SNOHOMISH — Leading up to Friday night’s non-conference football showdown between No. 2-ranked Bellevue and No. 7-ranked Glacier Peak, Grizzlies’ head coach Rory Rosenbach said his team would find out how good it really is.
The answer on Friday was not quite good enough to beat Bellevue — the Grizzlies fell 24-6 — but still encouraging to Rosenbach and his players.
“Defensively, we were awesome,” Rosenbach said. “We were lights out. … I was so proud of the way they played on defense. Offensively, we did some OK things, we just couldn’t finish. We made some mistakes and missed some opportunities. That’s what we told them in the beginning. When you get an opportunity you have to make it. You can’t drop a pass that you can catch. You can’t miss a hole that you should hit because now you’re behind the sticks and they’re too good.”
The Grizzlies may have lost by 18, but the game felt much closer. Bellevue scored a touchdown and a field goal on its first two possessions respectively, but after that Glacier Peak didn’t allow much for the better part of two quarters.
Glacier Peak’s biggest problem, just as it was a year ago when it lost to Bellevue 30-0, was finding a way to score points.
Hoping to throw a different look at Bellevue, Glacier Peak started sophomore Jaxsen Sweum at quarterback. Senior Devyn Rainbow and freshman Ayden Ziomas have seen the bulk of the action under center this season. Sweum has played sparingly and been predominantly a run-first quarterback.
“We thought we would come out and throw a little Wing-T at them and see what happens,” Rosenbach said with a laugh. “We thought we’d Wing-T the Wing-T’ers and see what happens. They stopped it, so we got out of it.”
Despite giving up points on Bellevue’s first two possessions, Glacier Peak trailed just 10-0 at halftime and were very much alive.
“The thing that I told them at halftime was, ‘you’ve made it through a half of football,’” Rosenbach said. “Usually it takes two quarters to figure out how fast they are and the speed that they’re running the plays at because you can’t simulate it in practice. They did it in the first half. They got it. That’s the biggest challenge, get to the second half with a chance to win. We did and we just couldn’t get it done tonight.”
The second half started much the same way the first half ended, with Glacier Peak struggling to move the ball on offense — so the defense took matters into its own hands.
Senior Justin Guffey scooped up a fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to cut Bellevue’s lead to 10-6 with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter.
“Momentum shifted and we were feeling good,” Guffey said of the Grizzlies’ morale after the touchdown. “We just needed a stop and the ball would have bouncing in our direction again.”
While an extra point would have brought the Grizzlies to within a field goal, Rosenbach elected to go for two.
Never shy to take a chance, Rosenbach explained his thinking after the game.
“My thought was I’m going to go for two and I’m going to get that two-point conversion,” he said. “Then we’re down by two and we only need a field goal (to win). That’s what I’m thinking, because we’re doing awesome. I don’t know how many opportunities we’re going to get to score points, so if I can make it a field goal and we win, that’s a great deal.”
The Grizzlies certainly looked like a team capable of making a deep run in the 3A state playoffs. If that happens, there is a good chance the Grizzlies could see the Wolverines again in the postseason.
Guffey seemed excited about that thought.
“We’ve just to take it week by week and keep playing football,” he said. “You never know, but hopefully we see them again. We’d love it.”
If Friday’s game taught Rosenbach anything, it’s that his team isn’t scared to play the Wolverines.
“I think there is absolutely no dear in those guys’ eyes after this game,” Rosenbach said. “They’re a really good football team, but we showed that we’re not too bad either.”
At Veterans Memorial Stadium
Bellevue 10 0 7 7 —24
Glacier Peak 0 0 6 0 —6
B—Christoph Hirota 11 run (Thomas Monaghan kick)
B—Monaghan 31 FG
GP—Justin Guffey 47 fumble return (pass failed)
B—Ercle Terrell 20 run (Monaghan kick)
B—Terrell 4 run (Monaghan kick)
Records–Bellevue 3-1. Glacier Peak 4-1.
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