Knights get defensive, top Clover Park

East Valley’s defense faced its most daunting challenge to date. But with big plays providing a welcome cushion, the resilient and relentless unit, especially the secondary. was up to the task.

The Knights defeated Clover Park and standout quarterback Tavita Pritchard 26-14 on a dreary Saturday at EV to earn a spot in next week’s State 3A football Elite Eight at home against Kelso.

Clover Park, riding Pritchard’s arm and legs in the execution of its multi-faceted offense, tested EV’s defensive backs as they’ve never been tested this year.

“Really our defense is usually run-oriented,” said Steve Anderson, whose two late-game interceptions broke Clover Park’s back. “It was really a change for our DB’s to step up to the challenge and make big plays. I’m really proud of everybody.”

Pritchard threw a game total 46 passes, completing 17 for 219 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a second. At a point late in the first half, the Warriors had run 41 plays to EV’s 12.

But the Knights needed only nine of them to build a 20-7 lead. More precisely they needed two runs by Ryan Campbell to give the defenders the margin they needed.

Campbell, who had negative yardage after four carries, broke a 59-yard, weak-side isolation play with 4:21 in the first quarter to put the Knights ahead 14-0.

And on the last play of the quarter, after Clover Park had halved the lead, he sprinted up the middle 91 yards for a 20-7 lead.

“We knew we were going to big-play them,” said coach Adam Fisher. “Their defensive style fed right into our style of play. When you play a bare 46 defense you can’t stop weak side isolation and obviously that’s our main play.”

His two runs accounted for 150 of his game total 200 yards.

But things got dicey, the Warriors controlling time of possession with an occasional run and Pritchard hitting five different receivers long, short or in-between.

They even got a completion on a fake punt from their own 34-yard line that ultimately cut the Knights’ lead to six points.

But EV’s defense did what it has done so well in the second half. It played with reckless abandon, twice stopping the visitors on fourth-down plays, and produced three takeaways, including Anderson’s picks.

His first came at the 10 with Clover Park threatening to score after the Knights, ahead 26-14 and driving for the apparent game-deciding score, turned the ball over at the Clover Park 4-yard-line with 8:18 to go.

His second, in the end zone with 51 seconds left thwarted the Warriors one last time.

“It was the end of the game and, I don’t know, I just read the quarterback,” he said. “When it comes down to that you’ve got to make big plays and that’s what our defense is about.”

The first big defensive play came early in the game when Tyler Jolley recovered a fumble and took it to the Warrior 25-yard line, setting up Spencer Shaw’s touchdown with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

Jolley, in a rare offensive appearance, also caught his first pass of the season and had a 14-yard ramble from fullback before his fourth-quarter fumble gave Clover Park a glimmer of hope.

“I know a lot of positions,” he said, a load all season long at defensive end. “They’ve had me learn tight end, fullback and offensive tackle. And I played middle linebacker as a freshman.”

Adjusting back to their base defense in the second half, the Knights held Pritchard to 7-of-20 passing for 81 yards and those two precious Anderson picks.

As Fisher said, “We live to see another week and enjoy it. That’s what high school sports is about.”