Turnover key to Meadowdale win
Published 11:32 pm Friday, September 25, 2009
EDMONDS — It took nine seconds and one high snap for Kamiak’s fortune to shift.
Meadowdale running back Naji Moore-Taylor scored on a 1-yard run up the middle following Kamiak’s botched snap on its first offensive play of the second half. The Mavericks secured their fourth straight victory over a Western Conference 4A team with a 38-28 non-conference win Friday night at Edmonds Stadium.
The high snap, recovered by Meadowdale junior Darren Bojrab, and subsequent touchdown helped break open a three-point game and swing the momentum in Meadowdale’s direction.
Moore-Taylor was his usual, dominant self — running sweeps left and right while racking up 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.
“We just felt like we could do a pretty good job getting to the edge (with Moore-Taylor),” Meadowdale head coach Mark Stewart said. “…We’re pretty fast out there; we just try to take advantage of what our guys can do.”
The 6-foot, 195-pound senior pushed his touchdown total to nine overall in three games.
“Naji Moore is a terrific back and he can make anybody look bad,” Kamiak head coach Dan Mack said. “We just couldn’t tackle tonight.”
Moore-Taylor wasn’t alone as Meadowdale (4-0 overall) senior quarterback Danny McDonald torched the Kamiak (2-2) defense for 150 yards on the ground, including a 33-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
McDonald wasn’t as effective through the air, throwing for 54 yards and a touchdown; he was intercepted twice.
“He makes us tough to defend,” Stewart said.
Despite trailing 31-14 at the end of three quarters, Kamiak kept plugging on offense. The Knights manufactured a 16-play, 72-yard scoring drive to close the deficit to 10 points, 31-21 with 7:32 remaining in the contest. Unfortunately for Kamiak, the drive chewed up 7 minutes, 51 seconds spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter.
Penalties kept both teams from getting into any sort of rhythm for most of the game. Meadowdale’s ground game was its saving grace, but more than a few drives were crippled by penalties and two by interceptions.
“We stopped ourselves a little bit,” Stewart said. “It wasn’t our cleanest game.”
McDonald was picked off by Kamiak sophomore Tyler Self in the first quarter.
Self’s interception helped set up Kamiak’s first touchdown, an 8-yard strike from quarterback Jake Sortor to Josh Glenn.
Senior Brandon Hall intercepted McDonald with 5:31 to go in the third quarter and Kamiak trailing 24-14, but two plays later Meadowdale stole the momentum back when senior Jonathan Sagdahl picked off Sortor at the Kamiak 28-yard line.
Meadowdale, the No. 10-ranked 3A team in the state by the Associated Press, took a 17-point lead four plays later.
“They controlled the tempo,” Mack said. “If you don’t stop them, they’re just going to grind it down.”
Kamiak, much like Meadowdale, failed to find a flow offensively. The key difference was that the Mavericks scored 14 points off two costly Knights’ turnovers in the second half.
“You can’t turn the ball over against a program like Meadowdale,” Mack said. “Every possession is precious and valuable, you’ve gotta make hay when you can and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Sortor, a dual-threat quarterback, completed 11 of 20 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Sortor also had two rushing touchdowns and kept Meadowdale alert with several slashing runs.
Junior running back Nic Cooper added 11 rushes for 50 yards and senior wide receiver Josh Glenn reeled in three catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns for Kamiak.
Glenn’s second score came with 13 seconds remaining in the game as Kamiak refused to quit. The Knights recovered the onside kick with nine seconds remaining, but receiver Tyler Lambert failed to get out of bounds on a quick, 10-yard hook pass and time ran out.
Despite the loss, Kamiak’s Sortor improved on his impressive season stats. The senior has now thrown for 669 yards in four games and boasts an 11-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
“He’s a terrific player,” Mack said. “He can run and throw; he’s a smart kid and a great leader.”
Both squads face tough tests next week — Meadowdale has a showdown with No. 6-ranked Glacier Peak and Kamiak plays Edmonds-Woodway.
At Edmonds Stadium
Kamiak014014—28
Meadowdale143147—38
Meadowdale—Hamlett 8 pass from McDonald (Werner kick)
Meadowdale—Moore-Taylor 4 run (Werner kick)
Kamiak—Glenn 8 pass from Sortor (Watts kick)
Kamiak—Sortor 2 run (Watts kick)
Meadowdale—FG Werner 30
Meadowdale—Moore-Taylor 1 run (Werner kick)
Meadowdale—Moore-Taylor 3 run (Werner kick)
Kamiak—Sortor 1 run (Watts kick)
Meadowdale—McDonald 33 run (Werner kick)
Kamiak—Glenn 29 pass from Sortor (Watts kick)
Records—Kamiak 2-2 overall. Meadowdale 4-0.
