Kamiak hands Monroe its first loss

Published 11:26 pm Friday, October 3, 2014

EVERETT — Friday night’s Wesco 4A football game between Kamiak and Monroe wasn’t a playoff game, but it was played with all the intensity of one.

Neither team led by more than seven points, but the Knights were able to outlast Monroe 27-23, handing the Bearcats their first loss of the season.

“We are real thankful for the win,” Kamiak head coach Dan Mack said. “Both teams played their hearts out. It was an outstanding high school football game and Monroe is an excellent team, but I’m really proud of our guys. We showed a lot of resilience.

“We came out and executed when we needed to. We had some glitches, but overall I was very pleased with our effort tonight.”

After a third-quarter safety, Monroe led 23-21, but Bearcats starting quarterback Andrew Zimmerman was forced to leave the game with an injury. He was unable to return.

Kamiak claimed the lead for good on its first drive of the fourth quarter. The six-play march was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Becker to Jared Pexton. The Knights went for two and failed, making the score 27-23.

Becker struggled in the first half, completing just three of his 10 passes, but he caught fire in the second half. He went 6-for-7 after halftime, passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Most of those completions were to tight end Nate Shubert, who finished with five catches for 142 yards and one touchdown — all of which came after halftime.

“For both Becker and Shubert, the moment isn’t too big for them,” Mack said. “They’re able to think under pressure and they just keep their wits about them.”

Becker finished 9-for-17 for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

Before Zimmerman’s injury, he was just as effective for Monroe. Zimmerman finished the game 14-for-19 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored the game’s first touchdown on a 14-yard run.

After Zimmerman’s injury, the Bearcats completed just two passes.

“It was such a big game-changer for Monroe,” Mack said. “They are an outstanding team. When your number one goes down like that — and he’s such a fine player and a big part of their offense — that had a huge effect.”

Zimmerman was replaced by freshman Kainalu Batongbacal. Kamiak’s defense immediately pressured the young quarterback, but Monroe head coach Brett Jay was pleased with how Batongbacal responded.

“I think any time you lose your starting quarterback — especially in our offense — it’s definitely a blow,” Jay said. “It set us back a little bit, but I’m really impressed with our freshman that came in — didn’t blink an eye and stood right there. He did a good job.”

The Bearcats had two chances to reclaim the lead after Kamiak’s go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown, but both drives stalled in large part thanks to an inspired effort by the Kamiak defense.

“I was really pleased with our defense and the adjustments the coaches had made,” Mack said.

After falling in week one to Marysville Pilchuck, the Knights have reeled off four straight wins and are one of Wesco’s hottest teams. Kamiak and Lake Stevens are the only Wesco 4A teams yet to lose again and are on a collision course for an Oct. 24 game that could decide the league championship.

Monroe came into Friday’s game as the only Wesco team yet to lose this season. Now the Bearcats must regroup before next Friday’s game against Lake Stevens.

“We’ve just go to learn from it,” Jay said. “We had some adversity come our way and we just couldn’t quite overcome it. I thought we fought pretty hard and the guys rallied, but we just fell short. We’re going to get right back at it.”

Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com

At Goddard Stadium

Monroe 7 7 9 0 — 23

Kamiak 0 14 7 6 — 27

M—Jacob Jerome 13 run (Tanner Ohlsen kick)

K—Tyler Becker 2 run (Chance Lord kick)

K—Jo Jo Binda 31 run (Lord kick)

M—Jerome 61 pass from Andrew Zimmerman (Ohlsen kick)

K—Nate Shubert 66 pass from Becker (Lord kick)

M—Zach Zimmerman 35 pass from Zimmerman (Ohlsen kick)

M—Safety, Kamiak punter stepped out of bounds

K—Jared Pexton 12 pass from Becker (pass failed)

Records—Monroe 2-1 league, 4-1 overall. Kamiak 3-0, 4-1.