HS Football: River Ridge Shuts Out Shelton to Begin Season

9/4/25

(Lacey, WA) Sunshine brightened up the day on Thursday but nothing made the day quite as beautiful as the return of high school sports. To begin the 2025-26 high school season, football took center stage with the boys of fall energizing entire towns with hopes of wins and championships throughout the entire state.

Our first stop was South Sound Stadium in Lacey at Fouts Field for a nonleague 3A clash between a couple of new-look programs in the Shelton Highclimbers and the River Ridge Hawks. Both teams entered Thursday’s showdown with new head coaches and largely new rosters as well. Garrett Baldwin began his coaching tenure with Shelton while Tim Claridge did the same for River Ridge. One coach would get off to a 1-0 start and get those first game jitters out of the way at the same time.

River Ridge 14, Shelton 0

Shelton would receive the opening kick of the 2025 football season but couldn’t get much going against the River Ridge defense. A blocked punt by Ryzen Nunez gave the Hawks fantastic starting field position at the Highclimber 14-yard line. Despite a penalty backing them up, River Ridge was able to capitalize on the big special teams play as senior Nathan Ung found fellow senior Kaine Aguon for a 15-yard touchdown to give River Ridge a 7-0 lead early.

After that initial series, the Highclimbers began to find more success on offense. They began to move the chains as the duo of Jay Jay Rhoades and Ira Vanderpool got going out of the backfield to help out sophomore quarterback Ryan Brady. However, Shelton couldn’t fully solve the River Ridge defense. Neither side got hurt by penalties much in the opening quarter but Shelton had a couple of missed interception opportunities which kept the 7-0 lead intact for River Ridge after a quarter.

Ryan Brady then got into a little bit of a groove as Hayden Cash became a go-to target. Cash would come up with a 61-yard reception, but snap issues prevented Shelton from finishing a drive once they got into Hawks territory. Nathan Ung used his legs more in the 2nd quartet as the mobile quarterback started to move his offense down the field. Shelton’s defense would harass Ung in the backfield before finally coming away with a takeaway. Zaine Harding had the interception for Shelton that stopped a River Ridge drive. Shelton once again couldn’t cash in on it and the game went to halftime with the Hawks leading 7-0.

River Ridge began the second half with the ball and had a very long, methodical drive. Nathan Ung continued to use his legs while Kaiee Kopp led the charge on the ground. Penalties and a blown up play pushed the Hawks back to 2nd and 26 at one point, but Ung found Ryzen Nunez who high pointed the ball for a 27-yard completion and a first down. However, the Highclimber defense stood tall as Bennett Henry forced a fumble to kill the drive and give Shelton the ball after a drive that lasted 7:03. We would once again have a scoreless quarter as River Ridge led 7-0 heading to the 4th.

Ira Vanderpool and Bennett Henry were the story of the 4th quarter as Shelton felt like they had seized momentum. River Ridge seemed to be gassed and started committing a lot of pre-snap penalties. Disaster on another snap hurt Shelton’s opportunity to tie the game up and on a 4th down reverse, Ryzen Nunez blew it up in the backfield to force a turnover on downs. Rashaun Harkless took over at QB to get some snaps and the Hawks were looking to just kill the clock. They would get backed up which forced them to throw the ball and Harkless lobbed one perfectly to Kaine Aguon who was gone as soon as he hauled in the pass. The 70-yard touchdown was the knockout blow as River Ridge completed the shutout of Shelton, 14-0.

Stats and MVP

The Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Kaine Aguon for the River Ridge Hawks. The senior receiver did it all for the home squad with an interception on defense and two catches, both for touchdowns, for 85 yards on the game. Adding in some big open field tackles and pass break-ups, Aguon emptied the gas tank but it was worth it to start his senior season with a win.

River Ridge also used two quarterbacks and each threw a touchdown. Nathan Ung saw a bulk of the time under center and went 6-13 for 67 yards and a touchdown while running the ball four times for 18 yards. Rashaun Harkless went 2-4 passing for 74 yards and a score. Kaiee Kopp was the leading rusher for the Hawks with 12 carries for 47 yards and added three catches for 28 yards. Kaleb Hunkin added five carries for 18 yards and a 21-yard reception and two sacks on defense while Tripp Durham had two carries for 12 yards. Ryzen Nunez was disruptive defensively while having a nine-yard carry and a 27-yard catch. Tuck Nelson caught one pass for four yards as well.

For Shelton, sophomore Ryan Brady went 12-23 through the air for 162 yards and ran the ball 11 times. Ira Vanderpool was the game’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 55 yards and two catches for 28 yards. Jay Jay Rhoades added nine carries for 33 yards and three catches for 28 yards with the two-headed rushing attack leading the way. Hayden Cash had two catches for 66 yards and Bennett Henry was a monster at tight end with four catches for 42 yards. Gunnar Jensen capped off the offense with a 17-yard reception. Defensively, Quinn McKinnon, Dalton Kulbacki, Cameron Winans, Hunter Daggett, and Robbie Rice all recorded a sack for the Highclimbers. Zaine Harding had an interception in the 2nd quarter as well for Shelton.

Both teams will continue the nonleague portion of their season next week when they both take the field on Friday night at 7pm. For the 1-0 River Ridge Hawks, they will remain at home against another GSHL 3A foe as they host the Kelso Hilanders. Meanwhile, the 0-1 Shelton Highclimbers will look for their first win of the season in their home opener against the North Thurston Rams.

Click here for the link to the full game replay (Subscription Required)