4A State Football | Inglemoor pulls rank
BOTHELL - Inglemoor’s record speaks for itself. Underestimate us, please.
For the second straight week, the unranked Vikings from Kenmore sent home a team ranked in the top 10, beating No. 8 Mariner 13-10 at Pop Keeney Stadium in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state football playoffs.
It was only Inglemoor’s second win against a team with a winning record. The Vikings (7-4) defeated Rogers of Puyallup, then ranked ninth, 7-3 last week to advance to the round of 16.
Next week, the Vikings, playing in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1999, will host the winner of today’s first-round game in Spokane between Woodinville and Lewis and Clark.
Inglemoor’s five regular-season victories came against teams with a combined record of 11-35. But in consecutive weeks, the fourth seed from the KingCo 4A Conference sent home the South Puget Sound League South Division champs and the Wesco South runner-up.
“If you can survive in the KingCo, you can play with anyone in the state,” said Inglemoor coach Frank Naish. “It shows that a few losses doesn’t hurt us.”
Senior running back Brandon Thurston had 125 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown, and junior kicker Anthony Arena made a pair of field goals, including a 39-yarder with 1:35 left in the third quarter to put the Vikings on top to stay.
“He’s a nice kicker, isn’t he?” asked Naish. “As long as he doesn’t have any soccer conflicts, we get to keep him.”
Mariner (8-3) played most of the game without senior quarterback Tyler Tuiasosopo, who injured his right thumb on the final play of the first quarter while blocking for Matt Jones. With a fully taped right hand, Tuiasosopo returned to play defense in the second half.
Junior A.J. VanWieringen replaced Tuiasosopo at quarterback, but was repeatedly harrassed by Inglemoor’s defense. VanWiergingen completed only 1 of 9 passes for 18 yards and was intercepted.
Jones kept the Marauders close, rushing for 205 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. Mariner mounted a final drive, reaching the Inglemoor 19-yard line with 3:49 to play. But two consecutive penalties changed a fourth-and-short try to fourth-and-13 and took the Marauders out of field-goal range. VanWieringen’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
“We are really starting to believe in ourselves, especially on defense,” said Inglemoor senior linebacker Willy Rogers, who had two sacks. “Nobody can run on us.”
The Vikings took a 7-3 lead on Thurston’s 6-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Thurston gained 29 yards on the drive while senior quarterback Kurt Wagner dissected a Mariner defense that had eight interceptions in its last two games by going 3 for 3 for 37 yards.
Wagner completed 8 of 10 for 79 yards.
Other game
Graham-Kapowsin 41,
South Kitsap 20
At Art Crate Stadium in Spanaway, the Eagles (8-3) rolled past South Kitsap (7-4) of Port Orchard and into the quarterfinals, where a date with second-ranked Ferris awaits. Ferris (11-0) beat Greater Spokane League rival Mead 24-7 Friday night. Graham-Kapowsin has won three straight since back-to-back SPSL South losses to Bethel and Rogers.