1B State Finals Preview, Neah Bay vs. Liberty-Christian

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1B State Finals Preview, Neah Bay vs. Liberty-Christian
By Steven Dion

A clash of the 2012 and 2013 state champs. Neah Bay is the defending champion and winner of 2 in the last 3 seasons. Liberty-Christian defeated Neah Bay to capture the title in 2012 on the final play of the contest. I spoke with the head coach of the Red Devils Tony McCaulley this week and that game was certainly discussed this week to fire up his team, especially upperclassmen that played in the game. McCaulley’s team was tested by Lummi to reach the finals as they were limited to 213 total yards and lost 3 fumbles in a 26-20 win. The Red Devil defense also show signs of vulnerability as Lummi’s three trips to the red zone all resulted in scores. 40 of NBHS’s 45 plays were rushes, so Cole Svec and Reggie Buttram’s ability to move the football with their legs will be important.

Liberty Christian defeated Republic by the score of 46-20 en route to a state final berth. The score doesn’t fully indicate how dominant the Patriots were in this contest. Mike Olson’s team had a four touchdown lead before the Tigers even got on the board. John Lesser was responsible for 6 touchdowns, three by air and three by ground. Both teams have championship experience so it would not be a surprise to see a tight game decided in the fourth quarter. Looking forward to this game at 4 pm on Saturday night.

Neah Bay all the Way!
1B State Champs Again

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Friday Dec 6th 2013 1A Boys Football
Tacoma Dome 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Neah Bay 6 8 6 16 36
Touchet 12 0 0 6 18

See game recap below
 


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Neah Bay all the Way! 1B State Champs Again
By Colin Caruso

Eleven years have passed since the Touchet Indians have made an appearance in the 1B state finals; a place that their opponent, the Neah Bay Red Devils, have found themselves three years in a row. Both teams and fans traveled a combined 425 miles to Tacoma to witness a great matchup in eight on eight ball. Touchet did not seem fazed by the Tacoma Dome’s championship atmosphere despite it being so long since their last trip here, as they had no problem marching for scores on their first two drives, both from Elias Martinez touchdown passes.

Down two scores early, the Red Devils rallied for a score after a great kick return from Josiah Greene. He added the 15 yard touchdown run two plays later. Neah Bay forced a three an out on Touchet’s next possession and were knocking on the end zone door at the end of the first quarter.

The Red Devils tied the contest on the first play of the second quarter, a 2 yard run from Cody Cummins. They added the 2 point conversion on a reception from senior wide receiver Zeke Greene to take a 14-12 lead. Neah Bay kept the momentum with a critical fourth and one stop on their own two yard line, forcing a turnover on downs and holding Touchet to back to back scoreless drives. Neither team was able to score again in the quarter and Neah Bay took their 14-12 lead into the half.

Neah Bay received the second half kickoff and marched down the field on a 12 play drive, capped off by another Cody Cummins touchdown run, his second of the day. The Red Devils kept their momentum soaring as they forced a turnover on downs on Touchet’s next possession and punched in another rushing TD to take a commanding 28-12 lead with 10:41 remaining in the contest.

Touchet needed a big play to get them back in this game, and it came with a 50 yard run from quarterback Elias Martinez all the way down to the Red Devil four yard line. But the Devil defense stood strong and forced another turnover on downs. Neah Bay then put together an eleven play 90 yard drive to score its 36th unanswered point against the Indians. Touchet would punch in a score on the last play of the game, but congratulations to the Neah Bay Red Devils for their second state title in three years!

Top Performers:
Neah Bay
Cody Cummins – 24 carries for 183 yards 2TD
Josiah Greene – 19 carries for 149 yards 1TD

Touchet
Elias Martinez – 9/14 for 195 yards 3TD, 7 carries for 76 yards