Sunday, November 25, 2007 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
JESSE TINSLEY / THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Bothell running back Jonathan Kirchner tries to squeeze through two Ferris of Spokane defenders on Saturday.
JESSE TINSLEY / THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Bothell's Kurt Stottlemyer (3) comes up with a creative way to try and tackle running back McKenzie Murphy of Ferris.
Bothell 14, Ferris 7 | Big bounce goes to No. 1 Bothell
By Tom Wyrwich
Seattle Times staff reporter
SPOKANE — Bothell defensive coordinator Marty Hoyle can't exactly explain it.
But as he watched Ferris of Spokane scramble to the line of scrimmage, with about 2 feet between the Saxons and the tying touchdown and only seconds left, something hit him.
"Hey, they're going to fumble," he said into his headphones from the coaches' booth, "and we're going to get it."
Then the snap squirted out of Ferris quarterback Jeff Minnerly's hands, caromed off his right thigh and hit the turf directly in front of Bothell linebacker Rami Salha. Salha jumped on it first, then teammate Robby Storm jumped on him to protect him from any prying Ferris hands.
Then Salha ran out of the pile with the ball and a fumble recovery that preserved top-ranked Bothell's 14-7 victory in the Class 4A state football semifinals at Joe Albi Stadium.
"Oh, my God," Salha said, "I got out of there so quick."
Salha ran to a deafening sideline cheering Bothell's return trip to the championship game. Salha took off his helmet and, for the first time, he realized it was snowing.
The snowfall started with about three minutes left, just after Bothell's Jonathan Kirchner ran in his second TD to put Bothell (13-0) ahead 14-7. Then No. 2 Ferris began plowing down the field.
"We just said, 'Hey, we're going to make them earn it,' " Hoyle said. "Let's make them drive it down. If they get 15 plays and score and we're going to overtime, then we're going to overtime."
The Saxons (12-1) gained 76 of their 213 total yards on the 20-play final drive, which began with 3:35 left. They converted on third-and-one at the their 32, fourth-and-10 at the their 35, fourth-and-six at the their 28 and fourth-and-inches at their 3.
Bothell coach Tom Bainter kept looking at the clock.
"Two minutes is an hour and a half for an offense like that," he said. "I kept looking, and it seemed like it wasn't moving."
On first-and-goal at the Bothell 2, the Cougars were called for pass interference, moving the ball inside the 1. But Ferris fumbled on the next play, clearing Bothell's path to the Tacoma Dome for a matchup with the winner of Saturday's late game between Edmonds-Woodway and Lewis and Clark of Spokane. The final will be next Saturday and is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
A week ago, in their final game at Pop Keeney Field, some Bothell players made fake snow angels on the turf. When it was over Saturday, Johnny Hekker, Bothell's quarterback and punter, made a real one in the snow dust on the field.
"We're in the state championship," Hekker said. "Growing up, that's something that seems so unattainable."
Hekker and Bothell were nearly flawless on the first drive, which went 75 yards and ended with a 6-yard Kirchner TD run off left tackle. But after that, the next seven drives ended with an interception — leading to Ferris' only TD — two lost fumbles and four punts. That's two more punts than Bothell had in its previous three postseason games.
"They're the best team we've played by far," Hekker said. "They're fast, they're aggressive, they're disciplined."
But Bothell received one, final chance with 5:28 left. The Cougars took over at the Ferris 45 and, on the first play, called "Yellow 6," a pass designed for speedy Cory Burk. Burk went down the right sideline for 28 yards.
"He almost took it to the house," Hekker said.
On third and-and-three at the Ferris 10, Hekker threw incomplete on a slant to Burk, but Ferris was called for pass interference. On the next play, Kirchner ran right, broke one leg tackle, then stiff-armed a defender before bursting into the end zone.
"He's so tough around the goal line," Bainter said. "He likes that area down there."
Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com