Bothell blasts into title game
by By CHRISTOPHER A. SMITH
Cougs defeat Ferris, 14-7
For the second straight year, Bothell High’s football team has conquered every challenge Washington has had to offer. For the second straight year, the Cougars have vanquished every foe.
And now, for the second straight year, Bothell finds itself one game away from a state championship.
After defeating Ferris, 14-7, on the final play of the game last week, Bothell (13-0) plays Lewis and Clark (10-2) of Spokane at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Tacoma Dome in the 4A state championship game.
“Absolutely, I think it does (help playing in the game last year),” Bothell head coach Tom Bainter said over the phone. “It’s been a neat ride to see how these kids have come together, and how we are playing. We are playing as well as any team I’ve ever coached.”
By winning 10 of its 13 games by two touchdowns or more, the Cougars have had few nail-biters this year. But Cougar players and fans may not have to clip their nails anytime soon after the meeting last Saturday in Spokane that featured state Associated Press No. 1 Bothell and No. 2 Ferris. The first three quarters saw great offensive plays, but even stingier defense, Bainter said, with the game tied 7-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Bothell took the lead on a 45-yard drive capped off by Cougar running back Jon Kirchner’s 4-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left.
And that’s when the excitement — or nervousness, or heart-pounding action or whatever other adjective a thesaurus can come up with — really started.
Ferris went on a 20-play, 76-yard drive, converting three fourth downs to take the Saxons all the way down to the Cougar 1-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining.
With the game’s second snow flurry starting minutes earlier, Ferris fumbled the exchange from center, and Bothell senior linebacker and co-captain Rami Salha fell on the loose ball inside the Bothell 1-yard line with 17 seconds left to essentially end a thrilling state semifinal game.
“I was talking to friend on the way home, and I told them it is an all-time game,” Bainter said. “It’s in the top five I’ve ever played in or coached in.”
While several players, such as quarterback Johnny Hekker and Kirchner, stood out, Bainter said the player of the game in his mind was Cory Burk. He was recently named the 4A Kingco defensive player of the year from his outside linebacker position, as well as a first-team returner on special teams.
Burk, who has been Johnny-on-the-spot all year whenever the ball hit the ground, recovered a crucial Ferris fourth-quarter fumble. On offense, he had two catches for 52 yards, including a critical 34-yard screen-pass completion that set up Kirchner’s game-winning touchdown.
Burk may have had a touchdown catch on what Bainter called a “great route,” but a Ferris defender grabbed onto Burk while the pass was in the air, resulting in a pass interference.
“Offensively, he was a spark,” Bainter said of Burk, who has had four special-teams touchdown returns this year. “Cory Burk did some great things out there on both sides of the ball and he is just electric. You have to know where he is.”
Despite not putting up gaudy numbers, Bainter said Hekker continued his strong season that saw noticeable improvement in the later weeks, even with better competition.
The Cougars will rely on him to continue that as they head to the Tacoma Dome this Saturday for the state championship game. Last year, Bothell — which was 12-1 going into the game with the only loss being in the opening week to a team from Oregon — lost a seesaw battle with Oak Harbor, 28-21.
Despite graduating nearly the entire starting offense from last year, Bainter said before the year started that this group could be better. He predicted that the defense may not be quite as talented as last year, but that team had a special crew that can’t be duplicated every year.
Bainter was right on offense, as the Cougars are averaging 34 points per game this year. But that has been combined by the undersized, yet lightning-quick, Cougar defense that has never allowed more than 17 points all year while racking up five shutouts, including two in the postseason.
But its toughest test may come this week against a Lewis and Clark offense that features 220-pound running back Alexander Shaw, whom Bainter expects to get the ball 30 times.
Lewis and Clark is going for the Northshore 4A Kingco trifecta against Bothell, beating Woodinville, 21-7, and Inglemoor, 35-0, at state before beating previously unbeaten Edmonds-Woodway, 28-26, on Saturday.
“(Lewis and Clark) aren’t as sophisticated in what they do offensively. They don’t give you a lot of sets,” said Bainter, who flew back from Spokane on Saturday to watch Lewis and Clark that night. “But they have a 220-pound running back in Alexander Shaw. If you hit him for a gain of 2, he falls forward for 2 more.”
If the Cougars can control Shaw, they may hold the key to standing alone as the 4A state champion, and provide Cougar fans the final piece of enjoyment that was missing off last year’s amazing run.
“We are exactly where we want to be as far as mentally and physically,” Bainter said. “I think we are playing our best football right now.”
Box score
Bothell 7 0 0 7 — 14
Ferris 0 7 0 0 — 7
First Quarter
Bothell — Kirchner 6-yard run (Hekker kick), 7:34
Second Quarter
Ferris — Karstetter 9-yard pass from Minnerly (kick good), 11:55
Fourth Quarter
Bothell — Kirchner 4-yard run (Hekker kick), 3:36
Bothell box
Rushing — Kirchner 12-43, Otterbech 6-26, Munro 6-24, Burk 1- (minus) 1, Hekker 1- (minus 6).
Passing — Hekker 11-17-1- 156
Receiving — Otterbech 3-39, Burk 2-52, Moschel 2-38, Conricode 2-13, Hudson 1-5, Monson 1-9
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How They Got Here
Bothell High at state
Nov. 10 — Beat Central Kitsap, 31-17
Nov. 16 — Beat Oak Harbor, 42-14
Nov. 24 — Beat Ferris, 14-7
Dec. 1 — vs. Lewis and Clark, 7:30 p.m., Tacoma Dome
Lewis and Clark* at state
Nov. 10 — Beat Woodinville, 21-7
Nov. 17 — Beat Inglemoor, 35-0
Nov. 24 — Beat Edmonds-Woodway, 28-26
Dec. 1— vs. Bothell, 7:30 p.m., Tacoma Dome
* lost to Ferris, 19-6,
Sept. 13