SJE wins it all with defense

TACOMA – Of all the ways St. John-Endicott could have won its first state title Saturday, this was hardly what the Eagles had in mind.

Winning with defense? Not this team. Not the team that only two weeks ago scored 92 points in the quarterfinals and needed most of them because it allowed 68. This team needed to score to win.

Or so the Eagles thought.

St. John-Endicott had by far its lowest point total of the season, but it still managed to come away with a 12-6 win over Lummi in the State 1B championship game during Gridiron Classic at the Tacoma Dome.

“Twelve points?” said bewildered Eagles coach Joey McCann. “I think we left some of our points in the Tri-Cities when we scored 92. Our defense has been doubted all year. We’ve worked on in for the last two weeks and obviously it paid off.”

So much for an 8-man football shootout.

The 18 points were the lowest combined total in 8-man state championship game history. The previous low was 30 in Odessa’s 18-12 win over Clallam Bay in 1993. Lummi was held to 56 yards rushing and 263 total yards.

“I thought we would definitely have needed a lot more, especially the way our defense has been all year,” said SJE senior quarterback Andrew Wolfe. “It’s ironic. We know our offense can score points, but we never expected this kind of a performance out of our defense. Our defense really stepped up today and that’s where we won it.”

SJE’s first touchdown looked more like the stuff of traditional 8-man games. Phillip Luft took a handoff up the middle 84 yards, giving the Eagles a touchdown in a half in which they could not sustain a drive.

Luft, who entered the game with 3,052 rushing yards and a 10-yard-per-carry average, found the going tough the rest of the day. He finished with 158 yards on 21 carries, well less than his season average.

“I’ll take it,” said Luft, whose team managed only four first downs. “It’s pretty low, though. We usually score a heck of a lot more than this. Our offense just wasn’t clicking tonight, but we’re lucky that our defense came out and made big stops for us.”

After Wolfe connected with William Harrison for a 27-yard score in the third quarter, Lummi pulled to within six on a 1-yard run by James Adams.

Lummi (11-2) had one final chance, getting the ball back at its 34 after a punt with 53 seconds left. On the game’s final play, quarterback Dustin Tom connected with Brandon Dennis at midfield. Dennis pitched to Allen Revey, who got all the way to the SJE 30 before being wrapped up. Revey’s attempted lateral, which was recovered by the Eagles, was ruled an illegal forward pass, ending the game.

Lummi, located on the Lummi Reservation northwest of Bellingham, was playing in its first state title game after starting a football program in 2002.

“It’s a great feeling for the kids,” said Lummi coach Jim Sandusky. “It’s all about them, giving them an opportunity to come out and perform and be successful. … This is a community builder.”

State 4A

Oak Harbor 21, Bothell 14: Marshall Lobbestael passed for two TDs and recovered a fumble to set up the winning score as the Wildcats (13-1) defeated the Cougars (12-2).

Bothell had one final chance before Cody Atkinson’s fourth-and-23 pass at Oak Harbor’s 31 landed squarely in the chest of Wildcats safety Brendan Kays just in front of the end zone with 2 minutes left.

Lobbestael, who has orally committed to Washington State, was 10 of 20 for 147 yards and two TDs.

State 2A

Lynden 14, Centralia 10: Chris Bolt’s fourth-quarter touchdown helped the Lions (13-1) defeat the Tigers (12-2).

Lynden, in its first year in 2A after moving down from 3A, overcame a 10-0 halftime deficit.

Bolt’s 7-yard TD run with 9:08 to go finished off Centralia, which had upset top-ranked Prosser in the semifinals.

State 1A

Meridian 27, Connell 22: Sean Hurlbut’s 3-yard TD run with 32 seconds left gave the Trojans (14-0) a win over the Eagles (13-1).

Meridian overcame Connell’s fourth-quarter rally, in which the Eagles scored 14 unanswered points after trailing 21-10 early in the period.

Tyler Slesk was 7 of 13 for 183 yards and two TDs for the Trojans.