CROSS COUNTRY:
Congrats to Quinten Brooks for earning 2nd Team All-Conference honors and placing 12th overall at the KingCo cross country championship last Saturday.
FOOTBALL:
“JV kingco title”
On a cold and wet fall evening in Sammamish, undefeated Bothell JV faced off against one-loss Eastlake JV for the unofficial JV KingCo Championship. As was also the case for Bothell’s varsity counterparts, the title for the JV Cougs was not achieved without high drama and adversity.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Eastlake ran a crafty delayed reverse on the second play of the drive. The sixty yard gain set up a Wolves TD to go up 7-0. On Bothell’s ensuing possession, an Eastlake defender jumped a pass, intercepting it and returning it 25 yards to the house. Before three minutes had elapsed off the jumbotron, Bothell faced a 14-0 road deficit.
No strangers to adversity, Bothell charged back and scored on a Jayden Donald rushing touchdown, aided by a Jacob Aki fourth down conversion pass to Cyion Soeum. It was Donald’s first JV game of the season after being sidelined the previous three weeks due to injury, and his presence indubitably sparked the Bothell offense.
Defensively, Isaiah Madayag, Austin Sherman, James Frank, and Inoke Pomale were all critical factors in stopping Eastlake’s running game. When Eastlake turned to throw the ball the following drive, LB Ryan Agate came down with a critical interception. The turnover was turned into points on another Aki fourth down pass, this time a 30 yard heave to Noah Bonser after Aki bought time with his legs. The play was a classic Aki-to-Bonser connection that Bothell JV fans had grown familiar with all season. A bad snap on a PAT led to yet another Aki scramble, this time for 2 points, giving Bothell a 15-14 halftime lead.
Another Donald touchdown run after a physical Bothell drive put the Cougs up 22-14 in the 3rd. An Eastlake defender broke free for a long gain, but was tracked down by Cam Wallace, who forced a fumble from behind that was recovered by Bothell in their own redzone. Unfortunately for Bothell, a bad snap resulted in a safety. Lineman Nelson Arreolla savvily secured and pitched the ball out the back of the endzone during the scrum, expertly avoiding an Eastlake touchdown and settling for the safety. 22-16 Bothell.
Eastlake took possession around midfield before scoring, with the help of a a 4th & 20 jump ball conversion where Eastlake’s receiver out-jumped a Bothell defender. Unsportsmanlike conduct on the touchdown forced Eastlake to attempt a 35 yard extra point, which was botched by Eastlake. 22-22 with 1:30 left in the fourth. Nothing but total belief on the Bothell sideline, eerily familiar to the situation of the varsity contest just two days before.
Cam Wallace returned the kickoff 60 yards to the Eastlake 30 yard line, carrying defenders on his back while being ushered forward by Max Anitei. Jayden Donald broke away from a stunned Wolves defense to score on the next play, giving Bothell the lead with his third touchdown on the night. Eastlake could muster nary a completion on their final offensive drive, as Bonser, Wallace, and Arvin Aujla deflected the Wolves’ pass attempts to close out the game. Final score: Bothell 29, Eastlake 22.
The win secured an undefeated KingCo Crown title for Bothell JV, an accomplishment fitting of the JV Cougs grit, heart, and passion for their teammates. The Cougs are scheduled to play at least one more game, location and time TBD.