Good Saturday morning. We start on the gridiron this morning.
With the COVID-caused cancellation of the rest of Mount Si High School’s football season this week, the Valley high school football scene for the next two weeks to close out this truncated spring season belongs exclusively to Cedarcrest High School’s football squad. And the Red Wolves were in action last night, on the road at Everett Memorial Stadium against the Everett Seagulls. This one proved to be a defensive battle, but in the end, a heartbreaking finish for Cedarcrest as they fell in overtime.
Everett scored with seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then scored the lone overtime touchdown to stun the Red Wolves 14-6.
As noted, this was a defensive battle throughout, with not very many opportunities for either team to score. Cedarcrest got on the board first, doing so on the final play of the first half. Senior quarterback Carter “Deuce” Knowles connected with receiver Luke Amble on a 38-yard strike to paydirt, sealed with a tremendous catch in the end zone by the junior wideout. Amble finished with two catches for 43 yards and the score, while senior Luke Marsh led the receiving for CHS, catching five passes for 44 yards. Knowles for his part was 13-28 under center for 129 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, the second of which would prove very costly, more on that in a moment.
The point after following that touchdown was not converted, so the score at half was 6-0 Red Wolves, and stayed this way until a little under 30 seconds left in regulation. Everett mounted one last offensive push, and the Cedarcrest defense was unable to stop it in time, as the Seagulls found the end zone. QB Noah Schmid connected with receiver Evan Burns from 23 yards out, with Burns making an equally spectacular catch to the one Amble made to secure his touchdown before halftime, and the Seagulls tied the game. After they, too, missed their extra point, it was off to sudden death. Each team got a possession from the opposing team’s 25-yard line, and Everett cashed theirs in, getting a 15-yard run from Jeremy Reed which was followed by a two-point conversion.
So out came Knowles and Cedarcrest, and they marched down the field into a third down and short situation from around seven yards out. On this play, Knowles attempted a pass into the end zone for a touchdown, but it instead found the hands of a Everett defender for the pick, ending the game with the Seagulls closing it out. A heartbreaking end for the boys from the lower Valley as they dropped to 1-3 on this truncated campaign.
Peyton Burpee led CHS on the ground with 24 carries for 86 yards. Schmid was 11-21 for 108 yards and that touchdown under center for Everett and Reed paced both the rushing and receiving for Everett, running the ball 14 times for 53 yards and his TD, and catching five passes for 55 yards. He additionally threw a pass, and that was completed for 47 yards. Burns led the receiving, catching the ball three times for 80 yards and his TD.
The Red Wolves close out the season next Friday at home against Lakewood.
Time for some other news on a Saturday.
Track and Field
CHS alum Babcock hangs tough for Zags ladies: Cedarcrest HS alum Mary Cate Babcock, from Duvall, raced a distance event – the women’s 1500m – for Gonzaga’s women’s track and field team last night at a meet in Spokane hosted by area rival Whitworth University. Babcock, who graduated from CHS in 2019, clocked five minutes, 6.94 seconds and took 18th in the race, competing against runners from GU, Washington State University, host Whitworth and the University of Idaho. Vandal Malaina Thacker won the race, finishing a good 40 seconds ahead of the Valley athlete.
Softball
Local high school stars take on top talent from the Southeast in select tournament: Woodinville’s VooDoo Rhinehart 18U select fastpitch team, which features a number of top Kingco and Wesco Conference high school players, is in Georgia this weekend at the Premier Girls’ Fastpitch March Madness tournament, happening north of Atlanta. Yesterday was a very busy day for the squad, as they played four games, and went a total of 1-2-1 in the contests against primarily Florida and Georgia-based opposition. Their one win came last night, and it came courtesy of a combined no-hitter from pitchers Lindsay Ferguson (Eastlake HS), Lindsey Murai (Skyline HS) and Emma Nagy (Monroe HS) in a 2-0 win over the Virginia-based Starz team. Ferguson struck out three in her two innings of work to secure the win. The event continues through tomorrow and VooDoo is the only West Coast-based team in the tournament.
Baseball
Mount Si players chip in for select team win: Mount Si’s Jack Phillips doubled and drove in a run, and fellow ‘Cat Tyler Disch added a hit, both aiding the Sammamish-based Northwest Naturals 18U’s select squad to an 11-2 road win last night over Maple Valley-based Rock Creek Select at Rock Creek’s home field in Ravensdale, which had been a practice facility for Mount Si during their three seasons without a home on-campus field from 2017-19. Hayden Weaver, also from Mount Si, went 0-3 for the Nats, who scored four first-inning runs to set the thing in motion, then finished it with a bang in the final frame, scoring six times in that inning to seal the victory. Reidar Vane led the Nats going 3-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI’s.
Gerlitz homers, but Bears fall: Ryan Gerlitz added another chapter to his great story last night, as the Mount Si player homered for his select team, the Michaels’ Toyota 18U’s, but Gerlitz’s efforts proved to be for naught as the Bears fell at home at Skyline High School in Sammamish to Woodinville-based FCA 4-1. Gerlitz finished 2-4 with the homer, run scored and RBI, while fellow MSHS’er Blake Miller was 0-3 for the Preston-based Michaels’ team.
Lutz sees both ends of twinbill for Billings: On the college front, Montana State Billings’s baseball team was swept in a pair last night by host Western Oregon University. The Wolves took the opener 9-2, then the nightcap 5-1, dropping Billings to 3-15 on the season. Junior Justin Lutz, from Fall City and a 2018 MSHS’er, played both ends of the doubleheader for the Yellowjackets, going 0-4 with an RBI in game one, then 1-3 with an RBI in the nightcap. The two teams continue play today at WOU’s campus in Monmouth, OR.
Banks, Bruins see a pair of tight ones in doubleheader split: Bellevue University – Nebraska’s team opened conference play in the NAIA’s North Star Athletic Association yesterday with a doubleheader split against Mayville State University. BU won the opener in 10 innings on a walk-off 5-4 then fell in the nightcap to Mayville 3-2. Duvall’s Cody Banks played in both games for the Bruins. He was 1-5 in the opener, then the senior, a 2015 Cedarcrest HS grad, was 1-3 in the nightcap. BU is 18-9 on the season and finishes the series with two today at home in Nebraska.
About Rhett Workman
Rhett Workman is the editor of the Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal. Workman is a veteran sports journalist, having covered Snoqualmie Valley sports for nearly a decade with the Snoqualmie Valley Record newspaper before starting up the SVSJ. Workman’s coverage has earned the support and respect of Valley coaches, players, parents and fans, and the SVSJ continues the standard of coverage that Workman brought to the Valley Record.View all posts by Rhett Workman →