Day After Report: Week 10
Sorry for the long delay for these notes from Week 10. (I know, I know, we’re almost to Week 11.) However, after driving to Oakland and back to watch the Raiders, and returning to Vancouver to cover state soccer and signing day this week, well, there was not enough time. Sorry, the Raiders take priority!
Anyway, here are some notes from Week 10’s playoffs. Congrats to Skyview, Camas, and Stevenson on their wins. And congrats to Union, Heritage, Mountain View, La Center, and Ridgefield on making it to the playoffs.
SKYVIEW 42, TODD BEAMER 33
The Storm never trailed, but Todd Beamer made sure the Storm were never quite comfortable in a game that featured more than 800 yards of offense.
Too easy, too soon?
Skyview forced a quick punt on the first series of the game, then drove 64 yards on seven plays to go up 7-0 with 7:11 left in the first quarter.
The Storm’s Zack Brady then intercepted a Beamer pass, setting up another touchdown for a 14-0 lead with 6:09 remaining.
Boom, just like that, it was 14-0, and the Storm were on their way.
Or so they thought.
The Titans got a touchdown late in the first quarter, then the Storm turned the ball over on their next two possessions. The second t.o. resulted in a Beamer score. The extra point was blocked, but it was a one-point game.
Fortunately for the Storm, they quickly realized Todd Beamer was not going to let the Storm walk into the state playoffs. The Skyview offense was solid throughout the rest of the night, and the defense made some clutch stops toward the end of the night.
Get this video:
A couple weeks ago, I noted that Addison Owen of Camas should make sure that any college recruiter saw his video of a monster hit he made. The recruiters would be so impressed with his speed and aggression that he would be offered a scholarship just from that one play alone.
Well, I saw another one of those types of plays. This one involved Skyview’s Ellis Henderson.
Todd Beamer running back Dominique Maxie took a handoff, found the corner, and took off down the left sideline. It looked like he was gone. Someone in the press box even said, “He’s gone.” I remember saying, “Wait, Ellis still has a chance.”
Henderson was on the other side of the field and from high up in the press box you could see the angle he was taking to get to Maxie. Now, most high school athletes would not have caught Maxie. But Ellis Henderson is not like most high school athletes. That speed, always amazing to watch as he plays wide receiver, was even more fun to watch as he caught a running back that had no business being caught.
It looked like Ellis had a vapor trail behind him and he flew across the field.
How many carries?
Todd Beamer quarterback T.J. Esekielu had 43 carries for 218 yards and almost single-handedly brought the Titans back to victory.
Trailing 35-19, Beamer went on a 12-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to make it 35-27. Esekielu had eight carries for 67 yards on the drive.
In the fourth quarter, Esekielu led a 17-play, 62-yard drive to make it 35-33.
But toward the end of the game, he was getting tired and the Storm defense was figuring out that they pretty much had to just stop him to stop the entire offense.
Esekielu had 197 yards on his first 29 carries. He ended up with 21 yards on his next 14 carries, including six carries for negative yardage or no gain in that stretch.
Just run out the clock, or, well, that’s OK, too:
The Skyview defense, clinging to a 35-33 lead, held with 2:14 left in the game, getting the ball back to the offense.
A first down would ice the game.
Of course, a touchdown would be OK, too.
On a 3rd-and-four play, Henderson took a pitch, found a hole, and raced 56 yards for a touchdown.
Henderson, a wide receiver, had three rushing attempts in the game, gaining 116 yards. He credited the linemen.
“It was great blocking,” Henderson said. “I just found the holes they created, and they created some pretty big ones today.”
CAMAS 56, RAINIER BEACH 0
Think the score say it all. Wow.
Strong half:
Zack Marshall had 70 yards on 16 carries in the first half. His talent was not needed in the secnod half. His longest run was a 12-yard touchdown. He also caught an 18-yard screen pass for a TD.
Correction:
Rainier Beach had three first downs in the game. Reporter Paul Danzer missed a long pass late in the game when nobody was watching anyway. (OK, that was mean. I admit it.)
Impressive:
Camas scored five touchdowns in the second quarter. The drives went a little something like this:
1: 3 plays, 39 yards.
2: 10 plays, 49 yards.
3: 2 play, 46 yards.
4: 1 play, 24 yards.
5: 3 plays, 8 yards.
That’s 18 plays, averaging more than 9 yards per play. Yeah, that’ll get it done in the playoffs.
Strong debut:
Camas quarterback Tony Gennaro made his first start of his career, filling in for the injured Logan Grindy.
Gennaro was solid, completing 10 of 15 pass for 157 yards and four touchdowns.
STEVENSON 39, RAINIER 21
The Bulldogs are going to state, the Bulldogs are going to state, the Bulldogs are going to state!
History:
The Stevenson Bulldogs made it to the state football playoffs for the first time in school history with a second-half, comeback victory over Rainier. The Bulldogs had three previous playoffs to make it to state, the last coming in 1994, but lost all three times.
Not this year.
Defense:
Jeremy Waters’ interception and return for a touchdown was Stevenson’s only touchdown of the first half. Rainier had scored 15 points in the half, but then was held to one late touchdown in the second half. The Stevenson defense pretty much shut down Rainier, giving time for its offense.
Offense:
The Bulldogs scored the first 29 points of the second half to take control. Christian Morris scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. Quarterback Zach Castro threw a touchdown pass and had 202 yards passing in the game.
Correction:
We had Stevenson listed as 8-2 in the paper. Sorry about that, Bulldogs. We know you are 9-1.
BOTHELL 42, UNION 21
Two late touchdowns made this one look worse than it was for the Titans.
Almost:
Union trailed 28-7 early in the third quarter before getting back in the game with back-to-back touchdowns.
Zak Browning, in his final game of an amazing career for the Titans, scored on a 2-yard run late in the third quarter. The Titans then recovered a fumble and went right back to work, with Kaben Humphrey-Butler scoring from a yard out to make it 28-21.
Bothell, though, would score on its next possession, then got the best of a tired defense later in the fourth quarter.
Ouch:
The Titans had a lot of juniors get plenty of playing time this season. And they all learned some valuable lessons the past two games — two losses.
In Week 9, in the championship game of the 4A Greater St. Helens League, the Titans had three turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game and fell behind 17-0. They ended up losing by three points.
In the Week 10 playoff, Union had a punt blocked and also turned the ball over in the first half. Both miscues resulted in touchdowns for Bothell. Union made its comeback but never fully recovered.
Great run:
Despite the two losses to end the season, Union has had an amazing three-year run. The Titans are 31-6 the past three seasons, with only one loss against a Clark County team — Skyview in Week 9 of this season.
TIMBERLINE 29, MOUNTAIN VIEW 28
A heart-breaking loss for the Thunder.
So close:
Mountain View led 28-7 in the fourth quarter, but a special teams breakdown here, and fumble there, led to a Timberline comeback.
Three quality losses:
Mountain View ended up 7-3 with the three losses coming against Camas, ranked as high as second in the state among 3A teams, Union, now a Class 4A program that had reached the 3A semifinals and finals the previous two seasons, and Timberline, one of 16 teams remaining. The Thunder were within two touchdowns of Camas, 10 points of Union, and one point to Timberline.
Seven wins is a big deal:
This was the first time Mountain View made it to Week 10 since 2006. The seven wins is the most since 2005.
Strong senior class:
Mountain View coach Adam Mathieson said it was obviously a tough loss, but he said it is more painful to think he will not get to spend more quality time with his seniors.
“They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them,” Mathieson said.
And in other games …
Heritage had a rough season, but managed to win the game it needed to in order to make the playoffs. But the season ended with a 57-14 loss to Kentwood. … It is always good to have high expectations — what’s the alternative? — but it also can lead to disappointment. La Center wanted bigger things this season, but lost a close game to Hoquiam in Week 10. … Ridgefield had an amazing turnaround, going from one win in 2009 to seven wins this season. The year ended with a close playoff loss to Onalaska.
Coming up:
Week 11 playoff games, first round of the state playoffs. We will be covering Skyview on Friday night and Camas on Saturday.
And the Raiders have a bye this week, so I have no excuses for not having my Day After Report by Sunday night. (Hey, I get the extra day because of the Saturday game in Camas!)
