers, was not all that shocked by the result.

“Not after what I saw on film the last few weeks,” Starck said. “The way Churchill beat Roseburg … they’re a good football team. They’re really good and very well-coached. We knew that we could be in trouble and it played out that way”
In particular, the Lancers possess “physicality” – a style of play that the Colts’ faced against Wilsonville last year in a 49-21 semifinal loss.
“We have to figure out playing better against bigger, physical teams,” Starck said. “And adjust our scheme and do some things. We don’t have a good scheme to deal with a big, physical team like this who could run the ball and chew the clock. This was just a bad match-up for us and a bad scenario.”
After the Lancers’ piercing blow in the first two minutes, they kept striking.

Three minutes after their first touchdown, the Lancers were inside Thurston’s 20-yard line and Ceville Pasi ran for an 18-yard touchdown. This was followed by another 2-pointer, raising the score 16-0.
Although Thurston quarterback Noah Blair provided a 5-yard rushing touchdown in the last two minutes of the quarter, Pasi followed up with a 7-yard rushing touchdown and Babbitt rushed for a 2-pointer, raising it 24-7.
Then, with six minutes left in the third quarter, Pasi rushed for a 2-yard touchdown and Gansen completed a pass to Donovan Jackson for another successful 2-pointer, raising it to 32-7.
Although Blair completed a 14-yard pass to Ryan Roser to raise the Thurston score to 13 points in the fourth quarter, it was the last five minutes of the game.
“I was proud of Noah,” Starck said. “He didn’t want to quit – even while fighting through an injury and not having much support up front on the offense. He still wanted to go out and compete with his teammates. Also, I was happy with the way Justin Fisher ran the ball late in the game, he did a good job.”
The Colts head to Crater this Thursday.