It sure helps to have a go-to guy.

For Bothell High School football quarterback Cody Atkinson, that guy is wide receiver Marc Mulholland.

The 6-foot-4 Mulholland is “the most reliable receiver I’ve ever played with,” said Atkinson. “If I’m in a jam … I’m gonna throw him the ball.”

Atkinson and Mulholland, both seniors, connected on eight pass plays for 124 yards last Saturday as Bothell beat Edmonds-Woodway 28-14 in the Class 4A state semifinals to advance to the 4A championship game. Bothell plays Oak Harbor at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

Some extra planning helped Atkinson and Mulholland dissect E-W’s defense. Both of them are offense-only players and they use any free minute to strategize and hone their skills.

“All we do is run (pass) plays, run (pass) plays, just me and him,” said Atkinson, who completed two touchdown passes against E-W. Before the semifinal game the Bothell duo “talked about their coverages (and) talked about their corners, and it really showed because we were really on the same page,” Atkinson said.

Bothell coach Tom Bainter said he first noticed a bond between the QB and receiver last year when they worked on routes after school. Bainter happily watched the pair become close friends and productive teammates.

“You could kind of see that there was a dedication that they had both put toward the passing game,” Bainter said, “and it was kind of special. It’s certainly paid off for both of them.”

A learning experience: Bothell has won 12 straight games since suffering a rout in its season-opener. The Cougars lost 48-22 against Lake Oswego (Ore.) on Sept. 1 in Portland, but they didn’t let the lopsided defeat ruin their season.

The loss was a valuable experience, Bothell’s Bainter said: “We went down knowing that (Lake Oswego) was going to be a great team, maybe the best team we’d face all year.” As it turns out, both teams are darn good. Lake Oswego will play in Oregon’s 6A semifinals tonight – its fifth trip to the semis in six seasons.

Several factors contributed to Bothell’s loss: an inexperienced offensive line, crucial turnovers and a few defensive lapses. On the 3.5-hour bus ride home, Bainter recalled worrying, “Gosh, did that just demoralize us?”

It didn’t. Bothell moved on, improved, got healthier and hasn’t lost since

The loss “helped us to always look forward,” Bainter said. “We don’t have an ego problem at Bothell, and that’s kept us humble.” The Cougars may be humble, but they’re not timid.

Said Bainter, “We have a confident, healthy swagger.”

Finally there: Asked if he can fully the grasp the significance of what his team has accomplished this season – namely, reaching the state finals for the first time – Oak Harbor lineman Will Hunter said, well, no.

“It hasn’t completely sunken in yet and it probably won’t until we practice in the (Tacoma Dome today),” said Hunter.

“We’ve been saying all season, ‘Win state.’ Now (on Saturday) we get to see what happens,” he added.

Fan power: Hunter was told that about 1,000 Oak Harbor fans traveled all the way to Spokane for the Wildcats’ semifinal victory over Gonzaga Prep last Saturday. He said he appreciated the support and expects another good turnout of Wildcats fans for the title game.

“The town’s excited,” Hunter said. “It sounds like there’s gonna be a lot of people there.”

Coaching connections: Bainter, Bothell’s coach, and Oak Harbor coach Dave Ward are far from strangers. They coached against each other when Bainter was at Shorewood, his first head coaching gig. They also joined forces as assistants for the West team at the 2003 East-West All-Star Game in Everett.

Now in his seventh season at Bothell, Bainter said he enjoyed getting to know Ward during the week of preparation for the East-West game. Ward had positive things to say about Bainter. “Tom does a good job,” Ward said. “He’s really thorough and has a pretty good thing going down there (at Bothell).”