TUMWATER — During team introductions, it appeared the Class 2A state semifinal game might be a challenge for Archbishop Murphy.
Top-ranked Tumwater, which introduced 80 players during pregame, used its size and depth to dominate the Wildcats 42-0 to advance to the state championship game.
“I looked out there and thought, ‘This is going to take forever,” said Archbishop Murphy junior safety Jordan Rife of the Thunderbirds taking the field one by one during introductions. “They’ve got a lot of players and a great program.”
The Wildcats, 0-8 just two seasons ago, saw their magical run come to an end with a 10-2 record. They knocked Anacortes off the No. 1 perch on Oct. 11 with a 34-28 win, but couldn’t give the Thunderbirds the same treatment. Tumwater (13-0) will play Anactortes (12-1) in a state title rematch on Dec. 7 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. It’ll be the 13th state title game for the Thunderbirds, who lost to Anacortes last season. Tumwater will be vying for its seventh state championship since 1987.
“Just looking back, I’m just proud of this team,” said Wildcats senior running back Jevin Madison, who rushed for 64 tough yards on 18 carries despite playing with a torn shoulder AC joint suffered during the quarterfinal win over Lynden. “We got to the semifinals, but we came up short. I’d love to play in UW’s stadium, but at least we paved the way for the next few years at Murphy.”
Though disappointed in Saturday’s results, the Wildcats took some satisfaction in 10 wins and a semifinal appearance. Football pride made a comeback at Archbishop Murphy, which won three state titles between 2002 and 2016 but missed out on state since 2019.
The Wildcats, 0-8 in 2022 and 6-4 in 2023, beat three teams this season that made it at least to a state quarterfinal, all with just eight seniors on the roster.
“The whole program flipped around,” said senior quarterback AJ Bombach, who spent his junior year away from football after the team’s tumultuous 2022 season. “Going from 0-8, losing every game, we thought there was no future, people were quitting, I left. Then we come back and we’re third in state and out here playing when no one in our area is playing? It’s crazy.”
Early on against Tumwater, it seemed like something crazy might happen once again. Archbishop Murphy sophomore defensive back Javen Latta intercepted a Tumwater pass on the first drive of the game to set up the Wildcats at the Thunderbirds’ 16. Tumwater, though turned them away without yielding points.
Tumwater stalled on its second drive as Archbishop Murphy’s defense continued a strong start to the semifinal. The Wildcats trailed just 7-0 when they got the ball on their own 22 with 7:09 to play in the half. But, two turnovers ended two possessions that led to 14 Tumwater points for a 21-0 halftime lead.
“We have a lot fewer guys, and they (the Wildcats) go both ways,” said Joe Cronin, the second-year Arbishop Murphy coach. “We started getting tired, and we had a tough time with some of their motions and shifts. We fought, but we just made too many mistakes.”
The Thunderbirds, who run a Wing-T offense similar to Archbishop Murphy’s, rushed for 230 yards on 34 attempts. The Wildcats rushed 39 times for 91 yards, losing yards on 15 rushing attempts against a big, physical Tumwater defensive line.
“They’re really good, and they play really hard,” said Tumwater coach William Garrow of his defense. “Our coaches do a great job of getting them in the right spots, and they’re working their tail off.”
As far as Archbishop Murphy has come, it just wasn’t quite ready for a seasoned team like Tumwater.
“I thought we had a pretty good season to build on,” Wildcats junior wingback Marcus Gaffney said. “Our seniors are going to be gone next year, and they definitely put in a lot of the work to set the stepping stones to get us there. I think we have a good team going into next year. We’re building ourselves up.”
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