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Prosser Mustang recap |
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FOUR! PROSSER WINS FOURTH
TITLE IN A ROUT
ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic
TACOMA One team desperately tried to play keep-away, the other countered by playing take-away. Those opposing efforts led to a rout in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game, and it was Prosser that did the taking. All of it.
Dominating in all phases of the game, especially with a defense that
forced four turnovers in the first half, the Mustangs crowned their
unbeaten season which included a school-record "It was like a dream game," said senior linebacker Keegan Pilot, a three-year starter who played in Prosser's 3A championship loss to Ferndale two years ago. "Getting back here and winning it all has been in my mind for two years. It's been like that for all the seniors. And when we got the chance we were ready." The Mustangs graduated 13 all-conference players off last year's team that was stymied in the semifinals, but with a few key returners and a resolute mindset that carried over the entire offseason this team steamrolled through the playoffs and was never seriously challenged. "This wasn't an accident. The kids worked hard," said coach Tom Moore after an ice-chest dousing. "This game wasn't won today, it was won in June, July and August. It's a wonderful feeling seeing their hard work pay off like this." Burlington-Edison, which came in with a 12-game winning streak, showed its best form early with a 52-yard all-run advance to open the game followed by a 60-yard drive spanning the first and second quarters. But both of those possessions were stopped by defensive back Cade Wandling, who recovered a fumble on his 20 and then intercepted a pass with his back to the goal line.
Those take-aways basically ended Burlington-Edison's day. Of the Tigers' 195 total yards, 112 came on those two drives. "That first drive they gained some yards on us, but that woke us up and reminded us of what we did all the work for," offered senior Cody Bruns. "We started digging a little deeper. The guys up front started driving off the ball and the rest of us started flying all over. Defensively, it was amazing." Aaron Galvan and Kirby Moore also recovered fumbles in the first half, and in the second half the Tigers managed only one first down on its first four possessions. B-E's lone score came with 37 seconds left in the game. Defensive end Kellen Crawford spearheaded the defensive crackdown with six solo tackles and two sacks. Pilot collected five solo tackles, five assists and one of Prosser's four sacks. "It's so great because the offense gets so much of the attention at Prosser," Pilot said. "This year we knew our defense was going to win us games. Today we had guys making great plays all over the field." Make no mistake Prosser's offense earned its half of the championship. Despite a gimpy ankle that forced him to be carried off the field at halftime, junior quarterback Jordan Durbin threw for 255 yards and two second-half touchdowns, including a 15-yarder to Moore that gave the junior receiver the state's single-season scoring record with 29 touchdowns. But this was no pitch-and-catch finesse game. Seniors Steve Natho and Drake Washington pounded B-E with a 203-yard running game that produced the first four touchdowns of the game. Natho's 27-yard end-around scamper on Prosser's first possession of the third quarter his third score of the game pushed the margin to 28-0. "That was our big responsibility of the season, giving us that running attack," said Washington, who capped the Mustangs' game-opening drive with a 2-yard score. "Everyone knows we have great receivers and a great quarterback. If you go after them, which is hard to do, then me and Steve have to get it done. I thought this was going to be quite a battle, but our linemen were awesome and we just played a great game everybody." Bruns, who briefly played quarterback when Durbin's ankle was being tended to near the end of the second quarter, hauled in six passes for 97 yards. That left his career marks at 310 receptions and 5,177 yards, both of which rank second all-time in the nation. How deep was Prosser's offense? Consider that Bruns didn't score a touchdown in the postseason as the Mustangs averaged 472 yards and scored 24 touchdowns against Clarkston, Bellingham, Lynden and Burlington-Edison. "We have so many guys who can make plays," Bruns said. "That's what makes us so tough to defend we've got so many ways we can go." Prosser's championship is the fourth for Moore's program since 1992, a heritage the Mustangs proudly recognized as players put up an arm with four raised fingers during the on-field team photo. "It was our turn," Pilot added. "Sometimes it feels like a lot to live up to, being a successful program like this. But it also gives you the confidence you can do it. We've believed this was ours to win." And the Mustangs took it.
Prosser 6 15 7 14 42 Burlington-Edison 0 0 0 7 7 Pro Drake Washington 2 run (kick failed) Pro Steve Natho 1 run (Natho run) Pro Natho 3 run (Kyle Schuetze kick) Pro Natho 27 run (Schuetze kick) Pro Cade Wandling 22 pass from Jordan Durbin (Schuetze kick) Pro Kirby Moore 15 pass from Durbin (Schuetze kick) BE Kolby Arendse 8 run (Andrew Furney kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Pro, Natho 16-93, Washington 18-89, Durbin 5-31, Cody Bruns 2-4, Dominic Garza 1-1, Mike Johnson 1-minus 2, Tanner McCombs 1-minus 13. BE, Stetson Shearer 12-92, Jeff Adams 9-35, Cole Sager 4-19, Steven Berghuis 1-0, Arendse 13-minus 22. PASSING Pro, Durbin 15-23-0-255, Bruns 0-1-0-0. BE, Arendse 6-14-1-71, Jake Anderson 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING Pro, Bruns 6-97, Wandling 4-76, Moore 2-33, Keegan Pilot 1-25, Kellen Crawford 1-20, Cody Meeske 1-4. BE, Shearer 3-24, Anderson 1-30, Troy O'Neill 1-15, Sean Stransky 1-2. |
Mustangs gallop to title, 42-7This story was published Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 REN FERRN HERALD STAFF WRITER TACOMA -- For years, the Prosser football team has been known for its lightning strikes in the passing game. Saturday morning at the Tacoma Dome, the Mustangs' running game thundered past an overwhelmed Burlington-Edison defense, and Prosser won the 2A state championship 42-7. It's the Mustangs' fourth state title all-time and first since winning the 1999 3A crown. "Satisfying. That's the best word to describe it," said senior Kellen Crawford, who had eight tackles, three for loss, including two sacks. "For all the seniors, this is what we've played for our whole careers," added running back Steve Natho, who ran for a 2A finals-record three touchdowns. "We all played Grid Kids together, so we've been working for this since the fourth grade." The Mustangs (14-0) had struggled the past two years at the Dome, losing to Ferndale in the '05 3A final and to Centralia in the '06 2A semifinals. This year, though, they had a running game to complement their potent passing attack. "We've been beat in the past when teams defended the pass," said Prosser coach Tom Moore. "Against Centralia, we couldn't run the ball against five guys. Ferndale, the same thing." But last week, they ran for 222 yards in a semifinal win over Lynden here. In Saturday's game, Natho ran for a game-high 93 yards on 16 carries, and Drake Washington added 89 yards and a TD on 18 carries. "They kept dropping five guys back, and that meant they were defending the run with six guys," Moore said. "I felt we could run the ball against that, so we just kept pounding the rock." The defense, meanwhile, gave up yards in the first half but made big plays when it had to against B-E's running attack. For the half, B-E had four turnovers -- two in the red zone -- to offset 136 yards of total offense. "They were a tricky team to defend," Crawford said. "So we stuck to the basics and stopped them when we needed to." After Prosser scored on its opening drive on a 2-yard Washington run, the Tigers (12-2) threatened to answer on the ensuing drive, marching from their 25 to the Prosser 38. But Cody Bruns jarred the ball loose at the end of an 18-yard run by Jeff Adams, and Cade Wandling recovered for the Mustangs at the 20. On B-E's next drive, Wandling intercepted an underthrown ball on the goal line, and Prosser marched 99 yards in 13 plays -- 10 of which were runs, capped by Natho's 1-yard dive over the pile to put the Mustangs ahead 14-0 with 4:18 left before halftime. "The turnovers played a big part," Natho said. "They changed the momentum." Prosser effectively put the game away in the next 3 minutes. On third-and-1, Mustangs linebacker Keegan Pilot blitzed and forced a bad pitch by quarterback Kolby Arendse that Aaron Galvan recovered at the B-E 29. Three plays later, Natho rambled over right tackle for a 21-0 lead. "We were saving our blitzes for third-and-shorts," said Pilot, who led Prosser with 11 tackles, four for loss (including two sacks) and two forced fumbles. "Our defensive line was key. They kept their linemen off the linebackers and let us run free. We were able to create big plays when we needed them." The passing game did produce one highlight -- junior receiver Kirby Moore caught a 15-yard TD pass from Jordan Durbin with 8:18 to play, giving him a state-record 29 TD catches for the season. "Maybe when I'm older, it will mean more," Kirby said. "Right now, I'm not thinking about it at all." One thing he is thinking about is next season. The Mustangs graduate several skill players -- Bruns (six catches for 97 yards in his final game), Wandling, Washington and Natho key among them -- but have Durbin, Moore and the bulk of their offensive line coming back. "We're going to look at this, and hopefully it will motivate everyone to work this summer to get back here," Kirby said. Natho's third touchdown came on Prosser's opening drive of the second half, bouncing an off-tackle run outside and beating a pair of defenders to the pylon from 27 yards out. Durbin finished 15-of-23 for 255 yards and two touchdowns, including a 23-yarder to Wandling in the first minute of the fourth quarter. B-E averted the shutout with 37 seconds left on an 8-yard TD run by Arendse. 2A Football | Prosser runs away with titleSeattle Times staff reporter TACOMA The baseball saying about the basic strategic principle is much more colorful than the football clichι. Wee Willie Keeler, who played baseball a century ago, used to say, "Hit 'em where they ain't." The more stilted football equivalent is "take what the defense gives you." Prosser put those adages to work Saturday with a balanced offense to beat Burlington-Edison 42-7 to win the Class 2A state championship. "They dropped three safeties back," said Prosser coach Tom Moore. "They had six guys against the run. I went to college, if you count six guys, you run the ball. It's not real complicated." As Mustangs junior quarterback Jordan Durbin put it, "If they were going to drop [back] guys, we were going to run the ball." And run they did. Prosser rushed for 203 yards, with senior back Steve Natho getting 93 and setting a 2A title-game record with three rushing touchdowns. (The 2A record book begins in 1997). The Mustangs, known primarily as an air academy, also threw well. Durbin completed 15 of 23 passes for 255 yards and two TDs. The last one was to classmate Kirby Moore, a fellow junior and the coach's son, and with it Moore set a Washington season record for all classifications with 29 TD catches. Kirby's older brother, Kellen, owns five state passing records and is redshirting as a freshman at Boise State. Prosser took charge from the get-go as Burlington-Edison turned the ball over on each of its four first-half possessions and the Mustangs capitalized on two of them for TDs on their way to a 21-0 halftime lead. "For a team that doesn't turn the ball over much, that was uncharacteristic," said B-E coach Bruce Shearer. The second turnover was an interception at the 1-yard line by Prosser's Cade Wandling. The Mustangs turned around and went 99 yards and scored. They got out of trouble immediately with a 45-yard pass to Washington recruit Cody Bruns and finished the drive 11 plays later with a 1-yard plunge by Natho. Burlington-Edison was forced to punt on its first four drives of the second half. The Tigers' only TD came late in the fourth quarter. Burlington-Edison was held to 195 yards. Senior linebacker Kevin Pilot led the Prosser defense with 12 tackles, four for loss, including two sacks. He forced two fumbles. Bruns caught six passes for 97 yards and finished his high-school career with 310 catches for 5,177 yards and 72 TDs, all state records. The catches and yards rank second in the nation all-time in 11-man football. Bruns said Prosser had extra motivation after being upset in the semifinals last year by Centralia. "That loss kind of sparked things up," Bruns said. Prosser dropped from 3A, where it won three titles in the 1990s, to 2A last year. The Mustangs were nationally ranked last year and had been considered a near-lock to win the 2A title, but it didn't happen. Bruns said this year's team worked hard in summer workouts and camps with a championship in mind. Coach Moore declared, "This game was won all summer long."
P Drake Washington 2 run (kick failed) P Steve Natho 1 run (Natho run) P Natho 3 run (Kyle Schutze kick) P Natho 27 run (Schutze kick) P Cade Wandling 22 pass from Durbin (Schutze kick) P Kirby Moore 15 pass from Durbin (Schutze kick) B Kolby Arendse 8 run (Furney kick)
Rushing B-E, Jeff Adams 9-35, Stetson Shearer 12-92, Kolby Arendse 13-minus-22, Col Sager 4-19, S. Berghuis 1-0. Prosser, Drake Washington 18-89, Steve Natho 16-93, Jordan Durbin 5-31, Cody Bruns 2-4, Dominic Garza 1-1, Tanner McCombs 1-(minus-13), Mike Johnson 1-(minus-2). Passing B-E, Kolby Arendse, 6-14-1-71-0; Jake Anderson 0-1. Prosser, Jordan Durbin 15-23-0-255-2; Cody Bruns 0-1. Receiving B-E, Jake Anderson 1-30, Stetson Shearer 3-24, Troy O'Neill 1-15; Sean Stransky 1-2. Prosser, Cody Bruns 6-97, Kirby Moore 2-33-1, Kellen Crawford 1-20, Cade Wandling 4-76, Keegan Pilot 1-25, C. Meeske 1-4. |
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