BLHS FOOTBALL: Fourth-quarter defensive stand lifts Peninsula past Bonney Lake
Published 3:15 pm Monday, October 12, 2009
The Peninsula Seahawk defense stopped Bonney Lake High on fourth-down-and-a foot on the one-yard line late in the fourth quarter and held on for a dramatic 27-22 South Puget Sound League 3A victory Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium.
Peninsula’s defensive stand came with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the game.
Bonney Lake got the ball with less than 10 minutes to play after Austin Marshall intercepted a JR Grosshans’ pass and returned it 23 yards to the Panther 36.
The Panthers used a mix of running and short passing plays to eat time off the clock and move the ball. Cole Schuler advanced into Seahawk territory on an 18-yard run, then completed an 8-yard pass to Lee Boggin and a 6-yard completion to Danny Malone.
Facing third-and-13, Schuler hit Marshall for a 15-yard gain to the Peninsula 11. On third down, Schuler completed an 8-yard pass to Tyler Babukas, advancing to the one-yard line.
Peninsula stopped Schuler on fourth down.
“We didn’t make enough plays at the end,” Panther coach Chad Barrett said. “They made a great stand and we just didn’t get it done.”
Two of the Panthers’ offensive weapons were out of action. Leading receiver Colton Nash was on the sidelines with an ankle injury for most of the game and leading rusher Aaron Quevedo had a hip pointer and missed most of the second half.
Peninsula struck first on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Grosshans to Jake Boley with 6:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
Trailing 7-0, it didn’t take the Panthers long to answer. Schuler handed the ball to Quevedo, who pitched the ball to Nash. Nash tossed the ball to Marshall for a 62-yard TD strike.
The Seahawks blocked Cody Cade’s point-after kick.
Bonney Lake got the ball back in excellent field position after a high snap on a Seahawk punt attempt, but had to settle for a Cade 26-yard field goal to take a 9-7 margin with 2:46 in the first quarter.
Midway in the second period and on his 4-yard line, Quevedo split through the Peninsula defense for a 93-yard run to the Seahawk 3. Quevedo eventually scored on a 6-yard run for a 16-7 lead with 6:24 in the second.
A personal foul against the Panthers forced them to kick from their 25 and Peninsula returned it 35 yards to the Bonney Lake 29. Four plays later, Grosshans hit Johnny Johnson for a 29-yard TD and cut the lead to 16-14.
Peninsula took a 21-16 lead on a three-yard TD run with less than two minutes left in the third. Once again, Bonney Lake answered quickly.
With the aid of two dead ball foul penalties against the Seahawks, Bonney Lake scored on a 20-yard screen pass to Marshall for a 22-21 margin 58 seconds later.
The Panthers failed on the two-point conversion.
Al Rasmussen gave Peninsula its final lead with a 44-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Bonney Lake finished with 316 yards of offense. Schuler completed 9-of-19 passes for 94 yards and added 34 yards rushing. Marshall caught five passes for 109 yards.
Quevedo had 106 yards on seven carries.
“Overall our kids gave their best, we just didn’t make enough plays,” said Barrett. “I though our defense played great.”
Babukus had five tackles and five assists, while Damon Laird recorded four tackles and five assists.
The Panthers travel to Enumclaw Friday for a key SPSL 3A battle at Pete’s Pool.
