‘Do or die time’: Noah Holman scores 3 TDs, Jonah Keller returns kickoff for score; Gonzaga Prep downs Woodinville 40-18

There were a lot of blowouts Friday in the Round of 32 games, with few road teams pulling off upsets.

Gonzaga Prep entered Saturday’s 4A play-in game ranked No. 3 in the RPI and hosted Woodinville, which came in with a losing record and the lowest RPI (40) of any team in the play-in round to state.

But Woodinville wasn’t an ordinary team with a losing record. As a member of the KingCo upper tier, it faced only the stiffest competition, and four of its six losses came by a combined 10 points – including three by a single point.

Gonzaga Prep knew it would have to play well at home to escape the play-in game and move on.

And the Bullpups did.

Noah Holman – as he has been all season long – was the focal point of the offense, carrying 32 times for 157 yards with three touchdowns and the Bullpups stayed undefeated, beating the visiting Falcons 40-18 to advance to the state playoffs.

Gonzaga Prep (10-0) will find out its opponent for next week on Sunday afternoon when the 16-team state bracket is released.

G-Prep’s Jonah Keller carried for 81 yards and a touchdown, and added an 84-yard kickoff return after Woodinville took its first and only lead of the game in the second quarter.

“This is when it gets really fun. This is kind of what we work for all season, is to get into these games,” Gonzaga Prep first-year head coach Nate Graham said.

“We knew Woodinville was going to be good. Their record wasn’t nearly indicative of how good they were. We knew that (watching) on film, and we knew they were going to fight and battle. So our kids kept fighting, just like we’ve been doing all year. Just battle, battle, battle.”

“It’s do-or-die time – win or you’re out,” Holman said. “It’s always a great feeling to get past those games, and especially to win dominantly like that.

“We knew coming into it that their record was 3-6, but they had a lot of close ones in a tough league, so we didn’t overlook them at all based on the record. We knew they were a tough team.”

G-Prep’s defense forced a three-and-out on Woodinville’s first possession. After the punt, the offense started at the Bullpups 42. It took just nine plays, culminated by Keller’s 13-yard run, to get on the board.

Woodinville quarterback Levi Grothen found Casey Larson down the sideline for 25 yards into the red zone, then Larson took a direct snap from the 2 for a TD. The extra point hit the post, and G-Prep led 7-6.

Gonzaga Prep (10-0) lined up to punt at its 26, but the Falcons blocked the rugby-style kick. The deflection went straight to Gavin Watts, who went untouched for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but Woodinville went up by two points.

Keller gathered the ensuing kick at the G-Prep 16, made a would-be tackler miss at the 25, then hit the jets down the far sideline for a 17-12 lead.

“I just saw a hole and hit it,” Keller said. “After (Woodinville) scored, they got really loud and we just knew we had to go down and score, get that momentum back.”

“That was a huge momentum shift, especially the way the defense was playing, just to get that right back,” Graham said.

On third-and-long, Bullpups defensive tackle Mario Rivera got loose for a strip sack and fell on the loose ball at the Woodinville 17. Paul Davidow kicked his second field goal of the half, from 31 yards, and G-Prep went up 20-12.

“(The sack) was huge,” Graham said. “A lot of those things were big all night.” I mean, defense played lights out, and turnovers, again, are the difference in the game.”

G-Prep opened the second half with a fumble, but on the next possession went on a nine-play, 65-yard drive, with Holman taking it the last 9 for a 27-12 lead.

Woodinville (3-7) went hurry-up and Grothen directed the Falcons to first-and-goal at the 6, where Larson took a direct snap into the end zone. The Falcons missed their third extra point of the game, and G-Prep led 27-18.

Faced with fourth-and-inches at the Woodinville 26, Holman burrowed through the line for a first. Four plays later, he pounded it in from the 3 for a 34-18 lead. He carried the ball on eight of the Bullpups’ 11 plays on the drive.

“I do my job when I get called to carry the ball. And if I get called to block, I go do that,” he said. “You know, it’s just work on my assignment. Do my job. Trust my brothers.”

The Falcons fumbled the kickoff, and G-Prep got it back at the Woodinville 21. Holman was inevitable, lugging his third touchdown run from the 2 and a 22-point lead with just less that 3 minutes to go.

“I think we get overlooked a lot compared to the West Side of the state,” Holman said “I think the East Side’s got some powerful teams that get overlooked. But you know, it’s all right. We get to come out during playoffs and show everybody who we are.”

“We’ll enjoy this one. And just like we always do, we’ll we’ll get ready to go,” Graham said. “We have no idea who we’re playing, which makes this format a little bit different. So, yeah, we’ll find out (Sunday), I guess.”