Saturday, October 20, 2007 - Page updated at 08:37 AM

Seattle Times

KingCo 4A | Bothell puts its foot down

By Barry Pump
Special to The Seattle Times

BOTHELL — Close games are becoming routine for undefeated Bothell.

Last week, the second-ranked Cougars fought back to beat then-No. 3 Eastlake.

Friday night at Pop Keeney Stadium, they overcame a three-point halftime deficit to clinch the KingCo 4A Conference title with a 16-13 victory over rival Inglemoor in the annual Spaghetti Bowl game.

"I think you need to play in games where you face adversity, and you've got to find your character and who the leaders are," Bothell coach Tom Bainter said. "These last two games we've done that, and we've played well when our backs have been against the wall."

One of those leaders is quarterback Johnny Hekker, whose most important appendage Friday night wasn't his throwing arm but his kicking leg.

The senior scored 10 of his team's 16 points, including two second-half field goals that put the game away for Bothell (8-0 overall, 7-0 league) on senior night.

"I didn't really expect to have to kick all of those," Hekker said. "But it happened, and I was glad I was able to put them through."

Inglemoor (5-3, 5-2) kept Bothell on its toes through the first half, answering scores with 34- and 33-yard field goals by Anthony Arena.

Brandon Thurston, who finished with 74 yards on 15 carries, scored the Vikings' only touchdown en route to a 13-10 halftime lead.

But wind, near-constant rain and a seven-minute opening Bothell drive to tie the score did hurt the Vikings in the second half. Inglemoor had minus-7 yards in the third period.

"Bothell took it to a higher level defensively, and the wind really hurt us in the fourth quarter," Inglemoor coach Frank Naish said. "We made too many mistakes, and you can't do that in a game like this and survive."

Bothell's Jonathan Kirchner racked up 141 yards on 26 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, as his team claimed its fourth league title in six years.

"It's never easy to win a title," Bainter said.