Mount Si gets ready to face Bellevue Oct. 12 in battle of top rated teams
October 3, 2012
By Jayson Jenks
By Calder Productions
Mount Si High School’s defensive line doing what it does best — stopping the ball. The Wildcats beat Sammamish High School, 63-0, Sept. 28. This is Mount Si’s third shutout this season.
Every Friday night or Saturday morning for the past few weeks, I’ve immediately jumped to the scores of two teams. One is Bellevue. The other is Mount Si.
My reason for doing so is simple: I want to see if either defense finally cracked and allowed a touchdown in the first three quarters of a game. That’s right, through five games this year Mount Si has yet to allow a touchdown in the first three quarters of a game. True, Bellevue did allow 24 points against Trinity from Euless, Texas, in Week 1, but Trinity is a Texas powerhouse, and since then Bellevue has allowed only one touchdown in four games.
Not coincidentally, Bellevue and Mount Si are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the 3A rankings. The schools might have the best defenses in all of 3A and perhaps in the entire state.
And those defenses will play on the same field when the teams meet Oct. 12 in one of the biggest games of the year.
Bellevue features playmakers all over the field. The Wolverines have Division-I linebackers in Sean Constantine and Myles Jack, who has produced the two biggest hits I’ve seen this season. They have Michael Carlson, who scored two defensive touchdowns in a game earlier this year. They have Darien Freeman, who controls the interior of the line. And they have Budda Baker, a threat on offense but a valuable piece of the puzzle at safety.
The Wolverines haven’t allowed a touchdown in three games.
Mount Si has posted three shutouts this season, including against then-ranked opponents Kennedy Catholic and Issaquah. The Wildcats have given up 14 points the entire season, and both scores came in the fourth quarter against Mount Si’s backup defense.
“Fast, fearless and physical,” said Interlake coach Jason Rimkus, whose group scored eight points against Mount Si. “Well-coached is the bottom line with those guys. Their secondary runs the show and the front seven do the heavy lifting.”
That’s also the way Mount Si coach Charlie Kinnune sees it. Kinnune knew what he had in the secondary. Defensive backs Hunter Malberg, Trent Riley, Jimbo Davis and Tyler Button returned this year as proven players.
Kinnune wasn’t as sure with his group up front. But through five games, the front seven have produced at a high level. Griffin McLain and Blake Herman have been forces at defensive ends while Hank Van Liew and Evan Johnson lead the linebackers.
Kinnune said, so far, this is the best unit he’s had in his 21 years at the school.
“It’s a 10-game schedule,” he reminded, “but, right now, through the first five games, I don’t recall us playing like this.”
And here’s the really fun part: There’s a good chance both teams could enter with those streaks intact on Oct. 12. Bellevue plays Interlake, which scored eight points in the fourth quarter against Mount Si. The Wildcats play Lake Washington, which didn’t score against Bellevue.
Jayson Jenks: 206-464-8277 or jjenks@seattletimes.com
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
