Burst of big plays delivers Indians’ fourth B-11 title

TACOMA – By the length of a hand – Chance Ackerman’s right hand to be precise – the Reardan Indians wake up today as State B-11 football champions.

It was Ackerman’s right hand that tipped away Jack Dickson’s pass to Trevor Buckley in the end zone as time expired, ensuring the Indians’ 14-10 victory over DeSales on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.

The Gridiron Classic win gives Reardan three of the last four State B-11 titles, and none was any harder earned.

“If we weren’t going to get blown out, and believe me, I was worried that would happen, I figured it would be a game of defense, field position and ball control,” Reardan coach Eric Nikkola said.

He was right. And all of those things were evident in the final 9 minutes, 53 seconds, when the Indians drove 57 yards to rally from a four-point deficit.

The comeback started with an interception by junior Jon Jayne, who needed a little comeback of his own.

It was needed because, with 10:40 left, Jayne had fumbled at the end of a run which would have put the Indians (11-1) at the DeSales’ 23-yard line. But, for the second time in the game, Reardan followed its turnover by forcing one from the Irish (12-2).

Jayne, playing safety, corralled a high Dickson pass that caromed off Jake Moore’s hands.

“That was a little bit of an emotion swing,” Nikkola said of the turnover. “We knew by then we were in a fistfight, but you could see our confidence grow with every first down we got.”

In business at their 43, the Indians pounded the ball down the field.

“That last drive where we put it in the end zone, we were playing power football,” said wide receiver Brad Alberts, who lined up tight most of the game. “That’s the kind of football I like.”

With Bob Christerson, Jake Ferderer and Jayne taking handoffs from Eric Everett, the Indians moved down the field in 16 running plays over the next 8:14. When Jayne, who had converted a fourth-and-2 with a 4-yard slash earlier, went through a huge hole over right tackle to score from 10 yards out. Only 1:39 remained, and Reardan led 12-10.

DeSales has B-11 football’s best place kicker, Casey Worth, so Nikkola was leaning toward going for two points. He called two time outs and let the kids make the decision. They decided to go for two. That decided, Nikkola picked the runner.

“It was going to be Bob (Christerson) no matter what,” Nikkola said.

“To know my coach has that type of faith in me, with the game on the line, I’m never going to forget it,” said Christerson, who gained 45 of Reardan’s 229 rushing yards and scored the Indians’ first touchdown when he capped a game-opening, 58-yard drive with a 14-yard run. “(Zac Ebding, who met him at the 1) wasn’t going to stop me, no way. Three guys couldn’t have stopped me.”

The two-point run forced DeSales to try to get into the end zone on its final drive, which started at its 43.

After two short passes, Dickson, who had teamed with Worth on a 23-yard scoring toss in the third quarter, fired into the left flat to the wide receiver with less than a minute left. Worth was behind Dickson when he made the catch, so he was then able to throw downfield, and he found Michael Richard clear of Ackerman and the rest of the Indians.

“I thought I could (catch) him, but I had rolled up a little on the lateral, so I wasn’t sure,” Ackerman said of his pursuit that caught Richard at the 9-yard line. “I put everything I had left in the last little push and caught him.”

But DeSales still had 49 seconds – and Dickson, who was playing in his third consecutive title game. On first down Dickson threw a fade to Worth, covered by Brad Alberts, who is the Indians’ best pass defender but who had slipped earlier on Worth’s touchdown catch.

He slipped again. But this time he recovered to knock the ball out of Worth’s hands.

“When that ball hit the ground, I was so happy,” Alberts said. “I couldn’t believe I slipped again.”

On second down, Adam Rohner sacked Dickson at the 17. With 12 seconds left, DeSales called timeout.

The Irish, who have lost the last three B-11 title games, went to a crossing pattern over the middle, but Dickson threw it away under pressure.

So it came to fourth down with four ticks left. The Irish tried another crossing pattern. The call played into Ackerman’s hands.

“I knew they would try to pick me, and they did, so I shuffled up got through and watched Dickson,” Ackerman said. “When he threw it, I went for it and was lucky enough to get it.”

And lucky enough to save the Indians’ fourth title in six championship game appearances. The Irish were making their 10th, though this DeSales offense looked different than it has the previous nine.

That’s because running back Bryce Hayunga gave it a potent running game. The freshman ran for a game-high 113 yards on 21 carries, including six times in a second-quarter drive that led to Worth’s 20-yard field goal just before halftime.

“Who would have though that DeSales would run the ball like that,” Nikkola asked rhetorically before gesturing toward his team. “These guys, no matter what’s been thrown at them, they’ve come through. That last play, I couldn’t even watch. But they came through again.”

Handily.