| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010 5:54 am |
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High Schools 
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Defense steps up for Glacier Peak LACEY — For 48 minutes the Glacier Peak Grizzlies went toe to toe with the Timberline Blazers.There were onside kicks, big sacks, momentum-changing interceptions and a bundle of fourth-down conversions. Finally, the Grizzlies took a lead thanks to a bit of luck — then held on thanks to a defensive unit that has been largely ignored much of the season. Glacier Peak ripped off 32 unanswered points to come from behind Saturday night for a 38-24 victory over Timberline in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs at South Sound Stadium. “It's exciting (for the program),” Glacier Peak head coach Rory Rosenbach said of reaching the state quarterfinals in just the second year of Glacier Peak's existence. Glacier Peak went ahead for good in the third quarter, 24-17, when senior wide receiver Tony Hadnot plucked a ball out of the air that had been deflected by two Timberline defenders, and skated untouched into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown pass from Zach Richter (one TD, one rushing TD). Glacier Peak junior defensive back Austin Wirtz then stopped Timberline's answering drive, returning an interception 78 yards for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter and give the Grizzlies the breathing room they needed. Suddenly, a lot is happening very quickly for the Grizzlies. Glacier Peak will play Bellevue (9-2) in the Class 3A state quarterfinals. It was the second huge defensive play in as many games for Wirtz, who came up with the game-winning tackle for Glacier Peak during its 49-48 double-overtime victory over Peninsula at Quad-districts last week. “He's a kid that's been playing up and down,” Rosenbach said of Wirtz. “He made a huge pick (tonight), had the game-winning tackle last week. … He's playing at an all-state level right now.” All in all, it was an extremely impressive three-hour long display from the Glacier Peak defense, which held an extremely talented Timberline team to 24 points — just seven of those coming in the second half. “(It's been) much maligned all season,” Rosenbach said of his defense. “That's been the criticism of our team this year, and I hope we've silenced that a little bit. … I'm very, very, very proud of the kids and the (defensive) coaching staff.” The Grizzlies' defense, largely ignored most of the year, repeatedly got pressure on Timberline quarterback Kevin Russell. Ben Kaestner, John Froland, John Darling and Tanner May each had a sack or shared a sack in the first half. Undefeated Timberline, ranked fifth in the state by The Associated Press, had outscored opponents 449-164 this season. The Grizzlies recovered two of three onside kickoff attempts and persistently went for fourth-down attempts, a gamble that ultimately appeared to pay off for the Grizzlies more than it hurt them. Timberline's Russell finished with two touchdown passes. The Timberline defense also forced three interceptions — with Delas Raiford, James Segura-Mitchell and Dale Garcia all coming up with takeaways. At one point, Glacier Peak trailed 17-6 in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies fought back to tie the score as time expired in the second period on a 21-yard field goal kick by Jackson Miller. The comeback didn't surprise Timberline head coach Nick Mullen, who knew that Glacier Peak had scored two unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns last week to force overtime against Peninsula. “They keep playing,” Mullen said of Glacier Peak's comeback against Peninsula. “The kids have no quit in them.” Glacier Peak played without senior wide receiver Luke Westburg. Rosenbach said that Westburg learned he had been playing with a fracture in his back this week, and would be done for the season. At South Sound Stadium Glacier Peak 0 17 7 14 — 38 Timberline 3 14 0 7 — 24 Timberline—FG Meyer 19 Glacier Peak—FG Miller 21 Glacier Peak—FG Miller 25 Timberline—Radcliffe 8 run (Meyer kick) Timberline—Raiford 21 pass from Russell (Meyer kick) Glacier Peak—Rollins 12 run (Southard pass from Richter) Glacier Peak—FG Miller 21 Glacier Peak—Hadnot 50 pass from Richter (Miller kick) Glacier Peak—Wirtz 78 yard interception return (Miller kick) Glacier Peak—Richter 6 run (Miller kick) Timberline—Ferreira 3 pass from Russell (Meyer kick) Records—Glacier Peak (9-2). Timberline (10-1). |
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