HS Football: Life Christian Academy Outlasts Cascade Christian in Thrilling Shootout

11/1/25

(Lakewood, WA) Sometimes things just work out perfectly on the schedule where a game saved for the final week of the regular season has so much on the line. That was true for the Nisqually 1A League as the league championship would be decided in the final game of the season in the league. Like last year, it would be the Cascade Christian Cougars and Life Christian Academy Eagles battling for the league crown with LCA hoping for the same result while Cascade Christian would look to get back to the top of the mountain.

Senior night added to the electric environment as the LCA Eagles would look to send their seniors out with a second consecutive league title. After starting the season 0-3, the Eagles rattled off four consecutive wins and had plenty of momentum on their side entering the Saturday night showdown, with three shutouts in their least four games. Cascade Christian had not dealt with that adversity as the Cougars have been dominant all season. With a couple of close wins over Battle Ground and Onalaska, the Cougars knew they were prepared for a 48-minute war.

Life Christian Academy 44, Cascade Christian 38

Life Christian Academy started with possession but would have one of the few empty possessions in this game with a three-and-out to give the ball to Cascade Christian for the first time. It didn’t take too long for the Cougars to grab the first points and the first explosive play at the same time. Tayven Collins was the starting QB for Cascade Christian but he would use his legs to strike first. Collins kept it for a 41-yard touchdown run and Cascade Christian was on the board first leading 7-0.

It didn’t take long for Life Christian Academy to find their own footing on offense. Jabez Boyd used his arm quite a bit on the drive and one chunk play put the Eagles within striking distance. A 55-yard completion to Kyien Hamilton Evans moved the chains and took the Eagles down to the two-yard line with a face mask added on. Boyd kept it himself for a short two-yard score and while the extra point failed, Life Christian was on the board trailing Cascade Christian 7-6.

Cascade Christian’s offense was just rolling early and the LCA defense had no answers to the dynamic offense. Tayven Collins continued to use his legs to run wild on the Eagles defense but he was also locked in with Josiah Laurence. They would hook up for 33 and 29-yard gains before Collins found him for a 23-yard score. That along with a two-point conversion would extend the lead for the Cougars to 15-6.

The game would move into the 2nd quarter with the Cougars still in front and on the first play of the quarter their lead shrunk. Jabez Boyd continued to be superman for the Eagles while they did get Zion Dennis going out of the backfield as well. It would be Boyd’s arm this time as he found Kyien Hamilton Evans for a 19-yard score on the first play of the quarter. The two-point attempt failed but Life Christian Academy cut their deficit to 15-12.

A 33-yard field goal by Brody Robertson extended the Cougars lead back out to 18-12 in the 2nd quarter. That gave the Eagles an opening as a touchdown would tie the game up. Jabez Boyd was right back to running wild on the Cougar defense as Zion Dennis and Aaron Fujita got mixed into the passing game as well. A beautiful cut by Boyd would set himself up for a 33-yard touchdown run and the Eagles had taken their first lead of the game 19-18.

With under five minutes left in the half, Cascade Christian’s offense took the field trailing for the first time on the day. Collins would continue to make huge plays for the Cougar offense both on the ground and through the air. Collins would break a run for 39 yards to put the Cougars in a great spot late in the half. Tayven Collins then used his arm, once again finding Josiah Laurence in the endzone, this time for an 18-yard score. That touchdown would hold into halftime as Cascade Christian led Life Christian Academy 26-19 at halftime.

Cascade Christian began the second half with the ball and it had the feeling that a score might allow the Cougars to cruise to the end and the league title. However, the Eagle defense came out fired up and got the stop that they needed to keep it a seven-point game with their offense coming back on the field. Jabez Boyd wasted no time in finding the endzone as he couldn’t find anyone open on a pass attempt. Instead, Boyd took off and was gone, untouched for a 58-yard score. The extra-point was unsuccessful however in a big turn as Cascade Christian still led Life Christian Academy 26-25.

The score wouldn’t stay there for long. The following kick-off was dropped as Cascade Christian tried a reverse. Tayven Collins came up and pushed his teammate out of the way and picked up the loose ball. He would cut back to the far side of the field and was gone after that. The kick return for a score opened the league back up for the Cougars 32-25.

Cascade Christian added field goals from Brody Robertson from 36 and 24 yards out while LCA added a touchdown run by Jabez Boyd to make it 38-32 Cascade Christian going to the 4th. Early in the 4th quarter, a little screen changed the game once again. Jabez Boyd dumped one out to Kyien Hamilton Evans and he got the blocking for an explosive play. He would take it 81 yards to the house and turned the game around as it was tied 38-38 after a bad snap on the PAT.

Defense would once again stand up strong for LCA as they kept Cascade Christian off the board to get the ball back with a tied game. The Eagles would put together a very slow and methodical drive, killing a majority of the remaining time as they moved down the field. Jabez Boyd had one last touchdown in him as he found Aaron Fujita coming across the middle for a 10-yard score with just 52 seconds left. Their wasn’t enough time for the Cougars as LCA forced a turnover on downs to seal the wild finish. Life Christian Academy defeated Cascade Christian in a 44-38 shootout to win their second consecutive Nisqually 1A league title.

Stats and MVP

Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the game went to Jabez Boyd without any discussion needed. The senior QB celebrated his senior night in historic fashion with one of the best games for a high school football player this season. Boyd went 14/21 through the air for 286 yards and three touchdowns while running the ball 17 times for 188 yards and four touchdowns. That is a total of 474 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a wild league championship win in one of his best performances ever.

Zion Dennis had a nice day for Life Christian Academy with five carries for 41 yards and two catches for 24 yards as well. Aaron Fujita was the leading receiver in terms of receptions with six catches for 64 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Kyien Hamilton Evans went off as well with three catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Julian Roso caught two passes for 30 yards and Trent Davis had a 13-yard reception while Leland Moi had two carries for one yard. Sebastian Cruz had a sack for the Eagles on defense.

For the Cascade Christian Cougars, quarterback Tayven Collins had his own monster night, going 8/15 for 121 yards and two touchdowns and ran the ball 15 times for 189 yards and a touchdown while returning a kick-off for a score for four total touchdowns. Josiah Laurence had a huge night with five catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Casper Appleman carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards while Donovan Walson had five carries for 24 yards and a sack on defense. Caleb Donahue had a catch and a sack while Asher Floyd caught a 15-yard pass and had a sack as well. Brody Robertson hit three field goals from 33, 36, and 24 yards out. Cordae Norling went 0-2 passing but ran the ball for two yards.

Both teams advance to the 1A Round of 24 next week but Life Christian Academy goes into the playoffs with a 5-3 record and as Nisqually 1A League Champions. The Eagles begin their playoff run by hosting Zillah at a location, time, and date TBD. Cascade Christian drops to 8-1 after their first loss of the season but the Cougars will still host the Tenino Beavers next week at a TBD time.

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