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.”

The Final Score:
Prosser 22, Tumwater 15

Top Performer

Prosser
Tanner Bolt- 21/35, 280 yards, 3 TDs

Tumwater
Easton Trakel- 2 rec, 47 yards, TD