By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
RENTON--Hazen surprised Kennedy Catholic with a little fight to start the game, but the Lancers came back from a field goal deficit to knock the Highlanders out cold, 62-9, in Seamount League action at Renton Memorial Stadium Thursday.
Kennedy improved to 6-0 in the Seamount and 8-0 overall and Hazen dropped to 3-3 and 3-6.
"I don't know that we've been behind in a game this season, but I liked the way the guys responded to the challenge," said Lancers head coach Bob Bourgette. "You want to see how your guys are going to answer the bell."
Hazen rang in the game's start with a blow to the Lancers' via an opening possession drive that started at it's own 35-yard line and was successful on a field goal. The Highlanders moved the ball via their main rusher, senior Marquise Lee, who had a 24-yard run for the biggest damage of what was an 11-play drive covering 37 yards in 2:57 elapsed time, making it 3-0 Hazen with 8:28 left on the first quarter scoreboard clock.
But the Lancers were ready to rise up after having been rung on for some points as they came right back and scored on their first possession of the first quarter.
Senior running back Junior Ngauamo (6-0, 225 pounds) carried the ball on the first play from scrimmage of the drive, going nine yards on 1st-and-10 from the Lancers' own 34-yard line. Then Ngaumo carried the ball again on 2nd-and-1 from the 43-yard line for five more yards, making it a 1st-and-10 from the 48-yard line.
And, still on this drive, the Lancers' strong, tough, running back got the call for the ball and journeyed right through the heart of the Highlanders' defense -- where he saw daylight a lot this game. Ngauamo was tackled at the 13-yard line, but that was for a 39-yard gain. After a Lancers penalty backing them up five yards, Ngauamo clutched ball again after a handoff from quarterback Jacob Thurber. And Ngauamo went five yards more. And, the next play, Ngauamo ran it eight more yards to the Hazen 1-yard line, for 1st-and-goal. Sophomore Keannu Royster took it in from the one and the Lancers claimed the lead, 7-3, after senior placekicker Marco Caledron's point-after-touchdown was good with 4:59 left in the first quarter.
Ngauamo carried the ball five of the Lancers' first seven plays of the game. Four times in a row, too. But he wasn't tired, was he?
"Never," said Ngauamo. "That's what I'm made for."
The word "beastmode" comes to mind, watching this guy run, much like the grinding style of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Like Lynch, Ngauamo can quick-step by lines and secondaries gracefully, too.
And Ngauamo loves the big boys in the trenches on his team, the offensive line guys, who help him run the ball successfully. Ngauamo carried the ball 13 times for 180 yards against Hazen, for a very nice 13.8 yard average per carry.
"Those holes are wide open for me to run through. My line's doing the work," said Ngauamo. "I'm just hitting the holes."
The offensive line guys Ngauamo speaks of -- who seriously won the line of scrimmage in this one with Royster also carrying the ball six times for 60 yards -- Ben Josie, Alex Lesar, Sebastian Ferraro, Manase Kamoto and Iziq Ifopo.
"They do great work," said Bourgette.
And the line was quick to the ball carriers and quarterback of the Highlanders, as Kamoto's name could be heard for tackles a few times as well as Ferraro, with both seniors and captains on the team.
Hazen got the ball back and fumbled and on its ensuing possession. Then it was Lancer freshman Treshaun Harrison going 33 yards for the score to make it 13-3 Lancers after the two-point conversion was no good with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
Hazen wasn't done fighting yet, so, following the Lancers' score that gave them a nice 10-point cushion, Hazen senior quarterback Nolan Hoover hit his receiver, senior Jacob Howell, down the field for a 35-yard pass play. That put the ball at the Lancers 18-yard line. And, after a 2-yard gain on 1st-and-10 from the Lancers 18-yard line, Hazen rusher Lee ran 16 yards to the end zone with 3:45 left in the first quarter. So, after the PAT was no good, it was close, 13-9, Lancers. This was a drive that got Hazen right back in the game, only three plays and it covered 65 yards in a scant one minute.
This was Hazen's senior night, too, so it's players were more motivated than usual. The seniors were introduced before the game for the Highlanders, and there was some hype and energy from that circumstance that had a lot of its fans in the stands attending, as well as did the Lancers' faithful.
The score this close made Bourgette uncomforatble at this early point in the game, and he admitted to his players that something needed changing.
"I was going crazy, but they were calm, and they said, "We'll be fine, coach,'" said Bourgette.
And, they were just fine, as on their next possession the Lancers scored a touchdown. Ngauamo carried the ball first on 1st-and-10 from the Lancers' own 30-yard line, for 64 yards down the right side, even straight-arming a couple would-be tacklers to allow him to travel an extra 15 yards to the 6-yard line. On 1st-and-goal, Royster carried the ball three yards and then Ngauamo, on 2nd-and-goal from the 3-yard line, pounded through the middle for the score to make it 20-9 Lancers after Calderon's PAT was good with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
"Unbelievable," said Bourgette of Ngauamo's big day.
Just runs and runs and runs, chewing up big-chunks every time he touches the ball. That's been the case all season for the Seamount 3A leading rusher, with 750 yards and 15 touchdowns on 77 carries.
So, after Hazen got the ball back following a big play by the Lancers' Nick Galando, tackling Lee for a 1-yard loss on 2nd-and-2 from Hazen's own 11-yard line, Thurber picked off a Hoover pass. And Thurber, a defensive back, showing he can play both ways well, went untouched into the end zone, making Bourgette breathe easier in this one. The Lancers led, 26-9, with the PAT no good with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
Hazen, with the ball again, went three plays and punted on 4th-and-15 from their own 26-yard line, having started the drive on its own 31-yard line. So, they, in fact, went backwards in three plays, with James Merrill in on a tackle, defensively, on that Hazen drive with Ferraro registering a sack of Hazen's Hoover.
With the ball punted back to them, the Lancers made this game all but a knockout when, on 1st-and-10 from the Hazen 39-yard line, Thurber did a draw-play, quarterback keeper for a 9-yard gain. He was followed by freshman Treshaun Harrison zipping 30 yards inside and then outside down the line for the touchdown to make it 33-9 as Calderon's PAT was good with 9:57 left in the second quarter.
Hazen would keep the ball for nine plays its next possession, going from its own 29-yard line on the back of 17 and 25 yard passes to the Lancer 44-yard line. But Lancers defensive back Trevor Hoffman timed a hit perfectly to contact the receiver catching a ball and knocked it away on 2nd-and-15. One incomplete pass later, Hazen punted.
And this game was all but over after the Lancers got the ball back and Ngauamo ran the ball four times for 26 yards of the eight-play drive. The drive was highlighted, too, by QB Thurber, floating a ball in to senior wide receiver AJ McGrew for a 31-yard pass play that moved the ball from the Lancers' 36-yard line to the Hazen 33-yard line. Ngauamo topped this drive off with a two-yard run and it was 40-9 Lancers after Calderon's PAT was good with 2:55 left in the second quarter.
Hazen got the ball back and it went right back to the Lancers quickly and two plays later, with 27 yards of running, Ngaaumo scored his third touchdown of the game in the first half to make it 47-9 Lancers with 2:00 left in the second quarter.
So, this game was only semantics after that as there was not a doubt of who would win this one at this point.
A running clock proved that as no one wanted this game to be stopped for thinking Hazen was coming back in the second half. The Lancers scored again after a 4th-and-8 Hazen pass came up three yards short. This Lancer possession was a three-play, 27-second drive, covering 60 yards behind a nice run from Royster of 35 yards and a touch pass from Thurber into the end zone from five yards out making it, 53-9, Lancers. And, the Lancers were adding more scores in this game, with second and third string players in there, too, including sophomore Ben Gaoteote, taking over at quarterback for senior captain Thurber.
With one minute left in the third quarter, Calderon made a 23-yard field goal, upping the lopsided Lancer lead to 56-9 and an interception by Hoffman with 3:20 left set up a 92-yard touchdown run from the Lancers 8-yard line on 1st-and-10 from junior Peter Hildebrandt, capping the scoring at 62-9 after the PAT was no good.
Now, it's time for the playoffs for the Lancers, and location and time and even opponent are yet to be determined. The Lancers will open up against the 3A Wesco No. 3 seed.
So, it's time to bear down and make a run at the glory that's been in the grasp of Bourgette, and his coaching staff, a couple times in his Lancers coaching career, spanning over two decades, now. But he's just never completely grabbed the trophy, the prize, the 3A state title.
"Playoffs now," said Bourgette. "We go back to practice tomorrow. Back to work. We don't know who we play yet, but it's going to be tough."