Saturday, October 13, 2007 - Page updated at 02:06 a.m.

No. 2 Bothell holds off No. 3 Eastlake

Bothell coach Tom Bainter on his team rallying from a 13-3 deficit: "We needed to know how we would do when we're down. We did well."

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  Saturday, October 13, 2007 - Page updated at 02:03 AM

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  ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES

  Eastlake's Cory Mackay (6) fumbles just short of the goal line in the third quarter. Bothell recovered, then kicked a field goal to tie the score at 13.

  
  

  ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES

  Craig Monson (with ball) celebrates his go-ahead touchdown with his Bothell teammates.

  
  

  ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES

  Eastlake coach Gene Dales reacts to a pass-interference call against the Wolves that nullified a first-quarter interception.

  
  

  Marquee Games

  Bothell 19, Eastlake 13: Cougars take control of KingCo 4A race in heavyweight showdown of ranked teams.

  Nathan Hale 14, West Seattle 0: Raiders clinch Metro League Sound Division championship.

  Evergreen 52, Kennedy 24: Wolverines snap Lancers' streak of Seamount wins at 43.

  Difference Makers

  Johri Fogerson, O'Dea: Carried 10 times for 290 yards and five touchdowns.

  Robert Akeo-Orr, Bethel: 11 catches for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

  Brett Kirschner, Interlake: Sophomore had 223 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries.

  Kellen Jones, Ballard: Returned blocked punt 26 yards for a touchdown and also had a tackle for a safety.

  Perfectionists

  Is a perfect ending in the works for Edmonds- Woodway? Coach John Gradwohl's Warriors have improved steadily since 2003, with a 4-6 season followed by records of 8-3, 9-2 and 12-1 last year, when they lost in the state semifinals. This year, led by 225-pound junior RB Tony Heard, E-W is 7-0.

  By the Numbers

  0 Yards allowed by Nathan Hale in its win over West Seattle.

  5 TDs for Federal Way's Andre Barrington in win over Decatur. He had 294 yards rushing.

  KingCo 4A | No. 2 Bothell holds off No. 3 Eastlake

  By Tom Wyrwich
  Seattle Times staff reporter

  SAMMAMISH — Bothell quarterback Johnny Hekker's smile stretched from here to Bellevue as he stammered through a string of gibberish.

  Then he finally found the right words to describe the night.

  "Oooohh, man," he said. "Did you see that?"

  For the first time this season, second-ranked Bothell found itself behind in a game. But in a matchup of undefeated teams that didn't disappoint, the Cougars made a second-half comeback to beat third-ranked Eastlake 19-13 on Friday at Eastlake High School.

  "We needed to know how we would do when we're down," Bothell coach Tom Bainter said. "We did well."

  When Bothell tight end Craig Monson ran in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Hekker with 4:57 left, it capped a 16-point run that brought the Cougars back from a 13-3 deficit.

  The touchdown came on third-and-one at the Bothell 46-yard line. Eastlake sent a blitz, leaving Monson wide open, and he outran the Wolves to the end zone.

  "I told Johnny, 'Give me the ball. I'll score,' " Monson said, adding, "I knew I was going to be open right when he called it."

  To preserve the victory, Bothell stopped Eastlake on fourth-and-one at midfield with about three minutes to go. The Cougars' Trey Burwick broke through the line to tackle Eastlake's Taylor Lappano for a 1-yard loss, the first of Lappano's 15 second-half carries to go for a loss.

  The Cougars (7-0 overall, 6-0 league) extended their KingCo 4A winning streak to 15 games, spanning back to 2005, and took an important one-game lead on the Wolves with only two weeks to go. For the third consecutive year, Eastlake lost a late-season opportunity to take the conference.

  It didn't look like the game would end that way with 7:10 left in the third quarter. Eastlake's Tanner Nilson had just made an acrobatic catch in the end zone, his first catch of the season, for a 25-yard touchdown that put the Wolves ahead 13-3.

  The Wolves (6-1, 5-1) didn't get to celebrate long.

  On the ensuing kickoff, Bothell's Cory Burk burst up the middle through the wedge and had to avoid only one tackler — kicker Justin Lewis, whom he hurdled — before coasting into the end zone for a 97-yard return. Burk's fourth return touchdown of the season cut Eastlake's lead to three.

  "That really sparked our fire," Hekker said. "Sometimes that's what it is, special teams."

  Said Bainter: "I think that probably was the biggest play of the game."

  Bainter also could have gone with the play that ended Eastlake's next possession. After Wolves receiver Cory Mackay caught a jump-ball pass at the Bothell 5-yard line, he carried two tacklers with him as he fought toward the end zone.

  As he neared an insurance touchdown, the ball slipped out. Fumble. Bothell recovered.

  Hekker, also the kicker, booted his second field goal on the ensuing possession to tie the score at 13 with 8:35 left.

  Then, with Bothell needing a play to stop an Eastlake drive, Ben Moschel stepped in front of Ryan Robertson's pass at the Bothell 37 to give the Cougars the ball.

  Three plays later, Monson was striding in with the winning score.

  Other games

  Woodinville 21, Roosevelt 10

  At Memorial Stadium in Seattle, Woodinville fumbled seven times and lost five, but rallied to beat Roosevelt with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Peter Roberts completed 16 of 20 passes for 231 yards, including the winning, 29-yard TD to Nick Surber. Surber, a 6-foot-3 junior, had six catches for 90 yards, Matt Brumfield carried 21 times for 87 yards, and Jacob Zoet intercepted two passes for the Falcons (5-2, 5-2). Cameron Stephan had 104 yards on 17 carries for Roosevelt (2-5, 2-4).

  Inglemoor 42, Garfield 7

  At Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell, Brandon Thurston rushed for 81 yards on seven carries and scored three touchdowns, and Kurt Wagner completed 13 of 17 passes for 162 yards and three scores as the Vikings (5-2, 5-1) rolled past the Bulldogs (1-6, 1-5).

  Ballard 40, at Lake Wash. 0

  Defensive tackle Kellen Jones returned a blocked punt 26 yards for a touchdown and tackled a Lake Washington player in the end zone for a safety for the Beavers (4-3, 4-3). Joey Bolinger completed 7 of 10 passes for 167 yards and two TDs and ran for a score against the Kangs (0-7, 0-6).

  At Redmond 25, Liberty 22

  In a nonleague game, Allen Hall's third touchdown run, a 10-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, put the Mustangs (3-4) ahead to stay. Hall also scored from 2 and 64 yards. Liberty had gone ahead 22-17 minutes earlier on Greg Ericksen's 19-yard TD reception from Peter Becker.

  Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com

  Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company