SNOHOMISH — The Monroe High School football team left no doubt.
And this time, the Bearcats claimed the league title all to themselves.
Class 3A seventh-ranked Monroe remained unbeaten and capped its tear through the Wesco 3A South with a 49-7 rout of Snohomish in Friday night’s de facto league championship game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“This has always been my dream,” said Bearcats senior lineman Rylan Hampton, who grew up as a ball boy on the Monroe sidelines. “I’ve always wanted to come out here and win a championship. And I got to do it with all my brothers.”
In their Wesco 3A South debut last year, the Bearcats finished in a three-way tie with Snohomish and Edmonds-Woodway for the league title. They earned a share of the league crown by rallying for a 42-40 overtime win over Snohomish in the teams’ regular-season finale.
There was no need for a dramatic comeback this time.
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Monroe (8-0, 6-0 Wesco 3A South) dominated the Panthers on both sides of the ball, outgaining them 517-206 in total yardage. The Bearcats scored touchdowns on seven of their eight non-end-of-half possessions. And they came up with three takeaways on defense, while holding Snohomish (4-4, 4-2) to less than four yards per play.
It completed an overpowering Wesco 3A South run for Monroe, which outscored its league opponents by 38.5 points per game. The Bearcats won five of their six Wesco 3A South contests by 35-plus points, with their only close encounter being a 28-14 win over Edmonds-Woodway last week.
With its latest victory, Monroe advanced to face Ferndale in next week’s Wesco 3A championship game.
“Our kids make it look easy, (but) it’s a lot of work,” Bearcats coach Scott Darrow said. “A lot of work goes into this. … These guys worked their butts off all offseason. I’m so proud of these guys.”
Monroe’s Tyer Lynch sacks Snohomish quarterback Kale Hammer. The Bearcats’ defense allowed just 206 total yards. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Monroe’s high-powered spread offense has done the majority of its damage through the air this fall, led by three-star junior quarterback Blake Springer. But during Friday’s rain-soaked affair, the Bearcats leaned on their ground game.
Monroe rushed for a season-high 338 yards and six TDs, averaging a whopping 9.9 yards per carry.
Standout sophomore running back Beau Pruett led the way with 127 yards and three TDs on 14 carries, while adding two catches for 31 yards. Gavin Ranz, a junior, ran for 118 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. And speedy sophomore Mason Davis chipped in 67 yards on three carries.
“They tried to take away the pass, so we just ran the ball,” Darrow said. “I mean, that’s really what it came down to. I think we adjusted well to what they were doing. They did what they could to kind of limit our effectiveness with throwing the ball, and so we just took what they gave us. And we’ve got some pretty talented running backs.”
Pruett opened the game by returning a short kickoff into Snohomish territory. A few plays later, he ran for a 6-yard TD to give Monroe a quick 7-0 lead.
Later in the opening quarter, the Panthers evened the score with a 13-yard TD pass from senior Kale Hammer to fellow senior Gavin Maynard.
But the Bearcats answered right back with three TDs in the second quarter. Pruett sandwiched a pair of short scoring runs around a short TD run by Ranz, giving Monroe a 28-7 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Pruett broke free for a 49-yard gain that set up an 11-yard TD pass from Springer to senior receiver Trent Bublitz.
Early in the fourth, Davis sped down the sideline for a 38-yard gain. Two plays later, Ranz rattled off a 47-yard TD run that stretched the Bearcats’ lead to 42-7. And soon after, junior Nick Mouser rushed for an 8-yard TD to put the running clock into effect.
“We’ve got some guys that can really tote the rock,” Darrow said. “And our offensive line is really underrated.”
Pruett totaled 158 yards and three touchdowns in another big performance. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pruett finished with 158 total yards, bringing his season totals to 1,323 yards and 21 TDs. The talented sophomore back has rushed for a team-high 806 yards and 13 TDs, at a clip of 9.5 yards per carry. He also has 20 catches for a team-high 517 yards and eight TDs.
“Every great running back has two things — explosiveness and balance,” Darrow said. “And he’s got both of those things. We’ve had some great backs come through here. … And I think at the same age, I mean, he might be the best of all of them.
“He’s got such good balance, he’s so low to the ground, he’s so explosive and his top-end (speed) is really good. He’s so fast between one and five yards. I don’t know that there’s a faster player in our league. … Boy, he’s special.”
Springer, the leading passer in Snohomish County, completed 13 of 21 passes for 179 yards, one TD and no interceptions. It wasn’t one of his biggest games statistically, but he was more than happy to watch his running backs have big nights on the ground.
“We’ve got options everywhere,” Springer said. “It’s tough for a defense to try to pick people to focus on, because we’ve got so many of them.”
Monroe receiver Kody Edelbrock celebrates a first down. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Monroe, which moved down from 4A to 3A prior to last season as part of the statewide reclassification, ended Snohomish’s run of three consecutive Wesco 3A South titles. The Panthers won outright league championships in 2018 and 2019, along with last year’s shared league crown.
Next up for the Bearcats is a Wesco 3A championship game rematch against Ferndale, which claimed the Wesco 3A North title with a 28-7 win over 3A sixth-ranked and previously unbeaten Stanwood on Friday night. It will be the third meeting between the teams in the past two seasons.
In last year’s season opener, the Golden Eagles rolled past Monroe for a 55-35 win. Then after both teams went on to finish in a three-way tie for their respective league titles, they advanced to the Wesco 3A championship game by virtue of numerical draws. The Bearcats won the rematch, prevailing 29-27 for the Wesco 3A crown.
This year, both teams reached the Wesco 3A title game as outright league champions.
“It’s the first step this year, hopefully for a longer road,” Darrow said of winning the Wesco 3A South. “We’re hopefully just getting started.”
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