TACOMA — The Archbishop Murphy defense stood tall all morning.
With their backs against the wall, the Wildcats continued to cling to a 21-17 lead throughout the fourth quarter.
However, late in the final period it was the Tumwater defense that made the play of the game.
With 1:46 left on the clock, Thunderbirds’ junior linebacker Cade Otton forced a fumble that teammate Devon Shedd-Kirkland recovered. The Tumwater offense took care of the rest, driving 45 yards in four plays and 27 seconds. The game-winning score was a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Dowers to Noah Andrews, lifting Tumwater to a 24-21 win over Archbishop Murphy in a 2A state semifinal game at the Tacoma Dome Saturday morning.
The loss ends the Wildcats’ (12-1 overall) season.
“We just preach so dang much: N.G.U.N.N.G.U. which is ‘Never give up. Never, never give up,’ said longtime Tumwater head coach Sid Otton. “ … The kids sure did a great job with it this afternoon. I’m just so impressed. Our defense coming up with plays and our offense, likewise. That was a very good football team. Last year, we know how they feel getting beat by Sedro-Woolley in a tight one and now we’re on the other side of it.”
Otton, who has coached the Thunderbirds for over 40 years, said Saturday’s contest was special because of the way his team came back.
“We made some plays when we had to and (the Wildcats) took some plays away because they’re dang good,” Otton said.
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“It’s all a blur right now. But I like the score.”
The Thunderbirds, ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press 2A poll of the season, got to work immediately after they recovered the fumble, with Dowers completing a 30-yard pass to Jacob Crawford. After an incomplete pass, Dowers found Griffin Shea for five yards, with Shea quickly getting out of bounds to stop the clock.
On the next play Dowers threw a screen pass to Andrews, who dived for the end zone to give the Thunderbirds their first lead of the game with just 1:15 remaining to be played.
The Archbishop Murphy defense kept Tumwater out of the end zone on three fourth-down attempts in the second half. The Wildcats, ranked fourth in the AP poll and back in the state tournament for the first time since 2012, kept Tumwater scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season and led the Thunderbirds 21-7 at halftime.
But after losing by one in the semifinals last season to eventual-champion Sedro-Woolley, Tumwater was determined not to have history repeat itself.
“We talked about that at the start of the season,” Otton said. “Be hungry. Let’s not have that feeling. But a couple of weeks ago, I said, ‘Let’s forget that stuff … and just focus on what we’re going to do.’”
Now, it will be Archbishop Murphy’s chance to come out hungry next season and try to return to the 2A state championship for the first time since 2011.
“You’ve got to learn from it,” Archbishop Murphy head coach Jerry Jensen said. “None of these boys have played in a state playoff game until this year. Part of it is coming here and experiencing it and tasting that defeat and making you hungry for next year.”
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