Unbeaten Crescent Goes Out On A Roll, 46-0 Loggers Dominate Odessa To Claim B-8 Football Title

Odessa had no false sense of security Friday when it trailed Crescent just 6-0 at half-time.

“We knew we got away with that,” Odessa coach Myron Kramer said of the halftime score. “We still hadn’t done anything on offense.”

Nor did the Tigers do anything on offense in the second half. Crescent? That was a different story: six possessions, six touchdowns for the speedy Loggers.

Crescent became the first B-8 football team to finish 13-0 with a 46-0 decision over Odessa (11-1) in the WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington championship game at the Tacoma Dome.

The outcome provided the perfect sendoff for Loggers coach Gary Kautz, who is retiring after 29 years with the Joyce school. Kautz’s Loggers lost their previous four title appearances.

Also going out on high notes were Crescent seniors Otto Mock, Jakoba Square, Ryan Sage and Jake Bauers, who accounted for all the scoring.

“We finally had the kids who could do it,” Kautz said. “We’ve been working with these kids since they were 9 years old (in the Joyce Little Football League).”

Mock and Square combined for 289 rushing yards, 223 in the second half. Mock reached halftime with 25 yards on eight carries. His third-quarter TD runs of 37 and 12 yards resulted in a 26-0 lead.

“I had back problems and (Kautz) was holding me out,” Mock said. “But at halftime I said, ‘I’m going out there.”’

Mock also corralled three of the four interceptions thrown by Tigers senior Randy Carlson. Hounded by Crescent’s pass rush, Carlson finished 8 of 20 for 52 yards. He had thrown for 1,536 yards coming in.

Square, a state silver-medalist sprinter, challenged Odessa all afternoon, whether returning punts, lining up in the backfield or running pass patterns. He returned Odessa’s first punt 83 yards for a TD, juking Troy Grall near the Tigers’ 25 to complete the play.

That 6-0 lead, 2:03 into the game, didn’t change for the next 21:57 thanks to Tigers defensive stands at their 19 and 10.

“I was thinking we were in trouble … but our coach said, ‘If they can’t score on us, they can’t win,”’ Square said.

Odessa, indeed, couldn’t score, meeting the same fate that befell five other Loggers rivals this year. Crescent’s first-team defense allowed 56 points in 12 games (one win was a forfeit).

“Normally that’s the defensive set (4-3) we like to play against, but with their speed they were able to cover up,” Kramer said.

Odessa was also known as a defensive team this year, giving up 14 points or less in eight games. But the second half was too taxing because of Mock’s resurgence, Tigers turnovers and Odessa’s failure to convert a pair of fourth-and-short plays near midfield.

Crescent allowed just 23 yards after the break, including minus-11 on the ground.

The Loggers offense, given good field position each time, adopted a come-right-at-you style.

“We tried to run outside in the first half,” Kautz said. “They were playing zone, so we decided to take it right at them. That worked.”

“Zone in B-8, that’s pretty weird,” said Square, whose pair of fourth-quarter TDs helped rub salt in the wounds.

The final score raised eyebrows because Kautz replaced his first-teamers with 1:22 left and Crescent at the Tigers 13. Two plays later, the seniors returned. Sage connected with Square, alone in the middle of the end zone, as time expired.

“I didn’t want to run the score up on them,” Kautz said. “There was no significance to it. Our seniors just wanted another chance on the field.”

Senior Sean Moon highlighted Odessa’s offense with 117 return yards on four kickoffs. Jared Praetorius had 10 tackles, Justin Starkel eight and Joshua Pitts six for the Tigers.

Class AA

Charlie Kentfield scored on an 11-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter as Capital beat West Valley-Yakima 17-7 for the State AA championship in the Tacoma Dome.

Kentfield gave the Cougars from Olympia (13-1) a 14-7 lead with 11:34 left en route to the title in their first trip to the state finals. West Valley finished 11-1.

Crescent 46, Odessa 0

Odessa 0 0 0 0 0

Crescent 6 0 20 20 46

CresJakoba Square 83 punt return (pass failed) CresRyan Sage 1 run (pass failed) CresOtto Mock 37 run (pass failed) CresMock 12 run (Square run) CresSquare 13 run (run failed) CresJake Bauers 43 pass from Sage (Square run) CresSquare 12 pass from Sage (no attempt) Ode Cres First downs 6 19 Rushes-yards 25-30 53-378 Passing 52 65 Comp-Att-Int 8-20-4 5-11-0 Return Yards 166 139 Punts-Avg. 4-36.0 1-45.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 5-62 5-59 Time of Possession 23:28 24:32 Individual statistics

RUSHINGOdessa, Lance Meise 9-23, Joel Bell 5-18, Daniel Pitts 2-11, Sean Moon 1-3, Justin Starkel 1-(minus 8), Randy Carlson 7-(minus 17). Crescent, Mock 19-153, Square 15-136, Rick Halberg 12-69, Sage 5-19, Matt Cockrill 1-2, Jason Nelson 1-(minus 1).

PASSINGOdessa, Carlson 8-20-4-52. Crescent, Sage 5-11-0-65.

RECEIVINGOdessa, Troy Grall 2-22, Moon 2-13, Bell 2-9, Joel Hardung 1-5, Meise 1-3. Crescent, Square 2-15, Halberg 2-7, Bauers 1-43. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo