Pasco hands LC 30-10 loss
PASCO – Pasco players couldn’t quite put their fingers on why their 30-10 4A regional football victory Friday over Lewis and Clark was so uninspired.
But one by one as they left Edgar Brown Stadium, they agreed on two points. Yes, they came out flat against the Tigers, and yes, they’d better shake these doldrums before next Saturday’s first-round state playoff game.
“Intensity would be one thing we need to work on,” said senior defensive end Hank Vincent, who led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles, two for loss. “Some of us need to realize this could be our last game. We need to play every play like that.”
Pasco’s first-round opponent will be determined today. If Gonzaga Prep beats visiting Eisenhower, Pasco will play the winner of tonight’s Gig Harbor-Federal Way game. If Ike wins, Pasco will take on the Cadets.
Either way, Pasco is assured at least one home game after winning its 26th straight at Edgar Brown, and the Bulldogs hope to put on a better show.
It wasn’t a case of Pasco playing poorly – the Bulldogs didn’t turn the ball over and held LC to 229 yards total offense – but it lacked a certain spark all night.
“We’ve got to pick it up, that’s all I can say,” said senior Cam Johnson, whose interception with 8:39 to play led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Shayne Kelly to Seth Halliday two minutes later that sealed the victory.
“From the very start, we need to get going. That’s something we can’t do in the playoffs, and that’s let teams hang around.”
The Bulldogs led 16-7 at halftime, then got a momentary lift when Halliday recovered the muffed second-half kickoff at the LC 18. Two plays later, Kelly hit Justin Perez for a 12-yard TD.
But the Tigers answered with a 14-play drive capped by a 32-yard field goal by Michael Watling to stay within striking distance.
LC’s Alex Shaw rushed for a game-high 110 yards, many coming after first contact.
“We had guys in the right place most of the time, but we didn’t tackle very well,” said Pasco coach Steve Graff.
Kelly finished 18 of 27 for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Halliday and Perez each had six catches as they took advantage of a soft LC cover-3 zone.
“We just found the open spots and sat there,” Halliday said.
Johnson had three catches, all coming in the last couple of minutes of the first half. On his final catch, he looked to be going out of bounds, then used a seal block by Bobby Everson to turn the corner and tiptoe the sidelines 35 yards for the touchdown.
“We made enough plays to win tonight, and that’s all that matters,” Graff said.
Doug Talkington led the LC defense with nine tackles. Christian Collins added seven.