`Cats sack Saints
Published 9:41 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
After a disappointing 0-2 start and lackluster offensive performances,
the Mount Si Wildcats varsity football team put on a show for the
home crowd Friday night, pounding the Interlake Saints 35-6.
The scoring started early in the game for the `Cats. On the second
play of the game, Austin Bachelder took the ball, headed to the left side, juked
a couple of Saints defenders and went all the way to the end zone for a
62-yard touchdown run. Brett Bergstrom pounded the extra point through
the uprights to make it a 7-0 game, 16 seconds into the first quarter.
Defensively the Wildcats were just as strong, with Brad Connor,
Jeff Stone, Hiram Tame and Bergstrom forcing the Saints to use their
running game. That put the runners in the direct path to Geoff Hise, Dylan
Seubert and the rest of the defensive line. The result was a few first downs but
nothing to write home about.
With eight minutes left in the first quarter, Mount Si once again
took over. The first gain was a big catch across the middle to Bergstrom
from Jon Odom. The tandem run of Bachelder and Mike Dollinter
moved the ball deep into Interlake territory. Bachelder then dove from three
yards out to record his second touchdown of the night. Bergstrom’s
point-after attempt made it 14-0 with 4:16 left in the first quarter.
Interlake answered with a score of its own on a quarterback option
from 40 yards out. With 2:11 left in the first quarter, the score was 14-6. On
the ensuing kick, Chad Mills took the ball at about the 15-yard line and
returned it to the 42, nearly breaking free toward the end zone.
The Wildcats would score one more time before the half was out.
And again, the call was for Bachelder who dove into the end zone with less
than a minute to go in the half. The extra point was muffed, leaving the
score 20-6 at halftime.
The Wildcats would add another touchdown midway through the
third quarter. Starting from their own 33 after a four-and-out Interlake drive,
a combination of passes to Eddie Horstman and runs by Bachelder
put the `Cats in Saints territory. A run by Dollinter then set up a pass to
Steve Botulinski, who was wide open at the 5. He then trotted into the end
zone untouched. With the extra-point kick good, the score was 27-6.
“It was my first touchdown in high school,” said Botulinski. “It was
so awesome, I was wide open. Coach was telling me all week it would be
like that. I just faded away from the inside linebacker and found a hole.”
The defense took it to the deflated Saints after the touchdown.
Bone-jarring hits on Interlake receivers at the corners made the Bellevue team
apprehensive. Even fake punts didn’t faze the determined `Cats. When
they went to the deep pass play, Tame and Logan Ratcliffe were there to pull
in the interception.
Defense would score the last touchdown of the game. Deep in
their own territory, the Saints went to a shotgun formation and tried desperately
to get some yardage. Waiting in the wings at the outside linebacker
spot was C.J. Stanford, who nabbed a pass across the middle and ran it into
the end zone. The ball slipped loose on the PAT, but it was picked up and
run in for the two-point conversion. The score, with 3:41 left in the game,
was 35-6.
Half of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter saw the No. 2
quarterback, Ratcliffe, and No. 3 quarterback, Byron Dill, receive a lot of
playing time. Odom, who took a shot in the ribs, sat out most of the second
half with a bruised or separated rib. His status for next week was still up in
the air as of press time.
The big news of the game was the three touchdowns scored
by Bachelder. “Those were the first three this year. I had one last year on
homecoming, but it wasn’t as big as these; these felt really good,” said
Bachelder. “I felt like I could see more. I had
a chance to play “A” back tonight, so I stepped it up and did my job
well. Thanks to the line, and thanks to Brad (Connor) for lead blocking.”
“A win is exactly what the doctor ordered,” said coach Charlie
Kinnune. “We’ve been frustrated and beating
on each other, so this is what the doctor ordered. We feel really good
about this. We always knew he (Austin) was a natural tailback more than a
fullback, but we didn’t expect Brad Connor to come on at fullback like he did.”
“Mike Dollinter kind of got beat up the last two weeks and sat out
some of the offensive practices this week. Bachelder got more of the reps, so
we have a tandem thing going. I think it’s going to allow Mike to play more
defense. It’s going to allow us to keep up a lot of pressure,”
continued Kinnune.
But the line and quarterback positions also added to the huge win.
“The offensive line did well, and we have three good quarterbacks,”
said Kinnune. “Byron Dill is third on the depth chart right now, but last
year, before he broke his hand, we expected him to step in and challenge for
No. 1.
“Logan has a lot of pressure on him starting at free safety. What
we often forget is that Logan is just a sophomore. He is still young.”
The Wildcats will travel to Liberty for a Thursday night game against
the Patriots. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
