WOLVES LOOK TO REBOUND FROM KINGCO CHAMPIONSHIP LOSS

It was a brisk Halloween evening when the 7-1 Wolves of Eastlake matched up against the 6-2 Bothell Cougars. This was the KingCo Championship. The final battle for the KingCo conference title before these teams headed off into the Washington state high school football playoffs. You could sense the excitement in the air.

1st Quarter

The first quarter went back and forth as both teams put everything they had into it. On the Cougars first drive, they attempted a fake punt, but the always aware Trent Green made an amazing pass deflection to turn the ball over to the Wolves. On their second possession of the quarter, Grady Robison threw a gem barely by the outreached hands of the defender to Max Verboort for a Wolves touchdown! On the ensuing drive by the Cougars, Trent Nicholson leapt in front of the wide receiver with a magical INT. Not to be outdone, the Cougars got themselves an INT of their own on the 50-yard line and subsequently drove down the field for a touchdown. After the kickoff, on 2nd & 3 on the Cougars 43, Grady Robison scrambled in the backfield enough for his ever-trusty running back, Jalen Bright, to get open for a 20-yard pass with an additional 20 yards after catch. End of the first quarter, tied 7-7

2nd Quarter

After some fancy footwork by Grady Robison for the first few plays of the drive, he was finally able to connect with Zade Thompson for a 4-yard TD. The Wolves defense was able to limit the Cougars to a 3 & out and gave the ball back to the Wolves. The very next possession, Grady Robison did what Grady Robison does and scrambled and ran for a 53-yard TD. Unfortunately for the Wolves, the rest of the 2nd quarter would be limited offensive plays and the Cougars would muster 3 additional TD’s minus a failed PAT to end the first half with the Cougars leading 21-27.

3rd Quarter

The second half started with the Wolves kicking off to the Cougars and the Cougars scoring their first drive and a missed PAT. This quarter saw a lot of Grady Robison passes to a plethora of receivers and some impressive running from the senior QB, but the scoring was limited to a field goal from the sure-footed Ryan Curran. The Cougars were able to capitalize on 2 touchdowns to end the 3rd quarter leading 40-24.

4th Quarter

With the score 40-24, the Cougars drove the ball down to the Wolves 1-yard line for a QB sneak for the only score of the quarter for both teams. The Wolves made some valiant plays, including a 17-yard pass from Grady Robison to Zade Thompson, but alas were unable to come up with any points. The game clock struck zero after the Cougars took their final knee, with the final score 47-24, leaving the Wolves with only their second loss of the season.

Losing. The Wolves players and fans were not used to this unusual feeling. They had not felt the sting of a loss since their first game of the season and it was fitting that it happened on Halloween and the last game until the playoffs. I don’t know, the last time the Wolves lost a game, they went on to win 7 games in a row. Playoffs look good to me. Just saying…

Let’s go Wolves! #WSPS

Special thanks to…

• Game Story Writer: Kenny Kim

• Statistician: John Miller

• Spotters: Jonathan Allen & Eric Bryant

• Photographers: Chad Greene & Mark Sutter