SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Prep Rewind: Bothell gets second chance at 4A crown

Cougars lost in 2006 title game to Oak Harbor

Monday, November 26, 2007
Last updated 12:36 a.m. PT

By DEREK BELT
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Bothell coach Tom Bainter doesn't want his players to look ahead. Yes, the Cougars will be crowned Class 4A state champions should they beat Lewis & Clark in Saturday's title game at the Tacoma Dome. No, there won't be another game after that.

So what's there to look ahead to, you ask?

Why, the celebration, of course.

"You can't look beyond this game," Bainter said. "You can't say, 'I wonder if there's going to be a parade.' 'I wonder if there will be rings.' 'I wonder what it'll be like to say I'm a state champion.' We can't do that.

"We need to focus on this game right here."

Bothell (13-0) faces Lewis & Clark (10-2) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the last of four state title games that day.

Last year, the Cougars reached the championship game only to lose 21-14 to Oak Harbor. Bainter said that experience will likely on everybody's minds.

"A lot of the kids that have been through the pain know what it feels like to lose," he said. "I think mentally, that will give us a little extra motivation."

Bothell knocked off Ferris 14-7 in Spokane on Saturday, needing a recovered fumble at its own 2-yard line with 17 seconds left to preserve the victory.

"What a great football game," Bainter said.

Lewis & Clark raced to a 28-7 lead over Edmonds-Woodway and held on for a 28-26 semifinal victory Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. The Tigers got 160 yards and a touchdown from 6-foot-2, 216-pound running back Alex Shaw, the biggest back Bothell will face all season.

"A lot of the teams we've played this year have been speedy teams with lots of athletes," Bainter said. "We haven't had to face the big back that will hurt you. It'll be a little different challenge for us."

3A TITLE GAME: All season long, the two best teams in 3A have been Skyline and O'Dea. It's fitting then that the unbeaten powers will play for the state title Friday at the Tacoma Dome. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

Skyline (13-0) scored 28 consecutive points in the second half to run away from previously undefeated Franklin Pierce and claim a 48-14 semifinal victory on Saturday. O'Dea (13-0) knocked off Bellevue 27-17 on Friday to earn its first trip to the title game since 2003.

Between them, the Spartans and Fighting Irish have won five state championships.

"This is where we all wanted to be," Skyline receiver Gino Simone said after Saturday's game. "We want this bad."

The game's most intriguing matchup pits Skyline's defense against O'Dea's big, physical offensive line and star running back Johri Fogerson. Fogerson has rumbled for 2,245 yards and 30 touchdowns while averaging 11.9 yards per carry.

"They run the ball a lot, which is good with our defense," said Simone, who doubles as a defensive back. "We're a good run-stopping team and we're going to come out and be ready for them."

NOTES: Franklin Pierce (12-1) was making its first semifinal appearance since 1982, but five turnovers kept the Cardinals grounded against Skyline. "There's not a loser sitting on this field," Franklin Pierce coach Howard Lutton said after the game. "These guys are champions. They did great things." ... Skyline scored three defensive touchdowns against Franklin Pierce and gave up just 30 yards after halftime. ... Edmonds-Woodway finished 12-1 and saw its season end in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. ... E-W running back Tony Heard capped a magnificent junior season with 78 yards on 24 carries against Lewis & Clark. Heard finished with 2,231 yards and 31 touchdowns. ... Lewis & Clark's appearance in the 4A title game will be the first in school history. The Tigers last reached the semifinals in 1978.

GRIDIRON CLASSIC

WHAT/WHERE: State

high school football championships,

Tacoma Dome

CLASS 1B: Odessa (12-0) vs. Almira-Coulee-Hartline (12-1), Friday, 4 p.m.

CLASS 3A: O'Dea (13-0) vs. Skyline (13-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m., FSN

CLASS 2A: Burlington-Edison (12-1) vs. Prosser (13-0), Saturday, 10 a.m.

CLASS 1A: Royal (13-1) vs. Connell (13-0), Saturday,

1 p.m.

CLASS 2B: DeSales (12-0) vs. Toutle Lake (11-2), Saturday, 4 p.m.

CLASS 4A: Bothell (13-0) vs. Lewis & Clark (10-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m., FSN

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