‘Cats lose tail of Wolverines
Published 9:21 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
SNOQUALMIE – The Bellevue Wolverines overcame very nasty weather and field conditions and continued their undefeated season by easily trouncing the Mount Si Wildcats 46-7 before a good crowd at Mount Si High School last Friday.
Jay Johnson, who scored three touchdowns, led Bellevue’s offensive attack. Bellevue, the No. 2-ranked team in Washington state 3A high-school football, according to the Eastside Journal, improved its record to a KingCo Conference-leading 6-0. Mount Si fell to 3-3.
The only score in the first quarter came when Bellevue’s Brian Tapia ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Bellevue kicker Pat Mutzel missed his extra-point attempt, and the Wolverines had the early 6-0 lead.
They continued their attack in the second quarter, when Gavin Smith scored a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play to make it 12-0. Bellevue tried a two-point conversion, but like the first PAT, that failed. A 15-yard Mount Si penalty set up Bellevue’s third touchdown, the first from Johnson. The run, with 9:30 left in the second quarter, put Bellevue up 19-0, and the Wolverines seemed in control.
That changed nearly three minutes later when Mount Si quarterback Alex Smart threw a 47-yard touchdown reception to Tyler Austin. Austin had to reach back to grab the ball, which had been deflected by a Bellevue defender. Kicker Brett Bergstrom added the extra point, and the Wildcats were down 19-7.
The Wildcats later had another chance, but were stopped at the Bellevue 23-yard line after the Wolverine defense sacked Smart. This was, for the most part, it for the Wildcats offensively, as they couldn’t get much going in the second half. The Wolverines went into the half up 25-7, after Johnson scored another touchdown from 19 yards out. The extra point was blocked by Mount Si.
Bellevue continued the offensive charge in the second half, when Johnson’s 78-yard run in the third quarter put the team up 32-7. Smith scored another touchdown with 2:47 left in the third, and Nick Warren put an exclamation point on the game with a touchdown of his own in the fourth.
Ball control and ball handling were important factors in the game, since it was played in a driving rain and the field gradually turned muddy. There were a total of six turnovers, four of which were by Bellevue.
Mount Si lineman John Karlen suffered an injury with about three minutes left in the first half. Coach Charlie Kinnune told the Valley Record after the game that the injury appeared to be dislocated cartilage in his ribs. Karlen left the game, and was not seen in uniform for the second half, although Kinnune expects him to be all right, albeit sore.
Bellevue’s Johnson was brought down at the Mount Si 5-yard line as the game wound down and came up limping. He fell to the turf and was attended to by Bellevue medical staff. Fortunately, he went off under his own power.
Kinnune said that Bellevue’s performance showed why it is a good team, and indicated the next three weeks for the Wildcats are crucial, as Mount Si, with three wins to close out the season, could finish with a 6-3 record. The Wildcats’ next game is Friday at Interlake, an 0-6 team that Kinnune said can be beat.
