Hatch back, Scotties roll by Warriors
In the end, there was no secret Hatch to plan for the Freeman Scotties.
In fact, there was nothing secret involved in the Scotties’ 21-7 victory over Wahluke Saturday at Freeman. It was all about hard-nosed defense.
With running back Kevin Hatch back after missing four games to a broken collarbone but still showing signs of rust, the Scotties still entered the game with the confident swagger that comes from posting six shutouts en route to a 9-0 run through the regular season.
“Defense is where we hang our hat,” Freeman coach Jeff Smith summarized. “Defense wins championships.
“We had a good defensive scheme coming in and I have to give a lot of credit to our scout team. They ran the Wahluke offense all week, full speed, and gave us great preparation for this game.”
The Scotties, 10-0, stymied the Wahluke running game to the point where a three-yard blast by the fullback was considered a big gain.
The Warriors, 9-3, finished the game with 164 total yards of offense, 72 of them coming on the team’s lone touchdown run.
“Our goal coming in was to get a shutout, but we didn’t get it done,” said senior tight end/defensive back Bryan Riggs, who returned a Wahluke fumble 15 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and picked off a pass with 10.4 seconds left to put a period on the defensive statement. “We knew everything they were going to do and we were able to go right after them.”
Andrew Wilkerson caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage from Andrew Dresback on the Scotties’ first possession, shrugged off a high tackle attempt by the Wahluke defender, and raced 53 yards for the only score by either team in the first half.
Freeman broke the game open over an 18-second span of the third quarter.
With Hatch starting in the backfield in the second half, the Scotties mounted the game’s only prolonged drive, marching 75 yards. Two swing passes to Hatch coming out of the backfield accounted for 40 yards on the drive, and Dresback threw a 20-yard rope to Scott Ferguson for the touchdown – across the field from where Hatch was drawing a double-team.
“Kevin is back, but he’s still not back to where he was,” Smith said. “The shoulder is still sore and his legs aren’t quite where they were. But you still have to know where he is every second he’s on the football field.
“Just having him on the field opens up a lot of things for us.”
Following the kickoff, Wahluke reached into its bag of tricks and attempted a bubble screen, but Kody Hirai’s lateral pass was incomplete and Riggs scooped up the live ball at the 15 and darted untouched into the end zone.
Running back Marcos Jimenez found two blockers on the corner, cut inside them and raced 72 yards for a touchdown with 10:33 left in the game for the Warriors only touchdown.
Dresback, Freeman’s sophomore quarterback, completed 13 of 20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Scotties offense. Hatch carried 12 times for 31 yards.
Freeman advances to host Zillah, a 35-21 winner over Brewster, in next week’s state quarterfinal round. That game will likely be held at either Central Valley or Riverside High. A site decision will come Monday.
Royal 53, Newport 12
Jeff Jack scored five touchdowns, kicked a field goal and six extra points as the Knights (11-0) whipped the visiting Newport (5-7) in the 1A playoff game. Jack collected 226 yards rushing on 21 carries, four of which were good for touchdowns. He also caught a 24-yard pass for a score. His field goal was from 35 yards out. Jack’s six extra points set the all-time state record for single-season PATs with 77.
Royal will host Tonasket (9-1) in the quarterfinals.
2A: East Valley (Yakima) 49, Colville 20
Michael Corral ran for two touchdowns and caught another for a score as the Red Devils advanced in the 2A playoffs by beating the Indians (7-4). Corral rushed for 147 yards on 11 carries. Colville’s Jonathon Divis scored twice on 1-yard runs.
East Valley (11-0) hosts Elma (6-5) in the quarterfinals.