KALAMA — With Castle Rock’s 31-28 win over rival Kalama on Friday night, the wide-open SWW 1A Trico began to narrow down.

In the first meeting of any of the league’s traditional powers, Kalama, CR and La Center, a Matt Parker 22-yard field goal in the second quarter made the difference and gave the Rockets a 2-0 record (4-2 overall), while dropping the Chinooks to 1-1 (3-3 overall).

“This is a big win,” Rockets coach Art Walsh said. “It’s a big win for us emotionally and rivalry-wise, but it also keeps us on track to reach our goal and win the Trico again. We’ve got the Wildcats (La Center) out there — they’re pretty tough — and Stevenson is certainly no slouch, either.”

Kalama turned up the heat on its guests from the first moment, denying the Rockets a first down in their initial two possessions while starting its own first two drives from the Castle Rock 47 and 48.

But after enduring almost a full quarter played on their own side of the field, it was the Rockets who broke loose for the opening touchdown. Chris Tinney had runs of 14 and 18 yards, and a 17-yard pass from Brad Williamson to Jean-Luc Allegar set up Williamson’s TD keeper from the 12.

Kalama found its opportunity to retaliate early in the second quarter when Sean McVicker fell on a Tinney fumble at the Rockets’ 27. Two plays later, sophomore Ethan Oomittuk hit Jake Neiman from 31 yards to make it 7-7.

After a solid defensive stop by the Rockets, they assembled the short series that would put them on track to eventual victory.

Tinney hauled in a 46-yard reception that brought the Rockets down to the 1, but a penalty and Kalama’s stern defense — especially a much-needed sack by Neiman — pushed them back 5 yards. With 25 seconds remaining in the half, Parker nailed his 22-yard field goal, making him 2-for-2 on the year.

Both teams came out to start the second half with dialed-in attacks that brought a flood of scoring. Onside kicks by both and some fancy footwork by returners brought good field position all around, and with two gutsy teams alternating between two strong running backs apiece, no mouth was left unsmashed in the pursuit of Trico glory.

Each competitor scored on its first three possessions of the half. Castle Rock’s workhorse was wrecking ball Tinney, who carried the ball 30 times for 158 yards. When the Chinooks concentrated on Tinney, they could and did sometimes stick him for a loss. But Zeke Lomer’s nine carries for 48 yards and Williamson’s 6-for-11 night passing for 102 yards provided diversity.

“(Tinney) had a few little mistakes in there, you know, a fumble and the dropped punt, but any time we made a mistake, everybody came back and got it done and got us right again,” Walsh said.

Meanwhile, Kalama had its own ground game roaring. McVicker ran the ball 16 times for 99 yards, while Nathan Wilfong fought his way to 55 yards on 15 tries. Austin Johnson also hurt the visitors badly when he fell on a bobbled punt to keep one drive going.

The race finally ground to a halt with 2 minutes, 47 seconds left to play. A pitch to McVicker came up 3 yards short on fourth down, giving the Rockets the only defensive stop of the second half and the chance to run out the clock.

It was a frustrating loss for the Chinooks. They flattened the Rock’s offense repeatedly in the early going, then spent the entire second half one clutch stand away from consolidating a four-point lead and probable victory. It was a stand Tinney never allowed them to make.

“We just needed a stop,” Kalama coach Mark Buchanan said. I don’t know what to say. You know, we just needed to be a little bit tougher on the line of scrimmage defensively. We’ve worked all week trying to pick up those backs in the backfield and just didn’t do as well as we needed to. They made plays when they needed them.”

Rockets 31, Chinooks 28

C. Rock      0     10        7      14 — 31

Kalama      0       7      14         7 — 28

CR — Brad Williamson 12 run (Matt Parker kick)

K — Jake Neiman 31 pass from Ethan Oomittuk (Tanner Vossen kick)

CR — Parker 22 FG

K — Oomittuk 21 run (Vossen kick)

CR — Zeke Lomer 1 run (Parker kick)

K — Sean McVicker 3 run (Vossen kick)

CR — Chris Tinney 1 run (Parker kick)

K — McVicker 2 run (Vossen kick)

CR — Tinney 8 run (Parker kick)

Schedule/Standings:  Castle Rock   Kalama