Freshman kicker lifts Mount Si over Thomas Jefferson

Published 7:00 am Thursday, November 12, 2015

Thomas Jefferson’s most successful season in school history came to an end as they fell 17-14 to Mount Si in the crossover round of the state playoffs on Friday.

The Raiders knew the Wildcats were going to challenge them going into the game. They finished third in the always-tough KingCo league.

Jefferson came out firing on all cylinders. The defense forced a quick three-and-out, stuffing a run in the backfield and stopping both of Mount Si’s pass attempts.

It looked like Jefferson was going to take an early lead when Kenny Turner broke away for a 67-yard gain on their first play from scrimmage. He was tackled at the 9-yard line.

From there, Jefferson drove to the 2-yard line on the first two plays, only to give up a sack on the third. The drive culminated in a missed 30-yard field goal. The miss proved important later in the game.

The drive signifed how much of the night would go for the Raiders.

Mount Si took to the air for much of the game as the Jefferson defense was able to limit the rushing attack. The Wildcats struck first in the first quarter with a 5-yard halfback pass from Jesiah Irish to Colton Swain, to take a 7-0 lead.

They extended their lead in the second quarter using the passing attack once again. This time quarterback Harrison Danna found Swain for a 11-yard touchdown.

Takeaways helped Jefferson keep the lead from getting out of hand. A fumble recovery and an interception stopped Wildcat drives that went deep into Raiders territory.

The Raiders trailed 14-0 at the half.

Halftime proved to be a turning point for Jefferson. The defense stiffened up and Mount Si struggled to find the same success they had in the first half.

Jefferson finally got on the board with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. The defense forced Mount Si to punt in their own territory. The snap went over the punter’s head and out of the endzone for a safety.

A heavy dose of Turner followed on Jefferson’s ensuing drive. He scored the first Raider touchdown on an 18-yard run where he dove for the pylon. The extra point was missed, cutting the lead to 14-8 as the third quarter neared its end.

With momentum on their side, the Raiders forced another turnover. Da’karai Sanders came off the edge from the linebacker position and levelled Danna from his blindside, forcing a fumble in the process.

Justin Madden recovered and Jefferson was Mount Si’s territory to start the fourth quarter. A 16-yard pass from Mason Delacruz to Turner on fourth down tied the game at 14 with 9:33 left to play.

They were unsuccessful on the two-point conversion. Even worse, they had to burn a timeout when they were short a lineman on the play.

Mount Si responded quickly with their best offensive possession of the second half. They quickly drove down to the Jefferson 33-yard line with a few long passes.

Parker Swain nearly gave the Wildcats their third passing touchdown of the night, but he could not hold on the ball in the endzone after getting his hands on it.

The Wildcats chose to settle for a field goal. Reed Paradissis nailed the 40-yard kick with room to spare to give Wildcats back the lead at 17-14.

With one last shot to tie, Jefferson drove down the field with no timeouts and three minutes left in the game. They made it inside the 20 with just under a minute left.

A pass fell incomplete on first down. On second down, they tried a shovel pass to the motioning receiver, but lost yardage and kept the clock moving.

With 31 seconds left, they spiked the ball on third down. On fourth and long, the pass went just over the receiver’s fingertips and Mount Si players began to celebrate.

“Right now you’re feeling bad because of the loss,” Jefferson head coach Jeff Zenisek said. “I think we could have beat them, but we made some critical errors.”

When Jefferson players huddled together after the game, a common theme the players stated was that they were a family. They also said they kept their promise to the seniors from the previous year as they did make the playoffs.

“As far as where this program has been and where these kids have taken it, it’s not me, it’s our staff and these kids,” Zenisek said. “They all believed and became a family. Everyone you heard out here talking, that’s what they emphasized. That’s what it’s all about.”

Turner finished with 221 yards on 32 carries. He had a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Madden finished with 12 tackles, three of them for a loss.

The defense held Mount Si to just 8 yards rushing the entire game. The Wildcats finished with 236 yards through the air, but were held to just 28 yards total in the second half.

Jefferson had five takeaways in the game, including two interceptions in the final minute of the first half.

Mount Si will move on to face Graham-Kapowsin in the first round of the state playoffs.

Jefferson finishes the year with a 7-3 record and their first-ever outright league title.

Skyline handles Todd Beamer

It took Beamer only 12 seconds to put points on the board. Lincoln Mitchell-Liulama returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play of the game. It was Skyline quarterback Blake Gregory’s first interception of the season.

The next 54 points were scored by the Skyline Spartans as they won 54-14.

After building a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, the Spartans erupted for 34 points in the second quarter, building a 48-7 lead by the half.

They struck once more to put the game at 54-7. A late rushing touchdown by Phillip Quach put the score at 54-14.

Rashaad Boddie rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries for the Spartans. Gregory was 8-14 for 133 yards, one interception and four touchdowns.

Todd Beamer had less than 60 total yards in the first half. They finish the year with a 6-4 record.

Skyline advanced to the state playoffs to face undefeated Gig Harbor in the first round.