Kamiakin emerges from defensive stalemate with win, WIAA 4A football semifinal berth, 3 takeaways
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - A week ago, sixth-seeded Kamiakin and No. 14 seed Mount Si each scored more than 30 points in their respective victories in the first round of the Class 4A football playoffs.
The two teams met with in the WIAA quarterfinals Saturday, but this time offense was at a premium. Both teams managed just one touchdown.
The difference in the game was ultimately a safety by Kamiakin in the early moments of the first quarter in the Braves' 8-6 victory.
The Wildcats, who upset No. 3 Camas a week ago, rallied in the fourth quarter, but the Braves’ defense held strong to secure the win.
Kamiakin will face defending state champion Lake Stevens on Saturday in the 4A semifinals.
"They’re the defending state champs, you don’t need to say more," Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin said. "They’re a great football team and a great program. Coach (Tom) Tri over there is a phenomenal coach. We’ve got our hands full. But that’s exactly where we wanted to be. We wanted to be in the semis playing against a great football team. If we want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best and they’re obviously the best right now."
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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BOTH DEFENSES STRONG
If any storyline dominated Saturday’s game, it was the defensive effort of both teams. The Wildcats and Braves each managed just one offensive touchdown and each had their lowest point total of the season.
The difference was a safety in the first quarter and a defensive stand in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.
"Our defense is well-coached," Biglin said. "We’ve got a lot of great coaches there that spend a lot of time trying to scheme up how to stop and offense. I’ve got a lot of faith in those guys. We played a great football team today. Their defense is the best we’ve seen all year. Their front line is just unbelievable. To come up away with a victory here says a lot about our character.”
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MOUNT SI CANNOT OVERCOME KEY INJURIES
Making things harder on the Wildcats was the loss of two key players on back-to-back plays in the second quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Nate Donavan and senior running back CJ Rose were each forced to leave the game. Rose returned for a few plays in the fourth quarter, but it was senior running back Jesiah Willis who handled most of the workload the remainder of the game, and senior Casey Johnston who finished the game at quarterback.
Johnson and Willis each had their share of success, but it was clear the Wildcats were not at full strength.
“It’s tough on your operation,” Mount Si coach Steve Botulinski said. “But we’ve had (Johnston) come in and play (quarterback) earlier in the season, so we knew he could handle it and we knew what he could do. We hunkered into the run game the best we could and tried to fight back.”
Botulinski declined to comment on what the injuries to Donavan and Rose were.
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KAMIAKIN'S BIG PLAY
In a game dominated by defense, it was one big offensive play by the Braves that set up their only touchdown that may have been the play of the game.
On a third-and-7 from the Wildcats’ 45-yard line, junior quarterback Trent Woodhouse found fellow junior Robert Julima over the middle for a 39-yard gain to set up first-and-goal.
Three plays later, Woodhouse scored on a 6-yard quarterback keeper.
“We saw a tendency on the film that we thought we could expose them on,” Biglin said. “Sure enough, it worked to perfection. Trent through a pretty ball to Rob…proud of those guys for making a play when they had to.”
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