Archbishop Murphy and East Valley of Yakima, opponents in today’s Class 2A semifinal playoff game at the Tacoma Dome, have at least one thing in common. Both of their quarterfinal games hinged on fourth-down defensive plays.
In Murphy’s 34-7 win, the Wildcats stopped La Center on downs on its first possession, then scored on their first play from scrimmage. Game, set, match.
In the third quarter of East Valley’s 50-23 win, the Red Devils made two fourth-down stops of Elma when it needed less than a yard. They scored following the first stop to increase their lead to 29-15. The second stop led to a three-touchdown barrage in less than five minutes.
“Those stops were huge,” East Valley wide receiver-linebacker Matt Snell told the Yakima Herald-Republic. “Most people know defense wins championships and we wanted to show some of that today.”
Defense does win championships. The question in this game is: Which defense will prevail?
“We’re not going to stop Archbishop Murphy completely,” East Valley coach Barry Reifel said. “We hope to slow them down and get a few stops. They’re pretty explosive.”
So are the Red Devils. Five of their seven scoring plays against Elma were 25 yards or longer, four were 40 yards or longer.
“They’re a big-play team,” Herald-Republic writer Scott Spruill said. “They have a tremendous amount of team speed.
“They have some tremendous playmakers. It’s all about how they get the ball to those playmakers.”
Murphy has the team speed and the playmakers to match East Valley.
“They’re a great football team,” Reifel said. “They’re disciplined. They execute. We’re going to have to cover all sides, the strong side and the weak side. They have no lazy players. They get to where they’re supposed to be and they’re fast.”
Most observers are looking at this semifinal as the championship game. Not only is it No. 1 vs. No. 2, but East Valley has already defeated both the other semifinalists. It beat Connell 27-21 on Sept. 10 and Othello 21-14 on Sept. 17. So whichever team wins, the title game may be anticlimactic.
Here’s a look at today’s 2A semifinal game:
East Valley vs. Archbishop Murphy
Kickoff: 10 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
Records: No. 1-ranked East Valley is 12-0 overall. No. 2-ranked Archbishop Murphy is 13-0 and has won 39 games in a row.
Players to watch: East Valley RB Michael Corral has 125 carries for 1,233 yards and 20 TDs. QB Ben Reifel has completed 91 of 161 passes for 1,494 yards and 25 TDs. WR Matt Snell has 47 catches for 937 yards and 16 TDs.
Murphy has three 1,000-yard rushers: Stan Smith (1,516 yards), Shiloh Keo (1,138 yards) and Craig Duncan (1,013 yards).
Breaking down the game: The main difference between these two teams is that East Valley throws the football a lot more than Murphy. In last week’s quarterfinal win, Red Devils backs averaged 10 yards a carry, which is Murphy’s average for the season. But QB Ben Reifel passed for 207 yards and WR Matt Snell, who also scored on an interception and a punt return, averaged 42 yards each on four receptions. Murphy rarely passes. When it does, it comes as such a surprise that the pass often as not goes for a touchdown.
Little-known fact: This will be East Valley’s second straight semifinal appearance. It lost to Pullman last year. The Red Devils have been in the playoffs six of the last seven seasons. They lost in the 1999 title game.
Pick: Archbishop Murphy 21-14.
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