BURLINGTON – We’ve all heard it a million times. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The Mariners bought in, took it to heart, and after being down 20-0 at halftime, they came back to defeat the Tigers 28-27 at Roland Kirkby Field on Friday night.
Burlington-Edison senior quarterback Zach Watson was difficult to contain in the first half, as he had touchdown runs of 52 and 47 yards. The Tigers also had another touchdown run of nine yards in the first quarter, moments after recovering an onside quick.
However, it was the Watson on the other side of the ball that sparked the comeback. Sehome freshman Andre Watson returned the second-half kickoff to the Tiger 37-yard line, and the Mariners used that play as a springboard to begin the comeback.
Four plays later, senior quarterback Jovyn Sangha hit a 10-yard corner route to senior Luke Evans for a touchdown with 9:33 left in the third quarter.
After trading punts back in forth during the third quarter, Sehome got on the board again after driving 72 yards in seven plays. It was capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Sangha to senior wide receiver Zach Chisolm.
The Mariners began the fourth quarter on a high note when sophomore cornerback Alden Jacobs intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards, but the Tigers returned the favor when they intercepted a pass of their own just moments later, and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Burlington-Edison now led 27-14 with 10:34 left in contest.
Sehome then scored a touchdown when Sangha threw up back-shoulder pass to Chisolm towards the front corner of the end zone from 17 yards out. The Tigers then led 27-20 with 8:12 left.
Chisolm finished with a career-high eight receptions for 152 yards and the two touchdowns.
Senior kicker Aidan Andrews then kicked a perfectly placed onside kick which was recovered by senior Derrick Heyward, and the Mariner sideline erupted with excitement!
Four plays later, sophomore running back Lucas Ortega scored from four yards out to tie the game. Andrews showed zero signs of pressure as he kicked the extra point just as smoothly as he had kicked the previous 31 in his career. His left foot booted the ball through the uprights, and the Mariners took the 28-27 lead with 6:58 to go.
With plenty of time for the Tigers to score, Burlington-Edison drove past midfeld but the play of Lucas Ortega and senior Hayden Huntley at inside linebacker ultimately caused the Tigers to turn the ball over on downs.
Ortega finished with three tackles for loss, and Huntley led his team with 11.5 tackles.
The Mariners ended up punting the ball back to the Tigers, and they would start their final drive of the game from their own 18-yard line.
On first down, a quick pass to the outside was snuffed out by freshman strong safety Zach Nielsen which resulted in a loss.
A few plays later the Tigers were able to complete a deep desperation pass for 55 yards, which put them into Sehome territory. But, the strong Mariner defense would cause four incompletions in a row to secure the victory.
Sehome finished its season with a record of 3-6.
Sehome 28 Burlington-Edison 27 SEH 0 0 14 14 - 28 BE 13 7 0 7 - 20 BE - 52 yard touchdown run (kick failed) BE - 9 yard touchdown run (kick good) BE - 47 yard touchdown run (kick good) SE - Evans 10 pass from Sangha (Andrews kick) SE - Chisolm 30 pass from Sangha (Andrews kick) BE - 44 yard interception return (kick good) SE - Chisolm 17 pass from Sangha (Andrews kick) SE - L. Ortega 4 run (Andrews kick)
SEH BE 30-56 Rush Att-Yards 31-195 23-32-3 Comp-Att-Int 11-31-1 313 Passing Yards 180 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SEH: Nielsen 16-35, Neff 10-12, L. Ortega 3-11, Sangha 1-(-2). BE: N/A. PASSING - SEH: Sangha 15-20-1-245, Neff 8-12-2-68. BE: N/A. RECEIVING - SEH: Chisolm 8-152, Evans 7-68, Watson 2-32, Heyward 2-23, Nielsen 2-8, Duckworth 1-21, L. Ortega 1-9. BE: N/A.
