Granite Falls rally comes up 1 TD shy
Published 9:00 pm Friday, November 3, 2006
GRANITE FALLS – It was almost too good to be true.
A 21-point, second-half comeback keeping your season alive.
For the Granite Falls Tigers it almost did come true.
The Tigers scored 14 unanswered second-half points, but fell seven points short, losing 20-14 against Anacortes in a District 1 playoff game on the wet and soggy field at Granite Falls High School Friday.
Leading the comeback charge was the play of the Tigers defense and special teams.
The defense forced two Anacortes fumbles and the special teams recovered a fumble and an on-side kick all in the second half.
“We came out and we fought in the second half,” Tigers coach Eric Dinwiddie said.
At halftime Dinwiddie told his team, “‘You don’t want to end your season like this and seniors you don’t want to end your football career like this. Show me everything you got.’
“And they came out and they did,” Dinwiddie said.
The Tigers trailed by 20 midway through the third quarter before slowly clawing their way back into the game.
Quarterback Billy Villegas hit tight end Sean Counley for a 21-yard touchdown with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter and, after Villegas nailed the point-after-touchdown, cut the Seahawks lead to 20-7.
Villegas finished 12-for-23 with 147 yards and a touchdown.
Counley had six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Julian Gamache scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter after Tigers cornerback Zach Cuddeback recovered a fumble by Seahawk running back Bo Oglesbee.
Gamache had 19 carries for 59 yards and also caught three passes for 71 yards, including a 41-yard pass on the same drive that set up his 1-yard TD run.
On the ensuing kickoff the Tigers recovered the on-side kick and drove to the Anacortes 22-yard line.
But the Seahawks defense came up big, sacking Villegas twice and forcing two incomplete passes.
Granite Falls would get one more shot after recovering Oglesbee’s second fumble, but the Anacortes defense was again able to put pressure on Villegas forcing Granite Falls to turn the ball over on downs.
Anacortes (5-5) grabbed the 14-0 lead early in the first half thanks to 1-yard runs by quarterback Kyle Dixon.
Wide receiver Josh Freeman caught six passes for 147 yards, all in the first half.
The 6-foot, 3-inch receiver was not thrown to in the second half.
The Seahawks ground attack was led by Oglesbee’s 100 yards on 18 carries, including a 37-yard TD run.
Though it was a disappointing end to the season, Dinwiddie was happy with the year the Tigers put together.
Granite Falls finished the season 7-3, winning five games more than last year’s squad.
The Tigers were also playing in their first playoff game since 1990 when Granite Falls was a 1A school and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
“The kids bought into what we said and they came out and worked hard and believed in themselves,” Dinwiddie said.
Dinwiddie has been the head coach for four years, watching this year’s seniors grow since their freshman season.
“These seniors were freshmen when I started and they worked really hard. We have a good time together. We’re a good family and we enjoy spending a lot of time together.”
At Granite Falls H.S.
Anacortes7760-20
Granite Falls0077-14
Anacortes-Dixon 1 run (Forsman kick)
Anacortes-Dixon 1 run (Forsman kick)
Anacortes-Oglesbee 37 run (kick failed)
Granite Falls-Counley 21 pass from Villegas (Villegas kick)
Granite Falls-Gamache 1 run (Villegas kick)
Records-Anacortes 5-5 overall. Granite Falls 7-3.
