MOSES LAKE — The Burlington-Edison Tigers had no answer for Jordan
Durbin’s arm, or his legs.
For the second year in a row, the Prosser quarterback’s strong game helped end a
strong Tiger season on a loss, this time by a 41-28 count Saturday in the Class 2A state
semifinals.
Burlington-Edison will have to settle for an 11-2 season and watch next weeks as the two
teams that beat the Tigers, Prosser and Lynden, battle for the Class 2A state
championship. Lynden beat Archbishop Murphy 21-13 in the other semifinal.
A year ago, Durbin threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns during the Mustangs’ 42-7
win in the state championship game.
This time, Durbin threw for fewer yards (211), but had three touchdown passes and an
additional 102 yards on the ground, including a long score.
As strong as Durbin and the Prosser passing game were, three of the quarterback’s
runs may have proved the most costly. The last two were especially damaging. He ran 15
yards on fourth down in the closing seconds of the first half to set up a touchdown that
made the score 14-0 at the half.
Then, after the Tigers had scored a touchdown to cut the gap to 21-7 in the third quarter,
Durbin busted up the middle on a quarterback draw and went 84 yards for a touchdown. The
Tigers never got closer than 14 again until the game’s final seconds.
Durbin told the Tri-City Herald the quarterback draw, “was in the back, collecting
dust. We were saving it for the playoffs.”
The Mustangs managed much of the game without record-setting receiver Kirby Moore, who
holds the nation’s all-time leader in receptions. Moore left with an injury after a
hit, finishing with three receptions for 71 yards, though he did have a touchdown.
Burlington-Edison’s Dylan Boe threw two touchdown passes — a 2-yarder to Cole
Sager and a 6-yarder to Troy O’Neill, but the turning point of the game was his only
interception.
With the score 7-0 Prosser and the Tigers driving late in the first half at the Prosser
33, Dominic Garza intercepted a Boe pass and returned it 45 yards with 25.7 seconds left
on the clock. Durbin’s 15-yard run set up a 10-yard touchdown to Matt Young on the
final play of the half.
Mikey Sanchez scored on an 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Stetson Shearer had
a 2-yard touchdown run for the Tigers during a 21-point fourth quarter.
Shearer and Sager, both playing their final games for the Tigers, finished with 72 and 67
yards rushing, respectively.
Sanchez had a solid all-aorund game, with 34 rushing yards and 57 receiving in addition to
the kickoff return.
Kevin Anthony of the Tri-City Herald contributed to this report.
Prosser Mustang recap |
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. Prosser rolls even without MooreNovember 30, 2008 by Scott Sandsberry MOSES LAKE — First, Kirby Moore got knocked into next week. Then his Prosser teammates made sure the Mustangs got there. Moore, the record-setting receiver whose next football stop will be at Boise State as a go-to receiver for older brother Kellen, doesn’t remember much about what happened in the first half of Prosser’s 41-28 semifinal drubbing of Burlington-Edison. While he was being tackled at the end of his game-opening kickoff return, Moore’s helmeted head slammed onto the artificial turf. Although he popped up, jogged to the huddle and caught two passes on that opening drive — including a 17-yard touchdown grab — he wasn’t quite himself. Since Moore also plays on the first-team defense, it wasn’t until late in the first quarter before his coaches realized he was a little woozy and pulled him from the lineup. “I don’t remember much about it,” Moore said after the game. “I just had a real headache, and I got a little dizzy. I played through it on that first drive, but after that I was pretty out of it.” The Mustangs, though — even without 1,000-yard rusher Dylan Bolt and Prosser’s only lineman with any real size (6-foot-6, 275-pound Kody Hartley), both out most of the second half with injuries — were not out of it. Without Moore, who has caught more touchdown passes (92, including a state-record 31 this season) than any high school player in history, quarterback Jordan Durbin simply had to find other targets. “Someone had to step up — and we all did,” said Matt Young, who caught two of Durbin’s three touchdown passes. No one stepped up more than senior wideout Anthony Flores, who overcame a rough start to haul in nine Durbin passes worth 92 yards. “We kind of have that bond together,” Durbin said of Flores. “If Kirby goes down, he knows he’s the guy.” “He made some clutch plays,” Young said of Flores. “Some of those catches he made, I don’t even know how he made them.” The most remarkable pass-and-catch of the game, though, had to be Durbin’s 10-yard missile to Young on the last play of the first half. With the Mustangs nursing a tenuous 7-0 lead and only three seconds remaining on the clock, Prosser called a play in which one of the two receivers on the left side runs a post and the other runs a fade to the corner. When the safety cheated over to cover the post route, that left Young open on the fade — but only for a split-second. “I didn’t think I could get it in there,” Durbin said. “The window closed pretty fast.” But he whistled the ball to Young, who pulled it in as easy as a Tuesday afternoon practice pass for the touchdown and a 14-0 halftime lead. “Matt Young is a very good player, and a lot of people are going to notice that,” Kirby Moore said after the game. “He can really play.” So, too, can Moore — and he should be back in the Mustangs’ lineup again when they face Lynden in Saturday’s 1 p.m. championship game at the Tacoma Dome. “He could have played the second half,” Mustangs coach Tom Moore said. “But we felt like we didn’t need him.”
Durbin uses legs to lead Mustangs to finalsNovember 30, 2008 by Scott Spruill MOSES LAKE — With 60 touchdown passes last year and another 60 this season, Jordan Durbin should have no surprises left. It’s all been done, and it’s all been caught on film. Except what he did on Saturday.
Prosser players celebrate a touchdown against Burlington-Edison in the state class 2A semifinal playoff in Moses Lake, Wash Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. (Kris Holland/Yakima Herald-Republic) With his star receiver sidelined and his top running back hobbled, Prosser’s senior quarterback unleashed a rarely seen dimension — his legs — in a 41-28 victory over Burlington-Edison that sends the Mustangs into next week’s Class 2A championship in the Tacoma Dome. In a semifinal game otherwise dominated by Prosser, Durbin squashed the one brief swell of momentum the Tigers had with an 84-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Not a broken-play scramble, a designed run called to do exactly what it did — break Burlington’s back. “I haven’t run the ball that much this year because stuff like that we set aside for the playoffs,” said Durbin, who for the first time in his career led a game in rushing with 102 yards. “I got my name called a couple times today and I was happy to hear that.” Durbin’s first running call seemed big enough — a 14-yard scamper on fourth-and-3 that led directly to a touchdown with no time left in the first half. After the run, Durbin connected with Matt Young on a 10-yard scoring pass to take a 14-0 lead into the break. Prosser quickly took a 21-0 lead on its first possession of the third quarter, and that’s when B-E made its bid to get back in the game. After drawing within 21-7, the Tigers had Prosser pinned deep and facing third-and-10. Momentum was beginning the swing at Lions Field. And then Durbin got the call again. “The snap was a little high, which was great because I kind of delayed it,” he said. “I broke to the right, got in a lane and saw a bunch of green grass in front of me. I was a little shocked and just kept thinking, ‘Don’t get caught.’” He did — 84 yards later by his celebrating teammates in the end zone. “College guys always ask, ‘Can he run?’ Yeah, he can run,” affirmed Prosser coach Tom Moore with a smile. “We don’t use that earlier in the season because we want him healthy. He broke one against Lynden (also in a semifinal) last year. He can definitely run.” Not only did the breakaway dash deflate Burlington’s notion of a comeback, but it kept Prosser’s offense humming despite being without its two biggest weapons. Two-way standout Kirby Moore caught the first of Durbin’s three touchdown passes in the first quarter but took the rest of the afternoon off to protect a hard hit to the head, and running back Dylan Bolt exited in the third quarter with an ankle injury shortly after scoring his 12th touchdown of the season. The Mustangs still rolled up 445 yards and got a rugged effort from their defense, which held B-E to a single score through three quarters. “A lot of guys stepped up when we needed it,” said senior linebacker Sep Boyle, who was in on 11 tackles. “When we had guys get hurt, the coaches said, ‘It’s on you guys.’ We took care of our business.” Kyle Schuetze, another senior linebacker, was in on 12 tackles, and sophomore Dominic Garza intercepted a pass late in the second quarter when B-E was threatening. The Tigers (11-2), who fell to Prosser 42-7 in last year’s title game, did grind out 172 yards on the ground in an attempt to outslug Prosser. But only three of 45 runs went for 10 yards or more. “I love a game like this. Hit ‘em hard and play ‘em tough,” Boyle said. “We did a great job reading their guards and center and we didn’t go for the tricks.” Prosser’s postseason rematch theme continues next week with Lynden upsetting Archbishop Murphy 21-13 in Saturday’s other semifinal. The Mustangs (13-0), who ousted Lynden 47-30 in last year’s semifinals, will meet the Lions (11-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the program’s eighth championship appearance since 1991.
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Prosser to play for state titleBy Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writerMOSES LAKE -- Perish the notion that the Prosser football team is a high-flying front-runner that simply air-mails in 55-point blowouts. Saturday evening's 41-28 dismantling of Burlington-Edison at Lions Field demonstrated the top-ranked and unbeaten Mustangs have more than enough guts and grit to repeat as 2A state champions. Jordan Durbin threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns and broke off an 84-yard scoring run late in the third quarter to put the dagger in the Tigers' hopes of avenging last year's 42-7 loss to Prosser in the state title game. The Mustangs (13-0) advance to next Saturday's championship game (1 p.m., Tacoma Dome) against Lynden (11-2), a 21-13 winner over Archbishop Murphy. The Lions had handed Burlington-Edison (11-2) its only previous loss before Saturday. Prosser played most of the game without Boise State-bound receiver Kirby Moore, who was popped late in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the game. His father and coach, Tom Moore, said he could have played in the second half but "we felt we didn't need him. He'll be all right." Additionally, 1,000-yard back Dylan Bolt spent most of the second half icing a sprained ankle after scoring on a 13-yard burst to give the Mustangs a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter. Having two of its biggest play-makers on the sideline didn't make it easy for Durbin and Co. "You still have to move the ball and put points on the board," said Durbin, playing for the first time without at least one Division I receiver running routes for him. Instead, Anthony Flores became the go-to guy, hauling in nine balls for 92 yards. And Miguel Godinez muscled up some tough yards on the ground, with his 2-yard TD plunge pushing the lead to 34 points in the fourth quarter. And Durbin, perhaps flashing some D-I talent of his own, hurt the Tigers with his legs almost as much as with his arm. He finished with 102 of Prosser's 234 yards rushing. "You're expected just to step up," said defensive stalwart Kyle Schuetze. "That's how it is at Prosser." Three times the Mustangs ran a QB draw, taking advantage of a hitch in the B-E defense they noticed last year. The first converted a third-and-10 in the first quarter, and the second went for 15 yards on fourth-and-4 in the final 10 seconds to set up a key score that stole all momentum from the B-E. The Tigers were driving late the second quarter and, trailing 7-0, figured to go into the locker room no worse than down a score to one of the state's most powerful offenses. Instead, Dylan Boe's second-down pass from the Prosser 33 was picked off by sophomore corner Dominic Garza, whose 45-yard return gave the Mustangs a chance to tack on a score with 25.7 seconds on the clock. A timeout following Durbin's fourth-down run left 3.8 seconds in the half, and the QB then found Matt Young in the back of the end zone for a 14-0 lead. "That got our confidence up, definitely," Flores said, "and that's when we started playing." Durbin's final run came after B-E's first score with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Mustangs were stuffed on the first two plays of the ensuing possession and faced third-and-10 at their own 16. A stop and the Tigers likely would get the ball near midfield with a chance to drive and pull within a touchdown. Instead, Durbin dropped back, hesitated a beat, then took off up the middle. He was forced by traffic over the right tackle before breaking clear and outrunning two defenders who looked to have an angle on him. The QB draw, Durbin said, is in the playbook, but "it was in the back, collecting dust. We were saving it for the playoffs." Burlington-Edison 0 0 7 21 -- 28 Prosser 7 7 13 14 -- 41 SCORING PLAYS P -- Kirby Moore 17 pass from Jordan Durbin (Miguel Munoz kick) P -- Matt Young 10 pass from Durbin (Munoz kick) P -- Dylan Bolt 13 run (Munoz kick) BE -- Cole Sager 2 pass from Dylan Boe (Andrew Furney kick) P -- Durbin 84 run (kick failed) P -- Miguel Godinez 2 run (Munoz kick) BE -- Stetson Shearer 2 run (Furney kick) P -- Young 27 pass from Durbin (Munoz kick) BE -- Mikey Sanchez 83 kickoff return (Furney kick) BE -- Troy O'Neill 6 pass from Boe (Furney kick) STATISTICS RUSHING--BE, Sager 16-67, Shearer 13-72, Boe 6-8, Sanchez 5-34, team 1-(minus 11), Jeff Adams 5-8. P, Bolt 13-77, Durbin 6-102, Godinez 12-48, Moore 1-5, Dominic Garza 1-2, team 1-0. PASSING--BE, Boe 9-16-1-85, Shearer 1-1-0-2, team 0-1-0-0. P, Durbin 16-25-0-211. RECEIVING--BE, Sanchez 4-57, O'Neill 3-22, Travis Denham 1-4, Boe 1-2, Sager 1-2. P, Moore 3-71, Anthony Flores 9-92, Young 2-37, Garza 2-11. FIRST DOWNS--BE 20, P 23. FUMBLES-LOST--BE 2-0, P 1-1. PENALTIES-YARDS--BE 6-40, P 5-41.
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