Central Kitsap running back goes wild against Snohomish

Published 10:52 pm Saturday, November 8, 2008

SNOHOMISH — Usually in football, taking three minutes on a drive is not that effective. That’s unless you were the Central Kitsap Cougars Saturday night.

The Cougars scored all of their points on drives that took less than three minutes each and Central Kitsap defeated Snohomish 49-14 in a 4A quad-district playoff victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Snohomish Panthers (6-4 overall) had no solution for Cougar running back Howard McDonald as the senior racked up an incredible 396 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

“Quick and powerful. The kid can run,” Snohomish head coach Mark Perry said. “The kid can blow through people.”

The loss ended the Panthers’ (6-4 overall) season and allowed the Cougars (7-2) to advance to the 4A state tournament for the second consecutive season.

Ray Purviance led Snohomish with 81 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

The yardage wasn’t easy for the Panthers leading rusher. Purviance entered the game with 1,310 yards rushing on the season and a 7.1 yards per carry average but was able to manage just 4.1 per carry in the game.

The bulky running back usually was carrying two or three Cougar defenders while trying to move the ball up field.

“They had a good plan there (defending Purviance). We stopped ourselves in the first half and that hurt us. We never really got going,” Perry said.

When the Panthers weren’t moving the ball they were busy watching McDonald and the Cougars sprint down field.

McDonald, who entered the game with over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, had 204 yards at halftime along with three scores.

After the punt return for a TD was called back because of a block in the back, McDonald took the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage 71 yards for a score.

McDonald didn’t slow down in the second half, scoring three plays into the half on a 62-yard sprint into the end zone.

“He was quick and hit them fast. When he got to someone they couldn’t knock him over. We missed way too many tackles to be successful,” Perry said.

Using a mix of stiff-arms, quick hops and just flat-out bowling over defenders, McDonald had a career day finishing with six runs over 20 yards including four for over 40.

“The offensive line opened up the holes and our fullback was hitting the linebacker. I was able to spring free and run as hard as I could,” McDonald said.

Central Kitsap’s offense entered the game hitting on all cylinders. The Cougars are averaging 53.6 points per game in their past five contests.

After a slow 1-2 start the Panthers had won five of its past six — including a huge win-or-go-home victory over Lake Stevens in the regular season finale — before Saturday night’s loss.

“Anytime you lose its disappointing,” Perry said of the close to the Panthers season.

Snohomish was attempting to make its second straight trip to state. The Panthers lost to Edmonds-Woodway in the first round of last year’s tournament.

At Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium

C. Kitsap721714—49

Snohomish7060—13

Central Kitsap—McDonald 71 run (Berg kick)

Snohomish—Woolsey 42 pass from Allen (Moe kick)

Central Kitsap—Anthony 49 pass from Simonis (Berg kick)

Central Kitsap—McDonald 22 run (Berg kick)

Central Kitsap—McDonald 29 run (Berg kick)

Central Kitsap—McDonald 62 run (Berg kick)

Snohomish—Purviance 1 run (kick failed)

Central Kitsap—McDonald 6 run (Berg kick)

Central Kitsap—Gaulben 33 run (Berg kick)

Records—Central Kitsap 7-2 overall. Snohomish 6-4.