ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic
Prosser's Cade Wandling breaks up a pass intended for Burlington-Edison's Jake Anderson during the State 2A football championship game Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007 at the Tacoma Dome. The 5' 9" Wandling was called for pass interference on this play, but earlier intercepted a pass intended for the Tigers' 6' 6" end.

TACOMA — Having his chest nearly impaled by a helmet wasn't going to stop Prosser senior Cade Wandling. Even if he could scarcely breathe for several minutes while trainers poked at his ribs looking for possible breaks. "That Cade, he's a tough kid," said teammate Keegan Pilot. "He was hurting, but we knew he wasn't out. He'd have to break something. Something big."

Wandling did break something — Burlington-Edison's back. The 5-foot-9, 155-pound wide receiver and defensive back made two huge defensive plays early in the first half when Saturday's Class 2A state championship was still a fair fight. But between those plays he suffered a jolt that looked as if he would miss the rest of Prosser's 42-7 runaway victory.

After being examined and treated for 10 minutes on the field following a jarring hit by B-E's Stetson Shearer near the Prosser goal line, Wandling cleared his head, snapped back to attention and said he was good to go for defensive duty. The Tigers trailed 6-0 and had driven to Prosser's 22 in the early moments of the second quarter. Momentum was there for the taking, so quarterback Kolby Arendse looked for his favorite target —
6-foot-6 tight end and basketball standout Jake Anderson.

And what luck. Anderson, on a sideline route down the right side, faced only single coverage from the much shorter Wandling. "I'm the smallest guy on the field, and I think they thought I was still hurt," Wandling said. "Pick on the little kid — I get that a lot." Bad idea. Arendse slightly underthrew the 20-yard pass, and Wandling made a perfectly timed leap inside of Anderson to snatch the ball away for an interception.

"I went up and made a play," he said with a smile. "That felt real good." "He's not that tall," said coach Tom Moore, "but he's got hops and he's fast. That was a big play." After cheering wildly for Wandling's play, Prosser fans then booed loudly when officials marked the ball on the 1-yard line instead of giving Wandling a touchback.

No matter.

Jordan Durbin promptly completed a 44-yard pass to Cody Bruns on first down as the Mustangs immediately made use of Wandling's momentum-swinging play against the still-reeling Tigers. Prosser scooted down the field 99 yards in 14 plays and Steve Natho capped the drive with the first of his three rushing touchdowns. After Wandling's interception, B-E didn't get inside Prosser's half of the field until the final minute of the game.

"Our defense stepped up big time," he said. "We covered their receivers (only two B-E completions in the first half) so they had to stick mostly with their running backs — and we stopped them, too."

Wandling — the 2A state 100-meter champion last spring — also recovered a fumble in the first quarter that stopped the Tigers' best drive of the game, and he caught four passes for 76 yards with a touchdown. "It's still pretty tight right now," he said while rubbing his chest during the post game celebration. "It was a good stick but I knew I'd be back. We all decided this was our last football game ever and we were going to leave it all out there. "When I got to the sideline I wanted right back in," he added. "I'd play no matter what, with a broken leg if I could. This game meant a lot to me."