SUMNER — The Monroe football team’s historic postseason run ended at the hands of a familiar foe.
One week after earning the program’s first-ever state-playoff win, the Bearcats suffered a season-ending 56-14 loss to Sumner in a Class 4A state quarterfinal Saturday night at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium.
It marked the second consecutive year that Sumner has ended Monroe’s season. The Spartans rallied for a 58-42 win over the Bearcats in the opening round of last year’s state playoffs, scoring the game’s final 20 points to win a back-and-forth shootout.
Saturday’s rematch lacked that type of drama, as Sumner pulled away for a running-clock victory with 35 unanswered second-half points.
“They executed and we didn’t,” Monroe coach Michael Bumpus said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
Sumner two-way senior standout Ben Wilson, a Texas Christian University commit, rushed for a team-high 142 yards on just eight carries and scored four total touchdowns.
The Spartans (10-2) rattled off five touchdowns of 30 yards or more, including a momentum-swinging 85-yard pick-six by senior standout Tre Weed in the first half. Weed also had a cominbed 131 yards and two touchdowns on offense.
Monroe senior running back Isaiah Lewis led the Bearcats with 165 yards rushing and a touchdown on 35 carries. Monroe senior quarterback Jaedyn Prewitt completed 16 of 32 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown, and threw three of the Bearcats’ four interceptions.
“(If) you throw four picks, you’re not going to win a football game,” Bumpus said. “And (Sumner) made big plays. When you’re turning over the ball and allowing big plays, you (have) to dig yourself out of a heck of a hole.”
Monroe (10-2) ran 52 offensive plays in the first half to Sumner’s 16, but had four first-half drives end in Spartans territory without points.
After the Bearcats drove to the Sumner 22-yard line on the game’s opening possession, the Spartans came up with a strip-sack fumble recovery.
On the ensuing play, Weed rushed around the left edge and sprinted for a 61-yard touchdown to give Sumner an early 7-0 lead.
Monroe took advantage of good field position on its next possession, driving 50 yards for a score. Lewis took a third-down direct snap, slipped out of a tackle and sprinted for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 7-6.
Sumner responded with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 3-yard Wilson touchdown plunge on the final play of the first quarter that gave the Spartans a 14-6 lead.
Sumner’s defense then made back-to-back stops, stuffing Lewis on a pair of fourth-and-short runs in Spartans territory. On the second stop, Sumner swarmed Lewis for no gain on 4th-and-2 from the 5-yard line.
Then after Monroe forced a three-and-out and drove to the Sumner 30, the Spartans came up with a back-breaking pick-six.
Monroe receiver Trey Lane bobbled a pass from Prewitt, and Weed snagged the deflection out of the air. Weed then weaved his way down the left sideline, returning the interception 85 yards for a touchdown that stretched Sumner’s lead to 21-6.
Monroe answered with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive just before halftime. Senior receiver Isaiah Cole hauled in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Prewitt with 1 second to play, and Lewis ran in the ensuing 2-point conversion to cut the margin to 21-14 heading into the break.
But the Spartans immediately reclaimed momentum in the second half and never looked back.
On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Wilson rushed up the middle, cut outside and sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown that extended Sumner’s lead to 28-14.
Then after another Monroe drive ended in Spartans territory, Sumner drove downfield and scored on a highlight-reel play by Wilson.
The 6-foot-2, 228-pound bruiser hauled in a short pass from quarterback Luke Ross and hurdled over a Monroe defender on his way to a 34-yard touchdown reception, stretching the margin to 35-14 with about five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Less than three minutes later, Weed caught a 4th-and-14 pass and dragged a Monroe defender into the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown that made it 42-14.
Wilson rumbled for a 26-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the fourth quarter, and sophomore Bryan Falk added a 4-yard scoring run to push the margin to 56-14 and begin the running clock.
Monroe played the second half without two-way standout senior lineman and Eastern Washington University commit Josh Jerome, who suffered a concussion.
With the victory, Sumner advances to the state semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Spartans face unbeaten Woodinville next week for a spot in the state championship game.
For Monroe, the blowout loss marked a bitter end to a historic season.
The Bearcats won their first two playoff games in thrilling fashion, rallying for a dramatic 44-40 win over Mount Si in the Week 10 playoffs and prevailing for a 21-14 triumph over Puyallup last week to earn the program’s first-ever state victory.
“They are the greatest team to ever put on a Bearcats jersey,” Bumpus said. “They’ve set a foundation and started a legacy that these youngsters have to live up to.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
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