`Cats pull out defensive struggle

Published 9:40 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Mount Si varsity football team improved its record to three wins

and two losses after holding the Sammamish Totems to only

seven points and earning a 16-9 win last Friday.

From the start, the game was a defensive battle, with wind

gusts blowing dust from the cinder track onto the field, often clouding the

players.

After two short drives for each team, the Totems scored first on a

fluke play. The Totems were forced to punt after a lackluster performance and

the ball went out of bounds at the Mount Si 4-yard line. Byron Dill took to

the field to lead the `Cats. After a run up the middle by Brad Connor, Dill

had trouble grasping the exchange from his center and had to fall on the ball

in the end zone, giving the Totems a safety and two points.

The Wildcats were forced to kick to the Totems, so with 8:19 left in

the first quarter, the Totems led 2-0. On the ensuing kick, the Wildcats

special teams went to work and picked up a fumble by the Totems return man.

The turnover gave Mount Si great field position at their own 44.

Runs by Mike Dollinter, Austin Bachelder and Connor, with a pass

to Steve Botulinski, weren’t enough, as the `Cats had to punt again with

4:16 left in the first quarter. Mount Si’s defense continued to hound the

Totems, giving them the opportunity to drive the ball, but preventing any

attempts at the end zone. After moving the ball to their own 35, Sammamish had

to punt with 41 seconds left in the first quarter. From somewhere on the

ends, a big Wildcat hand reached up and blocked the kick, giving the

Wildcats excellent field position at the Totem 33-yard line.

From there, Dill orchestrated a drive on the shoulders of running

back Bachelder, and fullback Brad Connor, to get the ball to the 2-yard line.

From the 2, Connor powered his way into the end zone with 10:58 left in the

second quarter. The Mount Si coaches opted for a 2-point conversion after

the safety by Sammamish. Dill took the snap, looked for a receiver,

then scrambled to the end zone for two points. Mount Si led 8-2 with

10:49 left in the second quarter.

The Totems would answer with an impressive drive of their own.

Starting from their 26-yard line, a combination of runs and short passes

moved them down to the 1-yard line. Exceptional stops by Paul Bartholomew

and Dylan Seubert stalled the drive. On fourth and 1, with 4:11 left in the

second, the Totems had one more chance to hit the end zone, but it wasn’t to

be. The `Cat defense stuffed the play for a loss, giving the Wildcats the ball

on downs and thwarting one of many tries to score from the red zone.

The Totems would move deep into Wildcat territory one more time

before the half was over. On the Wildcat 10-yard line, with 19 seconds left in

the half, the Totems were poised to score. But defensive efforts by Geoff

Hise, Brad Davis, Connor and Botulinski, along with Bartholomew and

Seubert, put the drive in reverse, forcing another turnover on downs with 14

seconds left in the half. Heading to the locker room, the Wildcats led, 8-2.

The second half would start much the same way as the first half

ended. Starting from their own 33-yard line, the Totems put together a string

of rushes and passes to move into Wildcat territory. The red zone would

again plague Sammamish as on third and inches, suffering a bad snap and a

subsequent fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats, another scoring

opportunity was thwarted. With 4:53 left in the third quarter the Wildcats

would start another drive from their own 14-yard line.

Dollinter would take handoffs from Dill, moving the ball to the

Wildcat 35. Then, on third and 2, Bachelder got the call and busted one all the way

up the middle to the end zone for the score. Dollinter rushed in for the

2-point conversion to give the Wildcats a 16-2 lead with 2:56 left in the third.

The Totems would have two more opportunities from deep in Mount

Si territory as the third quarter wound down and the fourth quarter

started. A fake punt from the Sammamish 47 moved the ball to the Wildcat

13-yard line. But from there, the Wildcat defense once again dug in their

heels, holding the Totems on successive runs and giving the ball to the offense

on downs with 11:10 left in the game.

The Wildcats next drive also sputtered and on fourth and 13,

C.J. Stanford’s deep snap to punter Tim Holen sailed over Holen’s head

and was recovered by Mount Si at their own 5-yard line. The rare error by

the Wildcats special teams gave the Totems great field position. But

once again, the defense rose to the occasion and stuffed the scoring attempts by

the Totems with the final play a flea-flicker type pass to the

Sammamish quarterback in the end zone. A key hit by Hise at the time of the

reception pasted the Totems’ quarterback to the ground and prevented the catch.

The Totems would score their only touchdown late in the fourth

quarter. From the 1-yard line they ran it in and with the extra point made it 16-9,

only one touchdown away from a tie.

The Totems then tried an onside kick to regain the ball, but it

failed. Three timeout calls late in the game did give them the ball back one

more time, but the drive stalled and the clock ticked down. With 1:35 left in

the game, Mount Si took over on downs and let the clock run out on

successive plays. The win put the Wildcats at three wins and two losses, while

the Totems went away with two wins and three losses.

Defensively the Wildcats dominated the game and defensive

coordinator Wayne Lewis was elated with the teams’ performance.

“Coach Kinnune came out with some shirts a couple of days ago

(that say) `heart of a champion,’ and that’s what those kids are all about,”

said Lewis. “When the chips were down, they stepped up and played well.

They had to go out there time and time again; I am so proud of those guys.”

Coach Charlie Kinnune also savored the win after the game.

“We have practiced against fake punts, but not that one. It’s no wonder that

they played for a championship,” said Kinnune of the play that gave the

Totems their biggest drive.

“Our kids played extremely tough, we didn’t turn the ball over

offensively, and they did at crucial times.

“We rose to the occasion, wearing shirts that say `heart of a

champion,’ and we played with the heart of a champion tonight. Coach Lewis

had that defense going; we bent but we didn’t break, and that’s what we

had to do.”

The Wildcats play Bellevue at Bellevue this week. The

Wolverines are coming off a loss to league leading Skyline and have three wins

and one loss, just ahead of the Wildcats in the standings.