Friday Night Lights

Each Friday night during regular season, we'll cart our laptop off to a single football game — one picked by you, the fans.

September 04, 2004

Goncharoff on cover of S.I.?

And I'm not talking the swimsuit issue either. If De La Salle can make it into Sports Illustrated, why not the the team that took out Goliath? One of the coolest parts of this game has been watching the players giving it their all but also showing moments of class, helping an opponent off the field or patting a guy on the back. No cheap shots, no smack talking. These teams are disciplined and to watch two quality programs come together like this is spectacular. Goncharoff could be heading for the golden pastures of NCAA football next year if he wants and maybe just a few miles down the road. We'll see what happens. For now, this is a moment in the sun for a lot of people to enjoy and we're 1:45 away from the just the beginning of high-school football season. The Spartans have marched down to the Bellevue 15-yard line but Bellevue picks off a pass near the end zone and the cheers begin. KJR sports radio DJ Dave Maller runs up and down the media corridor screaming and yelling, bringing reality back to the forefront. He must be ready for a midnight snack. The final seconds tick off the clock and the celebration begins for perhaps the greatest upset in the history of Washington high-school football. It's a final: Bellevue 39, De La Salle 20. Enjoy the moment Wolverines. There won't be many quite like this.

Posted by Spike at 11:33 PM

The miracle of miracles

Ending the greatest high-school football winning streak in history — that's what lies in store for Bellevue if they can hold on for five more minutes. Beating a team that hasn't lost since 1991 ... few thought it was possible to end a 151-game winning streak and those who did probably had their doubts. But it's becoming a reality. Bellevue puts up another gutty effort, converting a fourth and long four yards from the Spartans 30 to move into striking range again. The Wolverines pick up another first down with 6:31 left to play. They miss a field-goal attempt and the Spartans take over. Wolverines running back J.R. Hasty, son of former Washington State Cougar and NFL star James Hasty, has recorded 272 rushing yards tonight and four touchdowns. The WIAA has done an outstanding job bringing this game here to Seattle and is offering game tapes. Visit www.gametapes.com to order.

Posted by Spike at 11:20 PM

End of the third quarter, Bellevue holding 19-point lead

De La Salle punts after a stalled drive and Bellevue starts its drive on its own 22. E.J. Savannah, who is a prized recruit coming out of high school this year, runs hard to pick up an 11-yard gain. He has also laid the pads on some of De La Salle's finest tonight, including a de-cleater that drew gasps from the crowd. As for De La Salle, Eduardo Lopez had 149 yards and two touchdowns in the first half on 13 carries. One of the many themes of this game tonight has been that these teams don't make a lot of mistakes. De La Salle has been called for three penalties tonight and Bellevue twice. The Spartans' two turnovers have been costly.

Posted by Spike at 11:10 PM

Wolverines lead by 19

One of the trademarks for boredom of Seattle fans is doing the wave, which is happening at this moment. Dating back to the early days of the Kingdome and Bill the Beer Man enticing the mellow Hawks crowd into a frenzy, this caught on to the rest of the NFL and sports at all levels. Bellevue splits the uprights with a 31-yard field goal and leads 39-20. Just under four minutes remain in the third quarter.

Posted by Spike at 10:59 PM

Spartans getting picked off

That's right. Ryan Lee intercepts De La Salle quarterback Kevin Lopina and runs it back to the Spartans' 21-yard line halfway through the third quarter.

Posted by Spike at 10:53 PM

Wolverines keep it coming

On a crucial fourth-and-1, J.R. Hasty runs around the left side for about 25 yards to the 2-yard line. He runs it in on the next play for his fourth touchdown of the night and now has, according to my calculations, 232 yards. The point after misses and Bellevue leads 36-20.

Posted by Spike at 10:48 PM

Should I apologize?

Did I just throw down the jinx or what? J.R. Hasty fumbles on the first play of the drive. The ball is recovered by the Spartans, however I believe a facemask penalty lets Bellevue retain possession. The Wolverines make runs of 17 and five yards to the De La Salle 29.

Posted by Spike at 10:44 PM

Halfway home

All the hard work put in by both teams leading up to this game will be left on the field tonight. The biggest enemy right now for anyone is turnovers. Like a missed birdie putt in golf, the opportunity to score and get one up on your opponent comes only so often. Stumble and the consequences can be severe. Team captains have met at mid-field and Bellevue is due to receive. "Bellevue power. Bellevue power" chants can be heard through the press box windows. The whistle blows and we're rolling, with Keith Rosenberg's return to the Wolverines 35.

Posted by Spike at 10:40 PM

At the half: Bellevue 30, Da La Salle 20

The fans are on their feet. De La Salle starts the drive at its own 33 but only drives the ball about 30 yards before trying to air it out a couple times. No cheap stuff on this Wolverines squad tonight.

Posted by Spike at 10:23 PM

Bellevue back up by 10

Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff knows how important it is to not only score once more before the half but to leave just seconds on the clock when doing so. But that's a hard thing to do when the last two plays have netted almost 20 yards. He's called a timeout now to go over things and remind his players to be sure to get tackled inbounds. Another run picks up 20 yards and with 1:21 left in the half, it's a Bellevue first down at the 9-yard line. J.R. Hasty makes quick work of it, scoring his third touchdown of the night. Bellevue now leads 30-20 and there looks to be no slowing down on either side. Obviously the turnover by De La Salle has cost them dearly so far and that's what happens in games like this.

Posted by Spike at 10:13 PM

Wolverines making it work

Bellevue's runners are elusive and powerful. The Wolverines too have benefited from pretty good field position here tonight. This drive starts on their own 30. After a short gain on first down, J.R. Hasty takes the ball up the middle and now Bellevue faces possibly its most critical third down of the game. They need four yards and get eight, to their own 44. 2:25 left in the first half. They need to milk the clock here.

Posted by Spike at 10:07 PM

Don't go celebrating yet

Brian Williams returns a squib kick fielded at the 20-yard line 76 yards and Garrett Jandegian runs it in from a few yards out to put De La Salle back in the hunt, trailing Bellevue 23-20.

Posted by Spike at 10:03 PM

Widening the gap

The Wolverines make a 33-yard field goal on fourth and 3. They lead now by 10 points with 4:20 on the clock. The Wolverines marching band rings its chorus throughout the stadium as the cheer squad dances to the cheers of many.

Posted by Spike at 10:00 PM

Bellevue driving again

Bellevue recovers a fumbled snap on De La Salle's first play from scrimmage, on the 42-yard line. They waste no time. J.R. Hasty carries to the 25 and then to the 16 on the next play. Hasty was injured on the last touchdown run, when several Spartans players tackled him on the fake. The second penalty of the game is called after Bellevue's Keith Rosenberg advances the ball to the 1-yard line on a play that faked out half the defense. With the ball back at the 24, Hasty is tackled for no gain, forcing a third and long.

Posted by Spike at 09:58 PM

Bellevue's third try

It's the third possession of the game for the Wolverines now. They start with good field position near the 30 and have advanced the ball to the 46. This is dangerous territory now for De La Salle. It's third and inches. Do they jam the middle and try to stop a smash up the middle? If they do, it could cost them on a misdirection play. Bellevue is called for illegal procedure and runs a counter but whistles blow. On third and 5, J.R. Hasty carries for the first down to the 38, fumbling the ball after picking up the first and having it bounce back into his arms. On the next play, Eric Block carries on a delay handoff around the end, fakes out several defenders and dives into the end zone, stretching the ball over the plane of the goal line for the score. Bellevue leads 20-13 with 8:08 left in the first half.

Posted by Spike at 09:53 PM

End of first quarter

The Wolverines have decided to use the squib kick tonight. De La Salle has started its drives with excellent field position the last two possessions. This one begins at their own 43. Two plays later the ball is on Bellevue's 44 with a first down. The answer for Bellevue so far has been J.R. Hasty. For the Spartans it's been running back Eduardo Lopez. He too collects his second touchdown of the night on a 43-yard run to the right. A breath of fresh air for the Wolverines if there is one: a muffed snap forces a broken play and no point after. Game is tied at 13 early in the second quarter.

Posted by Spike at 09:42 PM

Do they do the 2?

J.R. Hasty collects his second touchdown of the night with 1:02 left in the first quarter, from 1 yard out. They convert the extra point and lead the Goliath beast De La Salle, 13-7. Bellevue players and coaches aren't celebrating or seeming surprised by what has transpired. They're here to take care of business tonight.

Posted by Spike at 09:36 PM

Hasty carries the load early

Two runs, 100 yards for J.R. Hasty, who takes Bellevue into Spartans territory. Two plays later, Keith Rosenberg carries the ball 40 yards to the 6-yard line.

Posted by Spike at 09:33 PM

Wolverines hungry

The Spartans convert their third down to the Bellevue 27. The Wolverines are steadily tightening up on defense, going from struggling to force De La Salle into third downs to forcing short-yardage third-situations, to now putting the Spartans in a third-and-long situation. They can't convert and timeout is taken with the ball at the 26 and four yards to go. The Spartans go for it and Mark Farney makes one of the biggest plays of his career by breaking up the pass play. Bellevue takes over on downs.

Posted by Spike at 09:30 PM

Bellevue digging in

The Wolverines are starting to settle in a little bit and hold their ground. De La Salle converts a third-and-1 with a 3-yard gain to the right. They try a play-action pass on first down and pressure from around the end forces an overthrown pass that was covered in double-team downfield. About 5:30 remains in the first quarter and the Spartans have another third-down with a little over four yards to go.

Posted by Spike at 09:24 PM

And Hasty responds!

J.R. Hasty takes a handoff on the first play, the motion and misdirection fakes me out of my shoes and he appears, running up the middle of the field for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game for the Wolverines. The fans go wild. The press box in in shock. The point after misses. Bellevue trails 7-6.

Posted by Spike at 09:18 PM

We're off

Bellevue squibs a kick and De La Salle gets to the 15-yard line with a delay on the return. Eduardo Lopez carries for a 3-yard gain up the middle followed by a screen pass to the left side that nets seven yards. A powering run up the middle picks up 16 yards to the 40. The Spartans are explosive off the snap. Bellevue holds them to a 4-yard gain but seems to be giving up too much ground. It's early on of course. De La Salle crosses mid-field in six plays and just converted its first third-down of the game for a first. The Spartans are using a double-back set with twins on either side regularly. It works too. Eduardo Lopez peels off a 44-yard touchdown run and in the first four minutes of the game, De La Salle leads Bellevue 7-0.

Posted by Spike at 09:14 PM

12 minutes away

De La Salle warms up in the end zone, which includes several 40-yard sprints. They're in positional drills now - receivers running their quick slants and short outs. They hustle from drill to drill quickly and haven't paid much attention to the Bellevue squad on the other side of the field. The Wolverines run to the goal post on their end of the field. J.R. Hasty jumps up onto the post, followed by teammates, climbing and crawling their way upward until the goal post begins to rock. They holler, slap helmets, butt chests and start warming up. Both sides of the end zone are filled in pretty well now. Most of the suites around the stadium are full. Several Bellevue coaches and other staffers stand watching across the field from the 40-yard line as the Spartans warm up and their own team stretches.

Posted by Spike at 08:51 PM

Final: Ballard 21, Bothell 19

Ballard players jump and hug each other on the field. The shaking of hands begins and De La Salle makes its grand entrance, followed by the Wolverines.

Posted by Spike at 08:42 PM

Beavers strike!

Adrian Diaz, one of Ballard's key linemen is down on the field. Trainers are looking at his ankle, I believe. He is helped off the field. Ballard has a second down at the 22-yard line with 29 seconds left in the game and one timeout. A pass falls incomplete in the end zone. On third down they complete a split-end screen to the 12-yard line for a first down. With 10 seconds left in the game, Jerome Williams comes up huge, catching a pass as he backpedals toward the corner of the end zone. The point after fails and the Beavers are five seconds and a kickoff away from their first victory over Bothell since joining KingCo 4A three years ago. It's Ballard, 21-19.

Posted by Spike at 08:37 PM

Ballard driving

The Beavers have advanced the ball to the Bothell 44. Facing a third down, a pass is dropped along the sidelines that would have picked up 25 yards. It's four-down territory with five yards to go. Cameron Wells scrambles left, then right, backpedals with nowhere to go. A Bothell defender wraps him up well behind the line of scrimmage. But there's a new line of scrimmage now, at the Cougars 34 because of a facemask called on Bothell with 1:38 to go.

Posted by Spike at 08:30 PM

Blue Train delivers

Nick Jones takes a handoff, slides between blocks and runs it 34 yards into the end zone on the first play of the drive. Bothell leads 19-15 now. Ballard begins the drive with 3:49 left to play from its own 36.

Posted by Spike at 08:25 PM

Clock is ticking

Bothell moves the ball downfield a little bit but can't sustain its drive. A good punt pins Ballard inside its own 5-yard line. They've moved the ball up to the 20 with 5 minutes remaining. On third and long, Bothell pulls off a quarterback sack. Ballard lines up to punt with its kicker on the goal line and he gets it off. Cougars now have 4 minutes to drive 34 yards for the winning score. Or could tie it with a field goals.

Posted by Spike at 08:19 PM

Stroke of luck

On third and long, Bothell takes a 13-yard loss on a sack and punts to Ballard. Beavers luck out. The punt is shanked and they take over on the Bothell 14. The Cougars respond in a big way, stopping a run for little gain and sacking the quarterback to force a third and long from the 19. But Beavers receiver Kevin Higgenbottom catches a corner route in the end zone for a touchdown. Leading 14-12, Ballard attempts a 2-point conversion. With trips left, they roll right and hit Jerome Williams in the flat. Ballard leads 15-12 with 9:35 left in the game. Early estimates are that about 18,000 people are here at the stadium, most of whom will watch the Bellevue-De La Salle game coming up next.

Posted by Spike at 08:07 PM

End of third quarter

Ballard doesn't move the ball much on its next possession but got a good roll on the punt and Bothell starts the drive on its own 22 when we come back.

Posted by Spike at 08:03 PM

Bothell takes the lead

Carl Ridlon-Moore runs the ball to the 2-yard line. Facing a first and goal, the Cougars punch it in with a give to Nick Jones. The two-point conversion on a rollout pass is unsuccessful and Bothell leads Ballard 12-7 with 1:58 left in the third.

Posted by Spike at 07:56 PM

Blue Train closing in

Ballard takes over on a shanked Bothell punt, moves the ball about 25 yards and punts. Cougars take over on their own 19 with 5 minutes left in the third. They're really using 5-foot-10 senior running back Brett Wilcox a lot today and he just broke a 37-yard run off right tackle down the sideline to the Beavers 25.

Posted by Spike at 07:52 PM

And here come the fans

A steady stream of fans continue to trickle into the stadium here at halftime as captains meet in the middle of the field. From end zone to end zone, both sides of the stadium are deeply filled now on the main level - probably the largest crowd to watch a high-school football competition in Washington state. Soon enough, we'll have the answer to the question of the week: Can Bellevue hang with De La Salle? Will all the extra work pay dividends for the Wolverines? The press box has erupted in a roar. Oregon State matches LSU's touchdown in overtime but misses the extra point and the other Beavers lose 21-20 to the No. 3-ranked college team in the country. Their kicker better sign up for some correspondence classes instead of showing up at school. Bothell takes the kickoff from Ballard and opens the second half at its own 35.

Posted by Spike at 07:40 PM

Beavers take a bite

Ballard blocks a punt and recovers deep in Bothell territory. They run a reverse to a player not listed on its roster (No. 85) and then sneak it with QB Cameron Wells to the 2. "Oh!" The fat man next door from KJR hollers. The feeding frenzy must be over. Beavers finally punch the ball into the end zone on a short run up the middle and take a 7-6 lead 20 seconds before the half and that sends them into the locker rooms.

Posted by Spike at 07:20 PM

A little back and forth

Ballard is driving the ball downfield slowly, methodically, picking and choosing its plays, calling a timeout on fourth and short before converting with a quarterback sneak. They are at the Bothell 24-yard line with a third and 10. They run an option left to the short side of the field — not at all the play I would have expected. Beavers take a timeout on fourth and 4 but don't convert. Dave "softy" Maller from KJR sports radio is in the building, not even in the same area most of the media site, watching today's games. A loud expletive is heard, not in response to a play on the field here but to the Oregon State-LSU game on television, which everyone is watching right now on televisions handing in front of the windows off the ceiling. "It's funny how he's not even in this room but is the loudest one here," one reporter remarks. The pizza must have arrived because I haven't heard Maller for several minutes now. Bothell moves the ball to its own 40 on a Ballard penalty with 1:51 left in the first half. Cougars still lead 6-0.

Posted by Spike at 07:11 PM

It's a sea of blue and white

Ballard has a 34-yard field goal blocked but the ball skips left toward the sideline and goes out at the 1-yard line, where Bothell takes over. Nick Jones takes a handoff and runs 90-yards before being tackled. Bothell Cougars on the other side of the stadium are on their feet, cheering Jones on his run and celebrating after the fact. Once again, Bothell settles for a field goal and leads 6-0. "Seems just like last year's game," one voice here in the press box remarks. It's certainly been a battle of the trenches so far, with six minutes left in the first half.

Posted by Spike at 06:57 PM

Ballard finding its groove

Junior Cameron Wells is in at quarterback for the Beavers now. He's run with the ball a few times, including a quarterback sneak. They've run him on the option and might have found something by using his speed to the outside and also optioning and sweeping the ball to Jerome Williams, who is set up as a third back. Bothell is tough right now against the run up the middle but Ballard now looks like they could have the speed to contend with this. Cougars linebacker Niko Wacker just broke through the line on a third and 5 and took a player off his cleats as he ran up the middle. But the Beavers convert a fourth-down attempt to the 9-yard line in the early going here in the second quarter.

Posted by Spike at 06:49 PM

Blue Train converts

Kind of. They end up kicking a 20-yard field goal. But they have tried to punch it in the end zone from inside the 2-yard line, probably five or six times and have a 3-0 lead to show for it. Ballard's defensive line is getting off the ball well, so credit them.

Posted by Spike at 06:38 PM

And the first punch lands

Bothell recovers an onside kick at the Ballard 40. The Cougars put together an 8-play drive that includes a 28-yard run by Brett Wilcox. Two penalties hurt the Cougars' chances to score and they end up missing a field goal from inside the 10-yard line. Ballard stops them on multiple attempts from the 1. When the Beavers take over, their offense doesn't move the ball much. Bothell takes over on its own 28 with 6:43 left in the first quarter. But wait, a penalty forces a re-kick from the 8-yard line. Matt Marriott fields the ball at the Ballard 40, cuts left, hits a seam and runs the ball to the 2-yard line.

Posted by Spike at 06:29 PM

Sneak peek

Bothell vs. Ballard The Beavers return 12 starters from last season, versus four for Bothell. Two of Ballard's linemen, according to some reports, check in at over 300 pounds (Adrien Diaz, Nick Thornton-Jack). They'll have to find out who this year's skill players are after losing a starting quarterback (Cole Morgan), running back (J.T. Diederichs) and wideout (Keauntea Bankhead) — all of whom were recruited by Division I schools, as well as new UW lineman Tyler Ashby. Jordan Gardner is the signal caller for the Beavers this year. Ballard hasn't defeated the Blue Train in its three years in KingCo 4A. Bothell is ranked No. 10 in preseason Times rankings. Ballard is one of the many teams on the bubble. Last season Bothell defeated Ballard 7-3 for the league title but the Beavers advanced to the state finals, losing to Pasco by a touchdown. The Blue Train will probably try to ride the legs of 6-foot, 200-pound running back Nick Jones. With well over 100 players trying out for the team, Bothell should be able to make a run at defending its league title. Notes: Ballard sports a new uniform design this season with black pants and double pinstripes on the side of the leg. The Jerseys are red, white and black, of course, with white 3-D numbers set to a black background with red shoulders and sleeves. And we're off! Bothell kicks to Ballard.

Posted by Spike at 06:15 PM

Final: Olympia 20, Walla Walla 13

The Bears hand the Blue Devils a loss and both teams shake hands at mid-field. The Bothell Cougars and Ballard Beavers take the field in opposite end zones and we're 18 minutes away from kickoff.

Posted by Spike at 05:57 PM

Bothell-Ballard game delayed

Walla Walla and Olympia are still duking it out here at Qwest Field. The Bears lead 20-13 over the Blue Devils from Eastern Washington. Just under 11 minutes remain in the fourth quarter.

Posted by Spike at 05:32 PM

Kickoff Classic update

Scores from the first two games of the day: Kennedy 47, Tahoma 27 Camas 20, Mead 14 Note: The Walla Walla-Olympia game is running about 30 minutes behind so far but the clock is rolling so the Ballard-Bothell game coming up next could start close to its expected time. The Blue Devils blocked a field goal attempt and ran it back for a TD to lead 13-7. Then Kyle Richardson caught a pass for Olympia and ran it down the sideline for a touchdown to give the Bears a 14-13 lead with 8:11 left in the first half.

Posted by Spike at 04:21 PM