Rainier Beach stays in Metro championship hunt after holding off Garfield, 21-15

SEATTLE - The scoreboard clock read '0.0', but Rainier Beach still needed to make one more play.

And when Garfield EJ Caminong's pass from the Vikings' 29 on an untimed down fell incomplete - Rainier Beach could finally exhale.

The Vikings closed out a 21-15 victory Saturday over the 10th-ranked Bulldogs at downtown Memorial Stadium.

And Rainier Beach (6-1 overall, 5-1 Metro) is still alive in the Metro League title chase, tied with one-loss O'Dea as both squads continue to chase Eastside Catholic.

But the Vikings still have an upcoming game against the Crusaders next Friday in Sammamish, and can tie for the Metro lead with a victory.

And if they play like they did Saturday, anything is possible.

“We never had a doubt we’d make a play,” Rainier Beach running back and defensive end Scottre Humphrey said. “Even after they got that big catch, on the defensive line - we knew.”

The catch came courtesy of Jaden Collins for the Bulldogs, who faced a second-and-15 from their own 37 with the clock ticking under a minute to go. Caminong dropped back and found Collins streaking open down the right hash and let the ball go. Collins caught it and dragged people to the Rainier Beach 4-yard line with 36 seconds to go.

On the ensuing play, the Vikings threw Garfield for a 10-yard loss. The Bulldogs (5-2, 4-2) also were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, which pushed the ball back to the 29, setting up the final two plays.

“My heart was racing,” Rainier Beach coach Corey Sampson said. “They’re dangerous. They made a big play, we had a blown coverage. They got to the 4-yard line then tried to run a sweeper jet and lost those yards and got that 15 yard penalty.”

The defensive stand ensured that all the offensive work done earlier in the game was preserved. Specifically, the huge performance the Vikings got from Humphrey, who carried the ball 29 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

Humphrey now has rushed for 1,314 yards already this season, with three more games assured.

“Every game we play, we establish the run,” Humphrey said. “Everybody knows we’re going to do it, and we still dominate every team.”

The Rainier Beach running game did run clock at times. But not always.

That’s because on two occasions, Humphrey broke tackles near the line of scrimmage, got into the open field and race more than 50 yards for touchdowns. His first, a 54-yard burst, extended the Rainier Beach lead to 14-0 on the Vikings first play after a Garfield three-and-out with 10:37 remaining in the first half.

Garfield did get on the scoreboard with 1:25 to go in the second quarter when Jimmy Miller capped a short, 37-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge. Leading 14-7 at the half, Rainier Beach got the ball to start the third quarter.

Three plays later, all runs from Humphrey that covered 80 total yards, the senior broke free for a 52-yard scoring play just 47 seconds into the second half. That 21-7 advantage lasted into the fourth quarter.

But Garfield wasn’t done.

A huge 84-yard punt return early in the fourth set the Bulldogs up with a first-and-goal at the Beach 9. Two plays later, Caminong got in from 1 yard out and Garfield was within eight, 21-13. Four plays later, Garfield blocked a Rainier Beach punt out of the end zone for a safety and the margin all of a sudden was six, 21-15, with 8:58 to play.

With the ball back immediately thanks to the safety, Garfield drove again. But on a fourth-and-13 from the Vikings 38, Ameer Johnson’s reception came up less than a foot short. Rainier Beach managed to run off all but the last 1:15 on the clock before turning it back, and setting up the ending.