You could forgive Prairie quarterback Colin Seitz if he seemed a bit shell-shocked Friday night.

Kelso’s defense swarmed the Falcons’ backfield all night, racking up five sacks on the freshman signal-caller in the first half for minus-42 yards en route to a 20-7 nonleague football victory at Schroeder Field.

Prairie ended the first half with minus-22 rushing yards — a statistic that had Hilanders coach Pat Hymes beaming after the game.

“The defense got good pressure all night,” Hymes said. “We did a good job of mixing our coverage, and we put together a good package.”

Junior linebacker Jared O’Neil recorded two of the Hilander sacks in the first half. He credited the Kelso coaching staff for helping the defense get to Seitz.

“First of all, our linemen got a good push upfield,” O’Neil said. “Our coaches had a good blitz package put together, and all we had to do was follow the line upfield. We came from everywhere and their line just didn’t know what to do.”

It was only fitting, then, that the Hilanders’ first score came from their defensive pressure. Both teams faltered on their first two offensive series, before Prairie took over for a third turn on its 24-yard line with 3:54 left in the first quarter.

On the first play from scrimmage, O’Neil’s brother, Justin, burst into the Falcons’ backfield to strip the ball from running back Madison Meister. The senior defensive end broke away from the ensuing scrum and raced to the end zone, helping Kelso to an 8-0 lead.

“I can’t really give you the details on what happened,” O’Neil said. “A lineman’s first instinct is to hang on to the ball and hit the ground, but when I saw the open field, I thought, ‘What the heck?’ That’s a turnover for the whole defense, not just for me.”

Prairie responded on its next possession. Seitz connected with Avi Slifer for a 22-yard gain to the Kelso 18. But on the next play, Lane Sari burst through the line to drop Seitz for an 11-yard loss. Two plays later, the Falcons were backed up to their 32-yard line and forced to punt.

It was Prairie’s final venture into Hilander territory in the half.

Kelso added to its lead two series later. The Hilanders took over at midfield following a shanked punt with 6:19 remaining in the half. Quarterback Cameron Margaris connected with Sari for a 30-yard completion and ran the ball in two plays later for a 9-yard touchdown. The PAT failed, but Kelso took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

The second half began with a vintage Hilander beatdown.

The Falcons left Kelso on its own 20 following a kick through the end zone. The Hilanders responded with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took 7:29 off the clock. True to Kelso tradition, Margaris did not attempt a pass on the series.

Sari and Jared O’Neil packed most of the load, rushing for 33 and 18 yards, respectively, on the drive, with Sari punctuating the series with a 5-yard touchdown run to give Kelso a 20-0 lead.

“We ended the first half well and we just wanted to come out strong,” O’Neil said. “I just told Lane to follow me, and I followed the line. They did an excellent job blocking, and they made our jobs pretty easy.”

Sari finished the night with 104 yards rushing on 12 carries. O’Neil packed the ball six times for 52 yards. Riley Miller added 43 yards on 10 carries, as the Hilanders finished with 257 yards on the ground.

Kelso (2-0) hosts Fort Vancouver next Friday.

Standings/Schedule:  Kelso — Prairie

Hilanders 20, Falcons 7

Kelso         8     6     6     0 — 20

Prairie       0     0     7     0 — 7

K — Justin O’Neil 24 fumble return (Cody McKinney pass from Cameron Margaris)

K — Margaris 9 run (kick failed)

K — Lane Sari 5 run (kick failed)

P — Colin Seitz 11 run (Justin Kemp kick)