Seahawks fall in double-OT thriller

Glacier Peak stops two-point attempt, earns state berth

Brian McLean

of the Gateway

The Peninsula Seahawks were exuberant. Then they were tested. And when it came down to the final play Saturday night at Roy Anderson Field, there wasn’t much that separated them from the Glacier Peak Grizzlies.

It was an unpredictable night the featured more than 1,000 yards of total offense, a team that erased a 22-point third-quarter deficit and a high-wire act that spanned two overtime periods.

In the end, it was a two-point conversion attempt in double overtime that was the difference.

They just happened to be the longest three yards of the night.

Glacier Peak, which had taken its first lead in the second overtime, forced Peninsula senior running back Darrian Creamer out of bounds at the 2 to preserve a 49-48 win during the Class 3A state preliminary game.

The Grizzlies (8-2), led by senior quarterback Zack Richter, who completed 36 of 59 passes for 450 yards and six touchdowns, earned a spot in the state tournament, where they’ll face the undefeated Timberline Blazers (10-0) in the first round on Saturday at South Sound Stadium in Lacey.

Peninsula (8-2), which led for all but 4 1/2 minutes of regulation, had its season come to an end.

But there were no regrets.

Not when Creamer had a career night, rushing for 257 yards and five touchdowns on 30 attempts.

Not when the Seahawks’ first two plays from scrimmage totaled 163 yards and gave them a 14-0 lead.

Not even the decision to go for two when an extra point would have sent the game to a third overtime.

“In that situation right there, we felt the best opportunity to get the win was to put the game on one play,” Seahawks coach Ross Filkins said. “It didn’t turn out for us tonight, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

It looked as though Peninsula would be on cruise control early on.

After the opening kickoff, Peninsula senior quarterback JR Grosshans ran a play-action pass and connected with senior Jonny Johnson down the middle of the field for an 80-yard touchdown pass.

Peninsula forced Glacier Peak to punt after three plays, then struck quickly again when Creamer broke free down the sideline for an 83-yard TD scramble.

The Grizzlies went into hurry-up offense mode, and Richter connected with junior Tanner Southard on a 3-yard score to make it 14-7 with 4:21 left in the first quarter. Four of Southard’s six receptions and 70 yards were touchdowns.

“They had a little bit of momentum after they first scored,” Creamer said. “Then it was football from there on.”

The Grizzlies threatened to tighten it up early in the second quarter, but Peninsula junior Jake Boley came around the edge on a 34-yard field goal attempt for the block, and senior Geoff Grant scooped it up and weaved his way 86 yards down the field for a score.

“I’ve always seen blocked field goals as an opportunity because I’ve always seen people give up after that,” Grant said. “I didn’t hear a whistle, so one thing led to another, and I took it to the house.

“I can’t believe I pulled that off.”

The teams traded touchdowns from there until the start of the fourth. Richter tossed TDs of 34 and 11 yards — both to Southard — and Creamer answered with a 47-yard draw play for a score and a 5-yard TD run.

Most of Richter’s non-scoring damage was done in the middle of the field with Jack Bonner, a 6-foot-3 junior who used his size advantage to haul in 13 balls for 201 yards.

Midway through the fourth, Richter found Southard on a 3-yard fade for a touchdown, and the Grizzlies took advantage of an interception to tie the game at 35-35 with 4:22 remaining when Richter dumped off a screen pass to Stepanchenko that went for 16 yards and a score.

Peninsula turned the ball over again in the fourth on a fumble at midfield when Grosshans’ quick pass to the left flat landed on the ground behind the line of scrimmage with just 39 seconds to play.

The Seahawks held on to get to overtime.

Creamer’s 5-yard touchdown run, his fourth of the night, gave Peninsula a 42-35 lead in the first OT, but Richter tied it again on a 12-yard pass to Southard.

The teams reversed the order of possession and Glacier Peak faced fourth and goal from the 1 before Stepanchenko put the Grizzlies ahead.

That set the stage for the final series, which began at the Grizzlies’ 25.

Creamer, who carried the ball four times on the five-play drive, went in from the 1, pulling Peninsula to within 49-48.

Then, the Seahawks’ offense stayed on the field. Even after a timeout, when Grosshans couldn’t get the Grizzlies to jump offside. Even with sophomore kicker Cole Madden a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points on the night.

When Peninsula lined up for the two-point conversion, the Seahawks would either clinch their first state-tournament berth since 2002, or their season would be over.

“We knew what the situation was, and we knew what we had to do,” Creamer said.

Filkins said it was time to roll the dice.

“We were 199 plays into the game, and our tank was on E,” he said.

Grosshans tossed the ball wide left to Creamer, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder who patiently waited for a block before he attempted to cut upfield.

“We had guys manned up on their blockers,” Creamer said.

But Glacier Peak had an extra defender on that side of the field, and the Grizzlies kept Creamer out of the end zone.

Glacier Peak players pulled their helmets off their heads, threw their arms into the air and celebrated all the way to the opposite sideline.

“We put the ball in the hands of our best athlete, behind our best lineman, and behind our best blocking back,” Filkins said. “It was the right call. It just didn’t work out tonight.”

Grant said the Seahawks didn’t quit, but they executed poorly when they had a sizable lead.

“When we first stepped onto the field, we wanted to completely dominate the other team and show them who we were, and we did that,” he said. “We stuck with it. We stayed with each other. We kept hammering the other team. And we had the opportunity to win on one play — that’s just the playoff atmosphere.”

There also were lessons learned.

“You can never let your guard down,” Grant said. “If you’re going to face a team like that, you have to stick with it and execute what you’ve learned in the past.

“If you blink once, something bad is going to happen — and it did.”

Filkins said he was proud of his players and coaching staff for their preparation and hard work.

“Our community should be really proud of having kids like this going out into the world, because these are fine young men,” he said. “They’re going to be winners for life for this.”

Reach Editor Brian McLean at 253-853-9245 or by e-mail at brian.mclean@gateline.com.