`Cats improve record with big win over Liberty Patriots

Published 9:41 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

The last time Mount Si played on the Liberty Patriot field was

against Lynden in the first round of the 1998 state playoffs. That game didn’t

go according to plan, with Lynden moving to the next round. But with

this appearance on the Liberty field came a 28-3 victory and a 2-2 mark for

the season to this point.

Despite the lopsided victory, the Patriots actually scored first after

picking off a Jon Odom pass. From the Mount Si 41-yard line, they moved

the ball down field. Liberty made it all the way to the 2-yard line before the

defensive front of Brad Davis, Brad Connor, Geoff Hise and

Steve Botulinski pushed them back to the 7 on three successive plays. The

defensive pressure prevented the Patriots from finding the end zone, but

they did find the uprights with the field goal. The score with 59 seconds

left in the first quarter put them on top 3-0.

The next Wildcat drive brought in Byron Dill at quarterback,

replacing Odom. Runs by Mike Dollinter and Connor and catches by

Eddie Horstman, Botulinski and Bergstrom put Mount Si at the Liberty 28.

But several penalties and two incomplete passes found them staring at a

fourth and 35, forcing a Tim Holen punt.

The defense stepped up to the challenge of holding the Patriots in

their own territory. Starting from their own 5-yard line, a penalty put them

back at the 3. Then Hise and Davis combined to stop the Liberty running

back at the line of scrimmage, followed by another Patriot penalty. The

song, “Two Steps Forward and One Step Back,” came to mind as the

Patriots were forced to punt, giving the Wildcats excellent field position at the

Liberty 40-yard line.

From there, Dill led a great drive. His initial pass was off the mark,

but he followed with a hand-off and run by Dollinter. The big man,

Botulinski, pulled in a screen pass and bulldogged his way to the 22 for a first

down. Dollinter got the call on the next play, getting to the 16, followed by an

incomplete pass to Horstman. Connor took it a few more yards on

sheer power but the Wildcats were still facing fourth and 2 on the Liberty

14. Despite the kicking ability of Bergstrom, the `Cat coaches

decided to go for it and the scrapper, Tyler Osborn, pulled in a pass at the

Patriot 2-yard line for the first down. From there, Dollinter pushed his way to

the end zone. The extra point by Bergstrom was good and, with

2:41 left in the half, the score was 7-3 in favor of Mount Si.

Liberty tried to get to the end zone but with time running out, the

Wildcat defense was too much. Davis capped the first half with a nice

sack of the Liberty quarterback.

The Wildcats came out swinging in the second half. Passes

to Bergstrom, Chad Mills and Botulinski, combined with runs by

Dollinter, pushed the Wildcats into Patriot territory. On third and 10, after two

incomplete passes, Horstman pulled in a tight spiral by Dill at the Patriot

30 for the first down. From there, Dollinter and Austin

Bachelder muscled it to the 5-yard line for another first down. After a short gain

by Connor on a run, Dill connected with Botulinski across the middle in the

end zone. A Bergstrom kick added the extra point, and with 5:16 left in the

third, Mount Si led 14-3.

Defensive pressure kept the Patriots on their heels for most of the

game. Sacks by Hise, and great tackles by Mills and Dylan Seubert, held the

Patriots to little gains. Their biggest gain came on a loose-ball foul by the

Wildcats, which turned a fourth and 14 into a first down. Early in the fourth

quarter, the Wildcats pushed toward the Patriot end zone one more time.

This time the bull, Connor, pushed his way into the end zone with 5:51 left in

the game. Bergstrom added another point after to make the score 21-3.

But the Wildcats weren’t done. On the first play of the next Patriot

drive, Logan Ratcliffe picked off a pass and rambled to the Patriot 28-yard

line. The Wildcats capitalized on the turnover, as Holen busted his way into

the end zone with 1:37 left in the game. The quick score deflated any hopes

the Patriots had of making it a close game. Mount Si went to two wins and

two losses on the season with the 28-3 victory.

“All of the line was getting through, the backers and line, and

everything went as planned”, said Connor after the game.

Helping to lead the defense during its impressive performance

was Hise, who said, “It was a good game; lots of pressure in the backfield.”

“It was an ugly win, but it was a win,” said coach Charlie

Kinnune. “We haven’t been a very good practice team, and with this win I hope

we come out and practice hard this week.”

The Wildcats take on Sammamish this Friday for their

homecoming game. Game time is 7:30 p.m.