Turnovers plague Kamiakin, Ferris Rolls

          Ferris moves on in postseason after convincing win over the Braves.

          Story by Ryan Minnerly

“They deserved to win and are going to make some noise in this thing.” Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin shared his thoughts with the Spokesman Review after Friday’s playoff game at Albi Stadium that resulted in another postseason victory for Ferris. But after the 41-16 steamrolling that Ferris served to the Braves in front of many-a-Saxon fan at Albi, why would anyone think otherwise? Since the playoffs have began, the team has been playing arguably its best football of the year – knocking off undefeated Wenatchee first, and now moving on to the elite eight of the Washington 4A state playoffs after a more than convincing triumph over Kamiakin. Ferris is perhaps the hottest team in the state right now, so let’s hope they keep that fire stoked!

I can’t imagine that Friday’s game started exactly how Coach Sharkey and the team had hoped it would. No more than a minute after the game’s initial kickoff, Kamiakin had plastered 7 points on the board. Ferris was aware of and had prepared for Kamiakin’s dangerous wide receiver, Tim White. However, the Braves’ wide-out proved himself before Kamiakin even began an offensive drive. White scooped up Ferris kicker Alex Belling’s squib kick to open the game, put on a few moves, and turned on the after-burners as he dashed 84 yards to the end zone. Exasperated Saxon fans began to worry – even more so after Ferris got the ball and had to punt it away on a quick 3-and-out hold by the Braves defense. But soon these nervous fans lost all their worries. The cause of relief came in the shape of one Jordan Tonani (Tuh-nAhn-ee for you local news reporters that have struggled with pronunciation).  Tonani, a junior who plays both defensive back and slot receiver, stepped in front of a pass thrown by Kamiakin quarterback Corey Hutchison and picked it off. Five plays later, senior Brendon Olson tied the score, putting Ferris on the board by scampering into the end zone from 17 yards out. Olson did not go quiet after that score, and played a huge role in the game on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Soon after Brendon’s score, Kamiakin compiled quite the drive. But the Ferris defense held strong. The Braves marched all the way down to the Ferris 20 yard line, but the Saxons D had had enough. They stopped the offensive attack, and got the ball back on a turnover on downs. From there, quarterback Connor Halliday, who had a huge game for the men in red, and the Ferris offense went to work. It didn’t take the boys long to find the end zone. A well executed screen pass left Halliday with pressure coming fast. Connor calmly dumped the ball off to fullback Gage Orosco.  Once he got the ball, Gage rumbled, he bumbled, and he stumbled 76 yards en route to another Saxons score! Belling drilled the extra point, leaving the score at 14-7. However, the score did not rest there for long.

With just a few minutes left remaining in this very long first quarter (it lasted for 50 minutes – some Ferris students were befuddled, mistaking the end of the first quarter for the end of the half!), the Ferris D came back onto the field. The Braves had the ball on their own 25 yard line, and the Saxons forced a fumble, recovered by none other than Brendon Olson. A very short offensive drive resulted in a Connor Halliday to Jason Bates 23 yard connection for a score. Bates caught the ball on a post pattern about 3 yards from the goal line, got hit by the cornerback and safety, and not only did Jason hold onto the ball, but he also shed both tackles and stepped over the goal line, putting six more points on the board for the Saxons as he has done time and time again this season.

Just 15 seconds after Olson recovered that fumble, he jumped on another one. Throughout the entire game, Kamiakin fumbled the ball 11 times! Just 3 of these 11 fumbles were recovered by Ferris, and two of those three by Brendon. This fumble recovery left the Ferris offense at the Kamiakin 23. The Saxons were held and did not get a first down. They took what they could get, sending Belling, the kicker, back onto the field for a 29 yard field goal. Alex sent the ball right through the uprights, putting the Saxons ahead 24-7. This would be the score at the end of the first, very long quarter of football.

Kamiakin put three more points on the board early in the second quarter. Their offensive drive landed them at the Saxons’ 24 yard line. The Ferris D (territorial as they are) put an end to the drive, forcing the Braves to kick a field goal, which was successful. The second quarter was a much more defensive quarter, however. Kamiakin had a chance to score again with just 3 and a half minutes left in the half. Coach Biglin of Kamiakin made the call to go for it on fourth down at the Ferris 6 yard line. The Ferris D brought the heat, and sacked quarterback Corey Hutchison for a 9 yard loss. Taking over possession, Connor Halliday and the offensive squad put together a 3-minute, 85-yard drive to score with 31 seconds left in the half. The scoring play was another screen pass, this time over the middle to Jordan Tonani from 20 yards out. This touchdown proved key for Ferris as they now headed into halftime with a 3 touchdown lead rather than 2. This first half was a great half of football for Ferris. After the initial kickoff mishap, the Ferris D proved to be very stout, allowing just 3 points the rest of the half. On offense, Halliday had already thrown for over 200 yards and three touchdowns!

The second half was less eventful. When on offense, the Saxons spent a lot of the time being a bit on the conservative side, running the ball more than passing and trying to keep the clock ticking. Late in the 3rd quarter, the Braves got the ball back and tried to get back in the ball game. They put together a 78 yard drive that ended with a 19 yard touchdown pass from Hutchison. These would be Kamiakin’s final points. The extra point failed, and the score was now 31-16. Even later in the 3rd, Ferris answered. Sophomore wide receiver Cole Lemer gathered in 45 of his game total 58 receiving yards in one catch-and-run play on the drive. This helped set up the Halliday-Tonani connection from 11 yards out, and after yet another successful Alex Belling extra point was tacked on, Ferris was up 38-16. That would be all the scoring in the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter in Friday’s game was the winding down point for most players and fans, but for a select few, it was a winding up point. As Ferris had built such an impressive lead over Kamiakin in this playoff game, Coach Sharkey started sending in the backups late in the fourth quarter, which was fun for players and fans alike to see. Backup quarterback Ben Goodwin took some snaps for Connor. Goodwin ran it a few times, and went 1-2 passing for 9 yards, completing his pass to senior stud wide receiver Devin Jones. Dev caught it around the line of scrimmage and scampered for nine yards. Jones has played football all four of his years at Ferris, and was on the kick-return team and a back up wide out this year. Good to see him getting some well-deserved time – way to go Dev! Otherwise, the fourth quarter was pretty quiet. Alex Belling hit another field goal after Ferris jumped on another loose ball fumbled away by Kamiakin. Although many people may not have realized, Belling had quite the night for Ferris. Alex was 5/5 on his extra point attempts, and 2/2 on field goal attempts, drilling one from 29 yards out and the other from 31. He scored 11 of Ferris’ 42 points. Well done Belling! His last field goal rounded out the scoring for the night. Final score: 41-16 Ferris!

OLD MAN MINN NOTES: The Saxons are looking good - all parts of the game are starting to come together, offense, defense and special teams (save the opening kickoff)....the screen plays are sure working and one of the keys is the downfield blocking by the receiving corps and O-line - good job boys....We love Connor Halliday and we all know he can throw the rock,  however this weeks 307 passing yards is a little misleading - one word, YAC. He only threw a couple of balls down field - one to Bates and one to Bozette, but other than that all passes were short passes with lots of YAC - and for good reason, it worked... Props to Joe Arguinchona and Cain Mitchell for filling in nicely for the inured Dillon Beschel - Joe did a nice job with pass pro and Cain played good D and recovered a fumble....  Eisenhower next - check back for information on this opponent...OMM can remember the days when the GSL couldn't get past the Big 9/CBBN teams in the state tournament - my how the tide has changed for the Saxons.