Wildcats can’t finish against top-ranked Bellevue
October 2, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
So much potential was left on the field by the Mount Si football team Friday night.
Now, the Wildcats hope their season doesn’t end up the same way.
Mount Si gave Bellevue – the No. 1 team in Class 3A – the kind of tough, physical and close contest the Wildcats wanted. But missed opportunities early came back to cost Mount Si late, as the Wolverines held on for a 20-7 win in a key KingCo 3A/2A contest.
Bellevue quarterback Joe Joe Connor slips away from the Mount Si defense during the Wolverines’ 20-7 win Friday night. Photo by Ryan Piersol
The loss drops the Wildcats to just 1-3 on the season. Still, the remaining schedule has them confident they can get on a roll soon.
“We jammed it down their throat, we just have to be able to score,” Mount Si head coach Charlie Kinnune said. “Our issue was giving up the big play, which is an issue we’ve had all year long. So, we’re disappointed, but not discouraged.”
For a moment – one minute, 23 seconds to be exact – it appeared the Wildcats would take the game right to the wire.
Trailing 14-0, Mount Si took its first possession of the second half 85 yards for a touchdown, scored by Tyson Riley on a one-yard quarterback sneak. The drive lasted 14 plays and included nothing but runs. It pulled the Wildcats to within 14-7 with 1:58 left in the third quarter and seemed to indicate they were beginning to wear Bellevue down.
But the Wolverines came right back, aided by a kickoff return that set them up at the Mount Si 42. Bellevue scored a touchdown three plays later and, after the ensuing extra point was blocked, seized a 20-7 lead.
Mount Si’s remaining possessions were indicative of their offense the entire night. The Wildcats reached their own 46, before a sack put an end to the drive. Then, Mount Si marched to the Bellevue 21, before a fumble finished that drive. The Wildcats’ final possession ended with an interception.
Two other drives in the first half moved inside the Bellevue 25, yet ended without any points. A fumble and a turnover on downs were the culprits in those.
In all, Mount Si rumbled up 263 yards, most of them on the ground. Senior running back Sean Snead carried the load, gaining 130 yards on 25 carries. The Wildcats attempted only 10 passes.
Bellevue finished with 291 total yards. Standout Pete Nguyen had 101 yards rushing on 11 carries and scored each of the Wolverines’ first-half touchdowns.
After Mount Si’s opening drive picked up 56 yards, the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs at the Bellevue 22. The Wolverines responded with a 13-play drive that was finished by Nguyen’s one-yard touchdown dive.
The Wildcats tried to answer by moving into the Bellevue 20, but fumbled the ball away at the 16. Nguyen found the end zone again, this time from 24 yards out, to make it 14-0 with only 2:03 left in the first half.
After the game, Kinnune pointed out how difficult the Wildcats starting schedule has been. Aside from playing top-ranked Bellevue, his team also fell to defending 4A state quarterfinalist Eastlake and Class 4A’s fourth-ranked Issaquah.
“No one’s played as tough a schedule as we have. Bellevue hasn’t played the teams we have,” Kinnune said. “We played the No. 1 team in 3A and the No. 4 team in 4A. And both teams came off the field knowing we beat them up front.
“We’re ready to move on. We’re ready to flush this. We came out of this healthy and we’re ready to move on to next week.”
This week:
Mount Si hopes to get back on track this week and will do so against an Evergreen (Seattle) squad that has spent the last four weeks just hoping to score.
The Wolverines were shutout each of their first three games, before a 16-point outburst last week against Tyee earned them their first victory of the season.
Evergreen was blanked by Hazen 33-0, Mount Rainier 20-0 and Kennedy 34-0 to start things off.
The Wolverines, who play in 3A in the Seamount Conference, are coming off a season in which they finished 9-2 and lost by one point to Meadowdale in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 246.
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