Bellevue beats Red Wolves by a knockout
Published 10:09 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
BELLEVUE—Like a middleweight boxer in a heavyweight
bout, Cedarcrest went toe-to-toe with Bellevue Friday night before
being knocked out for the fourth consecutive time this season.
The Red Wolves exchanged blows with the oversized opponent,
then limped home bloodied but proud after dropping a 49-26 decision to
the first-place and undefeated Wolverines (4-0). Cedarcrest has now lost 13
consecutive KingCo 3A decisions dating back to last season.
Individual offensive efforts by team captains Michael Smith
and Casey Peterson went for naught as the Cedarcrest defense was unable to
find a way to slow Bellevue’s “Wing T” running attack.
Smith impressed the uppity Eastside crowd with 14 receptions
for 274 yards and four touchdowns. Many of his catches were
literally ripped out of the hands of the Wolverine defender. His big-play
potential kept the Bellevue first-team defense on the field almost the entire game.
“Mike is truly amazing,” said Cedarcrest coach Art Kuehn. “We
are never out of the game or too far from the end zone when he’s on the field.”
Peterson came off the bench to replace an injured Nick Rich and
completed 13 of 25 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Rich
recovered from a twisted knee to return for a few plays late in the contest. He
finished the game with four completions and 69 yards through the air. Running back
Jed Dern connected on his only pass attempt for a 36-yard scoring strike
to Smith.
The Wolverines had Cedarcrest on the ropes early, scoring one
touchdown on a 95-yard return on the opening kickoff and another on a
19-yard fumble recovery less than 80 seconds into the ballgame.
The Wolves made it interesting when Smith leapt over a defender
to grab a Rich pass down along the far sidelines for a 58-yard touchdown,
to make the score 14-6 after only six minutes of play.
Bellevue came right back when the Wolverine’s Cory Stosich
weaved through traffic to score the first of his three touchdowns on a 66-yard
scamper from scrimmage. Stosich piled up 334 yards rushing on 16 carries,
including TD runs of 66-, 65- and 58-yards.
The teams traded scores in the second quarter. The Wolves went into
the lockeroom disappointed when junior tight end Matt Geiger was
stopped three-yards short of the end zone as time expired in the first half.
A Cedarcrest score would have brought the visiting team to within 10
points at halftime.
“It would have been a totally different second half if we had been
able to score on that play,” said Kuehn.
“I told the team after the game how well they played and how proud I was
of how they stood up to Bellevue.”
Cedarcrest scored again in the third quarter on a seven-play drive
that culminated with a loop pass to Smith on a gutsy fourth-and-12 from
the Wolverine 15-yard line. The senior signal caller then drilled a pass to
junior Nate McLallin for the two-point conversion to make the score
35-20 with six minutes left in the quarter.
Cedarcrest continued to battle. The Wolves’ final tally came with less
than a minute gone in the fourth period, when Smith grabbed a short pass
out of the grasp of the Bellevue defensive back in the end zone.
Once again, turnovers played a key role in the outcome. Cedarcrest
failed to score from two Wolverine fumbles, while Bellevue turned all three
Red Wolf turnovers into touchdowns and 21 points. On the plus side,
the Cedarcrest defense did a valiant job keeping Bellevue fullback
Lane Johnson under wraps.
The Wolves tallied 326 yards through the air, but were unable
to compliment their passing game with a solid ground attack. Senior
Morgan Henley returned five kickoffs for 95 yards.
Cedarcrest returns to the Valley for homecoming festivities this
Friday when they play host to 2-2 Mercer Island. The Islanders shut out
Interlake last Friday for their second league victory of the year.
Kuehn said Mercer Island always presents a stiff defense, but does
not seem to have as many quality athletes on offense as in past years. The key
to this week’s game, according to the coach, will be the play of
the Cedarcrest offensive line and its ability to maintain a running game.
Last season the Wolves traveled to the island to open the KingCo
season by dropping a 20-8 decision to the Islanders.
