Prosser Prevails in 2A, Ingvalson Adds to Mustang Legacy By Steve Dion
Saturday morning at the Dome kicked off with the 2A final between perennial powerhouse Tumwater and Prosser who has a rich football history, but had not reached this stage of the postseason for the better part of a decade. Both teams featured a strong fan sections along both sidelines. Prosser took down the 2014 champs in the semis, would they claim the 2015 crown? Or would Sid Otton add another championship to his legendary coaching resume?
Prosser’s explosive passing game was demonstrated in the first half as Tanner Bolt distributed the ball to his corps of wideouts to the tune of 213 yards on 21 attempts. Three of these throws resulted in touchdowns to Kolby Swift, Kason Blair, and Noah Flores. Going into the game, it was uncertain whether or not Tumwater scat-back Easton Trakel would be available for the game as he was absent in the semis. Trakel did play and in his postgame remarks, Prosser head coach Corey Ingvalson stated, “we knew he would play. He’s too good of a player not to.” Indeed, Trakel was the lone scorer for the T-Birds in the first half when he took a Noah Andrews pass 42 yards to the house. Tumwater would trail by 14 heading into the break, but were faced with a similar situation against Montesano last Saturday when they overcame a two touchdown deficit in the second half.
Tumwater’s first attempt to cut down the Mustang led was thwarted when Michael Kernan picked off Noah Andrews on a shot to the endzone. Both defenses kept the ball within the twenties effectively with only two and three trips to the red zone in the game for Prosser and Tumwater respectively. The clock began to become a factor that was working against a Tumwater comeback especially with Prosser in control of the ball and only seven minutes remaining. Trayten Rodriguez changed the complexion of the game when he intercepted Bolt and brought the ball back to the Prosser 24. Moments later, Tolo Hafoka punched it in to bring the score to 22-15. Prosser needed a handful of first downs to seal the win. The TBird defense shut the door. After turning the ball over on downs, Tumwater had their chance. The Mustangs held their ground and stopped the TBirds on fourth down and seemingly the ability to line up for kneels. Prosser chose to line up in the gun and they “shot” themselves in the foot, a botched snap recovered by Tumwater. The T-Birds were on the move.
The deciding moment of the game was a Spencer Dowers scramble up the middle in which the ball popped loose. Riley Lusk picked it up only to be blindsided by a TBird tackler causing another fumble. Lusk immediately found his composure and jumped on the loose ball. This time, Coach Ingvalson opted to line up in victory formation. He has now won a state title as a Prosser student, assistant coach, and now first year head coach of the Mustangs. Following the trophy ceremony, he talked about his fantastic senior class and explained his respect for “their commitement to eachother. Their commitment to the program to get it done.”
When a 2A team matches up with a 4A team, we all assume the 4A team with over 800 more students would have a distinct advantage. Not when you play Prosser, who maintains one of the best football programs in the state. The third matchup in the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic turned sour quickly for the Emerald Ridge Jaguars, who faced off against the Prosser Mustangs.
Both teams battled well in the first quarter, with a score of 7-7 going into the second. This is when Prosser moved into a second gear.
The Mustangs scored 28 straight points in the second quarter, capitalizing off of turnovers from Emerald Ridge. On the back of Kason Blair and Cardell Jones, the Mustangs continued to build their lead into the third and fourth quarters.
The big difference in this game was the rushing game. Prosser had 39 total carries for 269 yards, while Emerald Ridge had 16 carries for 15 yards. Griffin Meyers, quarterback of the Jaguars had a good day with three touchdown passes, but the Emerald Ridge defense could do nothing to stop the storming Mustangs. Prosser took this one 62-20.
Top Performers: Prosser
Isaiah Sanders- 13 carries for 101 yards
Cardell Jones- 3 catches for 107 yards and 2 TDs
Emerald Ridge
Griffin Meyers- 12-28 for 186 yards and 3TDs
Prosser Holds on after Late Sedro-Woolley Charge By Colin Caruso
In the second contest of the afternoon at Sedro-Woolley High School, the home team Cubs took on the Prosser Mustangs for a trip to the state quarterfinal. Prosser is accustomed to playing games of this magnitude, with a state title under their belt in 2007 and a couple of second place finishes in the 2000’s. But the Cubs weren’t afraid of the Mustang history, and came out strong with their first possession in front of their unbelievably large fan base.
Senior Shawn Kennedy for the Cubs ran in his first touchdown of the day from 11 yards out on their first possession, but the Cubs failed to make the point after, leading 6-0 early in the first. And then the drought began for the home side Sedro-Wooley club. The Cubs could not break into the strong Prosser defense for almost thirty minutes of football, held scoreless until early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Prosser didn’t slow down offensively, with quarterback Mason Schutt running for one TD and passing for two more to lead 21-6 entering the fourth.
The Cubs fans did not let their team go down quietly, as Sedro-Woolley began to put their foot on the gas in the final quarter of play. Senior running back Clayton Johnson began the Cub comeback with a 14 yard run to cut the lead to 21-13. But the Mustangs responded with another TD pass from Schutt, his third of the day to bump the lead to 28-13 with less than 9 minutes to play. And Shawn Kennedy answered the call for the Cubs. Two more scores in the next three minutes of play cut the Prosser lead to just three, 28-25 with just over five minutes remaining.
But Sedro-Woolley couldn’t break into the Prosser defense any further, and a late interception by the Mustangs sealed the victory on the road, 28-25.
