North Bend’s Lane Seals hurdles over teammate Justin Tobey and between two Phoenix defenders during a first-quarter run on Friday night. The Bulldogs beat Phoenix 26-14. World Photo by Madeline Steege.

The rain didn't let up Friday night and neither did North Bend's running game.

The Bulldogs muscled 316 yards and four touchdowns through the ankle-deep mud at Vic Adams Field to outlast Phoenix 26-14 in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs.

The fittingly brown-clad Bulldogs finished with zero passing yards, but didn't need any. Running backs Shawn Mitchell, Kale Forrester, Garrett Caldwell and Lane Seals carried the weight for North Bend, which improved to 7-4 on the season.

“They did a tremendous job tonight,” Bulldogs coach Bill Masei said after the game. “They all worked very hard and showed a lot of effort considering the conditions out there.”

Almost two months ago, North Bend was celebrating a week three win over Phoenix during the regular season. Friday's rematch mirrored that game in many ways. Forrester and Seals once again handled most of the carries and Caldwell finished roughly halfway to the century mark.

This time around, however, it was Mitchell who made the biggest impact. The senior tailback said he was itching for a breakout night and on Friday, he treated himself to season-best numbers. Mitchell ended with 116 yards on 13 carries and broke loose for touchdowns runs of 44 and six yards.

“I was feeling great tonight,” Mitchell said over a roaring locker room full of his teammates. “I was just doing what the coaches told me, and the opportunities were there.”

Mitchell and the North Bend backs provided peace of mind for Masei, whose passing attack was grounded by the weather.

“It does make me nervous to be one-dimensional on offense,” Masei said. “But they stepped up and had a big night.”

North Bend was especially nervous after watching Phoenix take its opening drive 56 yards into the end zone. The Pirates revealed a potent rushing attack of their own with a 34-yard touchdown run by Quinton Walker to end the series. Walker finished with a game-high 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

“That woke us up,” said North Bend lineman Jerad Jaehnig. “We didn't expect that at all. We said, ‘That's not the same team we faced last time.'”

Statistics suggest the same.

Unlike their last meeting in which the Bucs used a spread offense to mass 201 passing yards, Phoenix relied heavily on their running backs, which churned out 184 yards. Why the change of pace? Like Masei, coach Gordon Crowston blamed it on the rain.

“It was like a 1930s game out there,” Crowston said. “We had to keep running the ball in that weather. The ball was a little wet. ... Our guys did their best.”

After Walker's touchdown run, North Bend answered with a scoring blitz - three rushing touchdowns in just over five minutes. It started with Forrester on the Bulldogs first play from scrimmage. The junior fullback took a handoff from quarterback Ethan Ottemiller and broke loose off of the right guard. Sixty-five yards later, Forrester was in the end zone, and North Bend was in business.

“That was a relief,” Jaehnig said of the run by Forrester, who had nine carries for 83 yards.

Adrian Yahyazadeh recovered the ensuing squib kick that bounced off of a Phoenix up man, and Mitchell followed with his two touchdowns to put the Bulldogs ahead 20-6.

Walker struck back with a 78-yard scamper for his second touchdown. That inspired the Phoenix defense to make its biggest stand of the night. The Pirates held North Bend for four straight plays inside their own 5-yard line to force a turnover on downs.

“I couldn't believe we didn't get in,” said Caldwell, who ended with 63 yards on two carries. “They gave us all we could handle. It was a good fight.”

North Bend took a 20-14 lead into the half and the game turned into a battle of attrition. Both teams exchanged only field position in the third quarter. It stayed that way for most of the fourth until Caldwell scored on a 37-yard toss sweep.

“That just broke our backs,” Crowston said. “We were battling and battling until then. We had to punt the ball and try to pin them deep and we're managing, but then they just buried it.”

With a season-ending loss looming close, Crowston's offense went on an inspired 17-play drive in which the Bucs converted three third-downs and one fourth-down. Junior quarterback Neil Emerson led the way with 41 of his 75 passing yards. He brought the Bucs to the Bulldogs 5, but they couldn't cash in.

“They got it done when they needed to after that first half,” Masei said of his defense. “We played with a lot of heart tonight; showed a lot of effort and next week, we play again. I can't complain much.”

North Bend will make a 10-hour drive next week for a second-round game with another Bulldog team: Baker (7-3), of the Greater Oregon League.

“We don't know much about them, and we're not going to worry about them until Monday,” Masei said. “We're just going to celebrate for now.”

Notes: In a game that featured only 21 passing plays, Lane Seals had 61 yards for the Bulldogs while Phoenix's Joe Reyes and Kyle Giron ended with 28 and 20 yards, respectively ... the Pirates end the season at 4-6.