The 2010 season has been full of ups and downs for Cedarcrest High School football.

The Red Wolves had an up night Thursday, Oct. 28, closing out the regular season on Senior Night and showing why they could be a team on the rise going into the playoffs.

The Red Wolves got three touchdowns from their top running back, senior Jared Klingenberg, and dominated for much of the game in a 54-7 romp over the Granite Falls Tigers in the final Cascade 2A Conference regular season game for both teams. Klingenberg ran for 102 yards as the Wolves clinched the conference’s number-three spot in the 2A opening playoff round. They will play at Anacortes next week.

For the Tigers, things started out well enough, as they kept the ball on the ground and worked the clock well; they chewed up nearly seven minutes of the opening quarter with smooth, short runs. But their drive ended in disaster with 5:23 left in the frame when a pass from Granite Falls quarterback Andrew Jackson was intercepted by Cedarcrest’s Nick Gagner, who then took the ball back 76 yards for the opening Red Wolves touchdown.

“That changed the momentum,” said Cedarcrest coach Jason Frederick, who fired up the team prior to the game, emphasizing it as preparation for next Friday’s playoff crossover.

Gagner would strike on offense later in the quarter; catching a 19-yard pass from Cedarcrest quarterback Justin Houser in the end zone, and after the first frame, the Red Wolves were in control, up 14-0.

Klingenberg got going in the second quarter, scoring his first touchdown on a 19-yard run into the end zone early in the period; then Houser found the end zone himself later in the quarter after running the ball 11 yards on a quarterback sneak. The Tigers’ Dylan Wold scored his team’s lone touchdown with seconds remaining in the half from one yard out and that made the score 28-7 at halftime, with Cedarcrest firmly in command.

Klingenberg made sure that continued in the second half. With eight minutes left in the third quarter, the senior ran the ball 11 yards into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game; then capped his night off about three minutes later with his third touchdown of the contest, on a seven-yard run.

“This has been a great year,” Klingenberg said. “The line blocked great; they just read the holes and got some touchdowns. We played well, so it was fun,” he said.

The Wolves finished things off with a couple of big plays for touchdowns; first, a 47-yard run by Paul Wilen with less than two minutes left in the third, then Zach Wilhelm ran 37 yards to get a touchdown of his own to close out the scoring.

Cedarcrest’s playoff game is Friday, Nov. 5, time to be determined.

“Things are looking good,” Frederick said. “We’re healthy and we’re excited about next week.”