Prosser Mustang recap
2007 - Prosser vs. Bellingham

Yakima Herald

Prep football — Rain doesn't hamper Prosser
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

EVERETT — On a rainy and breezy afternoon with a slick playing surface, Prosser's high-powered offense kept things grounded for the most part Saturday afternoon.

And did just fine.

Senior running back Steve Natho ran for three first-half touchdowns and the top-ranked Mustangs cruised to a 35-6 victory over Bellingham in a Class 2A state quarterfinal at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Advancing to the semifinals for the third straight year and eighth time in school history, Prosser (12-0) will play defending state champion Lynden (10-2) in the Tacoma Dome next Friday or Saturday.

Lynden defeated Fife 28-19 in Tacoma on Saturday. Burlington-Edison and surprising Othello, which whipped second-ranked Tumwater 42-18, will meet in the other semifinal.

Natho scored on runs of 22, 38 and 2 yards to help Prosser charge out to a 21-0 lead at halftime. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior, who has scored five of his 13 touchdowns in two playoff games, finished with a game-high 114 yards on just eight carries.

Drake Washington picked up 101 yards on 19 carries as the Mustangs rolled up 253 yards on the ground.

In the second half, when drier conditions prevailed, junior quarterback Jordan Durbin opened up the passing game with touchdown strikes to Kellen Crawford and Kirby Moore. Moore's touchdown, his 26th receiving and 29th overall for the season, came on the first play of the fourth quarter and pushed Prosser's margin to 35-0.

Durbin, who has 55 touchdown passes, finished 14 of 25 for 258 yards.

Prosser's defense held Bellingham (7-5) without a first down until late in the second quarter, and the Red Raiders were able to complete only one of 14 passes.

Prosser did have trouble with penalties, getting flagged 12 times for 110 yards.

 

Prosser 7 14 7 7 — 35

Bellingham 0 0 0 6 — 6

Pro — Steve Natho 22 run (Ricardo Sanchez kick)

Pro — Natho 38 run (Beau Hazzard run)

Pro — Natho 2 run (kick blocked)

Pro — Kellen Crawford 41 pass from Jordan Durbin (Sanchez kick)

Pro — Kirby Moore 6 pass from Durbin (Sanchez kick)

Bell — Michael Gonzalez 63 run (run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Prosser, Steve Natho 8-114, Drake Washington 19-101, Jordan Durbin 4-12, Cody Bruns 1-11, Dominic Garza 4-6, Tanner McCombs 2-4, Marcos Morado 2-2, Mike Johnson 1-3, Eric Fassler 2-0. Bellingham, Taylor Perry 20-90, Michael Gonzalez 3-76, Jeremy Rick 13-31, Charlie Lincoln 1-4, Zack Halverson 5-minus-8.

PASSING — Prosser, Durbin 14-25-2-258, Fassler 1-1-0-12. Bellingham, Halverson 1-14-0-7, Perry 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Prosser: Cade Wandling 4-109, Bruns 5-55, Kirby Moore 4-53, Kellen Crawford 1-41, Anthony Dorsett 1-12. Bellingham, J.T. Fitzgerald 1-7

The Bellingham Herald

Nov, 18, 2007

CLASS 2A STATE QUARTERFINALS PROSSER 35, BELLINGHAM 6

PREP FOOTBALL STATE PLAYOFFS: Roller-coaster season over — again

LUCAS PATTEN

EVERETT — The Bellingham football team sure has some mixed memories from Everett Memorial Stadium during the past two weeks.

On Nov. 3, the Red Raiders suffered what they thought was a season-ending 28-6 loss to Archbishop Murphy. But Bellingham got second life, when the WIAA forced the Wildcats to forfeit the game and their spot in the Class 2A playoff bracket for using an ineligible player, allowing Bellingham into the playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Red Raiders got their first state playoff victory in 20 years when they beat Mark Morris 23-13 in the first round of the playoffs. But things came full circle Saturday, when top-ranked Prosser ended Bellingham’s season — for a second time — with a 35-6 win in Everett.

Though Bellingham saw its season come to a close again on Saturday, the Red Raiders’ locker room was much more subdued than the tearful scene from two weeks ago.

“I didn’t see anybody in there crying” Bellingham coach Doug Trainor said. “We knew this was all a bonus round for us.”

Trainor attributed some of Bellingham’s slow start Saturday to the emotional rollercoaster ride his team has been on the past few weeks.

“It was an emotional game for us (Tuesday),” Trainor said. “It was probably difficult to rerally. We definitely came out flat today.”

Bellingham’s offense had trouble moving the ball all day, and was unable to gain a first down in its first five possessions. The Red Raiders began to find some rhythm on their last drive of the first half, but they had already dug themselves a 21-0 hole.

For the Bellingham players the challenge of emotionally preparing for Saturday’s game was difficult.

“When we started back up again we were stoked,” senior quarterback Zack Halverson said. “I don’t think any of the seniors wanted the season to end. Then we beat Mark Morris and we knew we shouldn’t be there, but we were.”

Though the season is now officially over for Bellingham, the playoff run will certainly be remembered.

“It’s a definite boost for Bellingham,” Halverson said. “It sets that bar for all the other classes coming in. It just shows that we know what were capable of. We made it to the top eight in the state. That just sets the standard.”

Whether history will look back on this season as the start of a successful run for the school will depend on the lessons learned from experiencing playoff football for the first time in two decades.

Tri-City Herald

Nov, 18, 2007

Speedy Prosser too much for Bellingham

PREP FOOTBALL STATE PLAYOFFS: Red Raiders’ wild ride ends

Bellingham defenders are unable to stop Prosser’s Steve Natho from scoring a touchdown during Saturday’s Class 2A quarterfinal.

CRAIG PARRISH
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
 

EVERETT — The Bellingham High School football team had been living a dream of sorts for the past week.

On Saturday afternoon at Everett Memorial Stadium, Prosser provided a rude wakeup call.

Displaying a creative, efficient, multi-talented offense and a surprisingly physical defense, the Mustangs ended the Red Raiders’ season with a 35-6 win in a Class 2A state semifinal.

Prosser improved to 12-0 with the victory and will play Lynden in a state semifinal contest expected to be on Friday. Bellingham, which advanced to the quarterfinals with a first-round win Tuesday over Longview Mark Morris on the same field, had its season end at 7-5.

The impressive Mustangs came into the game having scored 70 or more points in

three games, and more than 50 three other times. And though they didn’t hang those kinds of numbers on the Red Raiders, Prosser still managed to roll up more than 500 yards of total offense and strike quickly when Bellingham got close.

“Hats off to Prosser; they’re a really, really good football team — easily the best team we’ve seen all year,” Bellingham coach Doug Trainor said. “They play a whole other speed.

“We got after it early and played well in the first half, but we couldn’t move the football. Their defense was even better than we expected.”

Bellingham’s Taylor Perry rushed for 90 yards on 20 carries and Michael Gonzales had a 63- yard scoring run, but the Red Raiders were forced to play from behind throughout the game. Quarterback Zack Halverson completed one pass in 14 attempts, and Bellingham didn’t get a first down until the 6:09 mark of the second quarter.

“Bellingham’s a great team, they run the ball really well, and I think we stopped their running game pretty effectively,” Prosser defensive end Kellen Crawford said.

“They’ve got some big guys up front, a defensive end who gives you all want, and their secondary is scary,” Trainor said. “It takes you away from even wanting to throw the football.”

Prosser had no such problems. Steve Natho ran for 114 yards on eight carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 22, 38 and 2 yards in the first half. Drake Washington added 101 yards on 19 carries.

Prosser coach Tom Moore said the Mustangs adjusted to Bellingham’s defensive look to find success on the ground.

“They came out in 2-high, so that means they were playing five guys against the run, and our offensive theory is that if you drop everybody, we’ll run it; if you bring everybody from the back, we’ll throw it,” Moore said. “We just kept running the ball, because numbers-wise, that looked like what we ought to do.”

The Mustangs were effective through the air as well. Quarterback Jordan Durbin was 14 of 25 for 258 yards and had two scoring passes — 41 yards to a Crawford in the third quarter and a perfectly executed 6-yard fade to Kirby Moore in the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, Trainor said Bellingham will benefit from having earned a taste of postseason play, the Red Raiders’ first trip to the playoffs since 1987.

“We knew this was all a bonus round for us, and we wanted to go out and play like we had nothing to lose,” said Trainor, who added that by facing quality teams, the Red Raiders have a clearer picture of what it will take to advance deeper into the playoffs.

“They’ve seen Archbishop Murphy now, they’ve seen Prosser now. So we can mark those off, we’ve know what they look like, and we’ve got to start looking like them,” Trainor said.