EVERETT — Midway through the season, Hans VanderWel replaced a banged up Conner Kruse as Archbishop Murphy’s quarterback.
Saturday, it was Kruse’s job to take the reins back.
Midway through the second quarter, Kruse took over for a nicked up VanderWel, ran for three touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Wildcats over Othello 34-0 in a Class 2A state quarterfinal game at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“You know it was nice to get Conner back in there,” said Archbishop Murphy head coach Dave Ward of Kruse’s return at quarterback.
Archbishop Murphy advances to play Prosser in a state semifinal game next week. The date and place of the game have yet to be determined, but Ward said he thought it would likely be played in Kennewick.
VanderWel started the game behind center and led the Wildcats on a touchdown drive on the team’s first possession, capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Ricky Gordon. But Othello’s defense picked off VanderWel early in the second quarter and had the junior feeling less than a 100 percent after a number of big hits.
So, Ward turned to Kruse, a senior who entered the game after Archbishop Murphy drove inside the Othello 10-yard line on its second possession of the second quarter. On his second snap, Kruse bulled his way down to the 1-yard line on a quarterback sneak and punched it into the end zone on the next play to extend Murphy’s lead to 14-0.
After the Huskies mishandled a punt snap on their next possession, giving Murphy the ball on Othello’s 10-yard line, Kruse scored again from 1-yard out to make it 21-0 and grab all the momentum going into halftime.
“I practiced third string (QB) most of the week, but I loved going back in there,” Kruse said. “That was cool to get back in there and play quarterback.”
The way Archbishop Murphy’s defense was playing, 21 points was more than enough in this game. Othello was able to move the ball early, but Murphy’s bend-but-don’t-break defense kept the Huskies out of the end zone despite three different forays inside the Wildcats’ 10-yard line.
On a fourth-and-goal from the 5 on Othello’s first possession, Archbishop Murphy’s Steven Kane broke into the backfield and knocked the ball out of Othello quarterback David Garza’s hands to nullify an Othello chance to score. The Wildcats turned away Othello inside the 10-yard line twice more in the game, once on another turnover on downs and a third on a forced fumble and recovery.
“I think it demolished their spirit a little,” said Kruse, who also provided strong play from his linebacker position. “To run all the way down there and not get any points, that’ll get you down.”
Besides the fumble recoveries, Archbishop Murphy also got a key interception in the second quarter from senior linebacker Sam Shober, the first of his career.
“They ran the same play right in front of me earlier and No. 42 went in front of me and instead I went for the quarterback and he threw it right over my head,” said Shober, who was recently named first-team all-Cascade Conference. “They did it again, and we’ve been working on their boot counter pass, and I just followed (No. 42) and the quarterback didn’t see me and I just jumped right up and snagged it. I’ve been waiting four years for that.”
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Othello0000—0
Archbishop Murphy71467—34
A—Gordon 15 run (Schireman kick)
A—Kruse 1 run (Schireman kick)
A—Kruse 1 run (Schireman kick)
A—Gordon 26 pass from Kruse (kick fail)
A—Kruse 16 run (Schireman kick)
Records—Othello 9-3 overall. Archbishop Murphy 11-1.
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