Mt. Spokane overcomes rough start; defense leads the way in 35-13 win over Lake Washington

Mt. Spokane spent most of the season unranked as it moved through the Greater Spokane League undefeated. The Wildcats were ranked by state media after knocking off GSL 4A champ Gonzaga Prep in Week 8 and reached No. 6 last week after beating Mead in the regular-season finale.

Though the Wildcats’ offense struggled early Friday, the defense more than made up for it.

A first-quarter interception return for a touchdown by Bradley Runge provided a needed spark and the Wildcats went on to claim a berth in the 16-team State 3A tournament with a 35-13 win over Lake Washington (5-4) in a state qualifier at cold and wet Union Stadium.

Mt. Spokane (9-1) will find out its next opponent Sunday night when the seeding committee releases the bracket.

Senior Rece Schuerman led the offense with eight catches for 98 yards with a touchdown.

Coach Terry Cloer was happy to advance but thought there is still work to be done.

“We made too many mistakes tonight to deserve any accolades that we should have been given,” he said. “But you stay humble, stay hungry and survive and advance. That’s what you do in the playoffs.”

The offense had three turnovers early and only ran seven plays in the first quarter.

“It was a rough start,” Runge said. “We have to pick it up next week – we can’t have our defense on the field the entire first quarter against tough teams from the other side of the state.”

“There’s a lot of things to improve on,” Cloer said. “We can’t turn the ball over three times in the first quarter and run five offensive plays and expect to win playoff football games down the road. We’ve got to make sure to clean that stuff up. And we’ve got an issue starting fast, so that’s something we got to definitely emphasize this week in practice.”

Wildcats senior Jackson Hale blocked a punt, recovered a fumble, hauled in a long reception that led to a TD and scored one on a short run late.

“We have a great team,” Hale said. “Our offense and defense are really strong. They work hard. But I mean, we always respect our team so hopefully, we can finally get some respect back.”

“(Hale) has been a rock on both sides of the ball,” Cloer said. “He’s our leader and we rely on him. He had a nice run early, broke a few tackles almost got in the end zone to give us a little bit of spark.”

The defense created four turnovers and held on two fourth-down conversion attempts.

“We have a solid defense, front line,” defensive tackle Jarom Liljenquist said. “We’ve had good lines for the past two years now – really good. I’m glad we can keep that up.

“We definitely need to bring pressure. It helps with the weather, you know, put pressure on the quarterback so they can’t really throw and limit them to the run game.”

Zach Marini got Lake Washington on the board early with a 34-yard field goal on the Kangaroos’ first possession.

Mt. Spokane fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Kangaroos took over at the Wildcats 31. On second-and-19, QB Colin Fulton tried for a screen pass, but Runge intercepted it and went 60 yards to put Mt. Spokane up 7-3.

“The pick-six was good,” Runge said. “It started us off, but we can’t rely on our defense to do that.”

“The pick was huge for us,” Cloer said.

Hale blocked a punt, and the Wildcats got the ball at the Lake Washington 38, but T.J. Haberman’s first pass attempt of the game was intercepted by Tyler Jones.

“We were opportunistic and got some of those turnovers and got the punt block, but then threw a pick on the next play so we couldn’t get any points out of it,” Cloer said.

At the start of the second quarter, the Wildcats faced fourth-and-2 at the LW 32. Haberman’s pass was picked off by Adrain Barnett, who returned it down the sideline to the Mt. Spokane 20. The drive went nowhere, and Marini kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 7-6.

On the next drive, Haberman connected with Hale on a middle screen that went 45 yards to the LW 4. Three plays later, Ethan Keene took the snap in the wildcat formation and carried off left tackle for a score and 14-6 lead with 4 minutes left in the half.

“I mean, the coaches … I got voted as team captain, so obviously they voted me to be the one that can do those plays for us,” Hale said. “I’m just here to help our boys and just keep working.”

The Wildcats’ defense forced another fumble and Hale recovered at the Mt. Spokane 48. Four plays later, Haberman hit Rece Schuerman in a soft spot in the zone and he broke away for a 28-yard touchdown catch-and-run and Mt. Spokane went up 21-6.

The Wildcats forced a punt and Bode Gardner took it back 36 yards to the LW 28. A completion and roughing penalty gave Mt. Spokane the ball at the 10. On second down, Haberman hit Tristan Olson on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 38.8 seconds left in the quarter and the Wildcats led 28-6 at the half.

On Lake Washington’s first drive of the second half, Mt. Spokane’s defense held on fourth-and-1 at its 46. But neither team could find offensive footing as the wind picked up considerably, and Mt. Spokane held its 22-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the fourth, the Kangaroos faced fourth-and-4 at the Mt. Spokane 46. Fulton went deep to Owens, who went the distance to cut the LW deficit to 28-13.

Schuerman returned the kick to the LW 45. With the wind in the fourth, the Wildcats went right down the field. On second-and-goal from the 1, Hale barreled into the end zone to make it 35-13 with 6 minutes left.

“It was pretty fun to get that last touchdown with my boys,” Hale said.

LW got a long kickoff return to the Mt. Spokane 31, but Maverick Kincade tipped a Fulton pass and hauled it in himself for another Wildcats turnover.

Cloer went to the backups on offense from there. Olson’s late interception sealed it.