Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

PREP FOOTBALL: Montesano offense, defense too much for Nooksack Valley

TUMWATER - A team would need a pretty special night on the defensive side of the ball to make a 51-point outburst its second most impressive accomplishment.

Montesano's defense was that special.

The Bulldogs advanced to the Class 1A state semifinals for the third season in a row after a stifling 51-8 victory over Nooksack Valley Saturday, Nov. 22, at Tumwater Stadium.

The Pioneers (9-2) entered Saturday's quarterfinal on a nine-game winning streak and following a 25-point win over Forks last week in the first round of the 1A playoffs.

"We just came out flying and played our game," said Montesano linebacker Zack Fenn, who was responsible for forcing two of Nooksack Valley's four turnovers. "We knew they were about a 70-30 run team. We just had to stop the run first and deal with the pass later."

Why not both?

Fenn set the tone for the night by bringing down Nick deGrasse for a loss on the Pioneers' first offensive play of the game. Nooksack Valley finished up the first half with just 31 yards rushing and 48 passing. The Pioneers didn't finish the game much better, compiling a total of just 54 yards on the ground. Nooksack Valley finished with a respectable 127 passing yards, primarily because it was forced to abandon the run midway through the third quarter.

The Pioneers were held to just three first downs in the first half - one came on the heels of a Montesano penalty and the other saw Fenn strip the ball away from Kyle Handy at the end of a 17-yard gain to give the ball back to the Bulldogs (12-0).

"We were really impressed with how fast they were - very fast to the football," Nooksack Valley coach Robb Myhre said. "There's some stuff that we've been able to do against teams all year, and we've got pretty good speed, but we just couldn't keep up with their speed tonight."

Defensively or offensively, for that matter.

Taylor Church and Ryan Campbell led the way on the ground, piling up 144 of the Bulldogs' 270 rushing yards. Campbell scored twice in the first half, while Church kicked off a 20-point third quarter with a 20-yard touchdown scamper.

Quarterback Josh Tyler was just as effective, completing 9 of 15 attempts for 252 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Craig McAlpin, who he found six times for 164 yards, which included scores of 34 and 53 yards. Tyler also put an exclamation point on the proceedings with a 19-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs' final score of the game.

"We played with a lot of passion tonight everywhere," Montesano coach Terry Jensen said. "Offense, defense, special teams - we came out on fire."

Now it's a matter of keeping that fire burning another week. The Bulldogs will take on Cascade Christian, 35-12 winners over Castle Rock on Saturday. Although Montesano has advanced to the state semifinals in each of the past three seasons, it has also seen its season come to an end in the semis each time.

"We hope we have some unfinished business there that we can take care of next week," Jensen said.