ZILLAH – It was a strong start for Mount Baker, but a stronger finish for the Leopards as Zillah defeated the Mountaineers 41-28 for a spot in the 1A state football playoffs on Saturday afternoon.
After both teams turned it over on downs on their first possessions, Mount Baker got on the board first with a 16-yard touchdown run by senior wingback Shaun Dugger who took the inside handoff and made a few players miss on his way to the end zone.
On the ensuing drive there was a quick pass to the outside, and junior cornerback Brice Cooper made the initial hit, which caused a fumble, and senior defensive end Caden Mosher fell on the loose ball to give possession back to the Mounties near midfield.
Two plays later, senior quarterback Luke Smith connected on a deep ball with senior wide receiver Darius Gilstrap on a slant-and-go pattern, for a 35-yard touchdown and Mount Baker was quickly up 14-0.
Zillah answered with a 10-play 63-yard drive that ended with a much needed 10-yard touchdown run, and the quarter ended with Baker up 14-7.
The Leopards were able to bottle up almost everything that was ran between the tackles, so Coach Ron Lepper called a double-handoff on 3rd-and-10, and it resulted in a 70-yard touchdown run by Dugger, and the Mountaineers led 21-7 early in the second quarter.
Zillah went on to score twice more before the half, to tie the game at 21-21 at the midway break, as well as the first two touchdowns of the second half, which forced Mount Baker to go more to the air attack as time began to wind down.
The result was Smith ending with career-highs in completions (17) and yards passing (180) in a game, and the Mountaineers scored late in the third quarter when junior fullback Kamden Moa danced in from 16 yards which lessened the Leopard lead to 35-28.
Zillah then controlled the clock for most of the final quarter, and scored once more on a short swing pass, which the receiver took 41 yards for the final touchdown of the game.
Moa finished with 7.5 tackles, a stop behind the line and an interception to lead the Mount Baker defense. He was also aided by Cooper who had 7.5 tackles and senior linebacker Dylan Moa who had six stops and a tackle for loss.
The Mountaineers finished the season 5-5.
Zillah 41 Mount Baker 28 MB 14 7 7 0 - 28 ZIL 7 14 14 6 - 41 MB - Dugger 16 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Gilstrap 35 pass from L. Smith (E. Smith kick) ZIL - 10 yard touchdown run (kick good) MB - Dugger 70 run (E. Smith kick) ZIL - 1 yard touchdown run (run failed) ZIL - 2 yard touchdown run (2pt run good) ZIL - 15 yard touchdown pass (2pt pass good) ZIL - 35 yard touchdown run (run failed) MB - K. Moa 16 run (E. Smith kick) ZIL - 41 yard touchdown pass (run failed) MB ZIL 30-245 Rush Att-Yards 24-127 17-30-1 Comp-Att-Int 23-33-1 180 Passing Yards 330 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MB: Dugger 11-179, K. Moa 3-41, D. Moa 4-9, Cooper 2-7, L. Smith 2-6, Bruland 8-3. ZIL: N/A. PASSING - MB: L. Smith 17-30-1-180. ZIL: N/A. RECEIVING - MB: Gilstrap 5-89, Dugger 5-36, Mosher 2-26, Cooper 2-11, D. Moa 1-10, Allred 1-7, Bruland 1-1. ZIL: N/A.
