Beavers stumble in state tourney

By Dean Wong

In their first playoff game in four years, the Ballard Beavers lost to undefeated Edmonds-Woodway 24-6 in the first round of the 4A state tournament.

Ballard was playing shorthanded without its starting quarterback Joey Bolinger, who was out with a nagging leg injury. Running back/corner back Carlos Stanley was called on to play quarterback, but the Beavers could not keep up with the undefeated Warriors.

Stanley did score a touchdown for Ballard's six points. The extra point was blocked. To make matters worse, Zac Barta the wide receiver who caught two touchdown passes in the Garfield game two weeks ago and is also a big hitter at linebacker, was out with an injury. The Warriors were playing on their home field, intent on avoiding a first round loss from last season. Edmonds-Woodway is undefeated with a 10-0 overall record, compared to Ballard's 5-5 record.

For the Beavers, its the first playoff qualification since the 2003 team went all the way to the 4A state title game before losing to Pasco. Senior quarterback Joey Bolinger was the sixth best passer in KingCo. He had a 52 percent completion average, 916 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bolinger managed to gain 449 yards rushing also.

That was good for ninth in KingCo. Receiver Max McGraw, who excited Beaver fans with his big plays all season, was sixth in KingCo receptions. He had 25 catches for an average of 17.6 yards per play, seven touchdowns and 441 yards overall. Zac Barta was 16th in receiving with 11 catches. He had a breakout game against Garfield with two touchdowns. Colin Matthiesen added 16 receptions. McGraw added 347 rushing yards to his offensive totals. Julian Montante had 337 yards, Matthiesen, 152 yards and Carlos Stanley 98 yards. Kicker Mitch Wall was a consistent threat for the Beavers. He was successful on 18 extra points, and five field goals.

Barashkoff pointed out that three of Wall's field goals were for forty yards or more. After Ballard's last win against Garfield, head coach Alex Barashkoff summed his team's performance this year.

"I'm proud of the kids, they worked hard," he said.