BOTHELL – You can’t stop the Blue Train.

Bethel, the No. 1 ranked team according to some state polls, found that there is a large amount of truth to the slogan on the Bothell football program Friday night in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

Bothell, ranked No. 1 in the WashingtonPreps.com poll, kept the Blue Train rolling in front of an estimated Pop Keeney Stadium crowd of 6,000-plus with a 31-0 blasting of the Braves.

“That’s not what I expected,” said Bothell’s Bart Ward, who rushed for a game-high 146 yards on 17 carries, of the shutout. “They have a great run game and a great offensive line. We just played great.”

If history is to repeats itself for a fifth straight year, Bothell is going to win the Class 4A state title.

Bethel entered Friday’s game in Bothell with a resume of losing only to the eventual state championship team in the postseason. If the Cougars are to go on and win their next three games to claim the school’s first title, it will be the fifth year in a row the Braves have fallen to the eventual Class 4A champion.

“We’ve heard that, we know that,” said Bothell coach Tom Bainter, who did not seem interested in potential Bethel football trivia questions. “It’s way too early to talk about state (championships). We’re going to play a tough football game next week.”

The Cougars, who improved to 11-0, will play a home game against Olympia in a quarterfinal game next weekend. Olympia beat Mountain View 44-7 Friday night. Bethel, which made its fifth straight state appearance, finished the season 10-1.

Tony Gardiner completed seven of 11 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars, who are in the state playoffs for the second consecutive season after a 16-year absence.

Bothell’s Nick Jones gained 91 yards on 14 carries and made several big hits from his defensive end position.

Many considered Friday’s matchup to be an ideal state championship game. Somehow, deals made by Districts 3 and 4 of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association led to a first-round matchup between two teams ranked in the top four in nearly every poll.

Bethel – the only undefeated team in the South Puget Sound League – earned the right to be the No. 8 team out of the 3-4 pact by beating Auburn last Friday in a “play-in” game. Bothell got its chance to face the “No. 8” team by dominating its 10 opponents.

Nothing changed when Bethel came to town.

Bethel had a golden opportunity late in the first quarter, but Bothell defensive back Stefan Clark took it away.

Clark stepped in front of receiver Jamil Turner in the end zone, intercepted the pass and raced the other way. Turner, who had intercepted a reverse-pass attempt by a Bothell receiver earlier in the quarter, eventually ran Clark down after a 60-yard return. Nate Baker and Mark Laush also intercepted passes for Bothell.

Clark’s return led to Nolan Smith’s 22-yard field goal.

The Cougars forced a Bethel punt, then used nine straight running plays to take a 10-0 lead with 3:24 remaining in the half. Ward took a hit from a defender near the sideline halfway through his 14-yard TD run, but managed to stay in long enough to drag the ball just inside the pylon.

Ward set up Bothell’s second TD with a 27-yard run to the Bethel 10. Two plays later, Gardiner hit receiver Travis McKee with an 11-yard TD pass in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-0 halftime lead.

The Braves blocked a Bothell punt in the third quarter and eventually faced fourth-and-2 at the Bothell 6.

Bethel coach Eric Kurle elected to go for it. Jones and Scott LaBrash were among a group of Cougars to hold Braves running back Fiti Peko a half-yard shy of the first-down marker.

“That was big as anything that happened tonight,” Bainter said. “Equally as big, is then we go (96) yards down the field for the touchdown. That was it, I think. That’s pretty hard to come back from.”

Brendan Gallacher set up the Cougars’ third TD with a 52-yard catch and run to the Bethel 37. Four plays later, Gardiner found Zach Hekker just in front of the goal post for a 15-yard TD pass.

Nolan Smith’s third extra point gave the Cougars a 24-0 lead with 3:27 remaining. Jones blasted through the Bethel line for a 5-yard TD run on fourth-and-2 to complete the scoring.