BURLINGTON – For the second season in a row, the Mariner football team won it’s week nine crossover game to advance to the district playoffs. On Friday night Sehome did it by defeating Burlington-Edison 20-14 at Kirkby Field.
The Mariners got off to a hot start when junior quarterback Jacob Kaepernick passed a deep ball down the sideline to where only his receiver Tim Malo could catch it, and the two connected for a 39-yard touchdown pass on their first possession. Junior running back Colin Dorsch powered his way through from a yard out halfway through the second quarter, and Melloy Nelson’s kick gave Sehome a 14-0 advantage.
The Tigers wouldn’t be denied, however, as a strong drive before halftime led to a five yard touchdown pass that looked very similar to the Joe Montana to Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” from the 1981 NFC Championship game. Malo then used his tremendous speed to block the extra point attempt.
Kaepernick and Malo hooked up once again in the third quarter, this time from 27 yards out. Malo finished with a team-high four receptions for 95 yards, and Kaepernick ended his night completing 8-of-18 passes for 129 yards.
With the two touchdown lead in the second half, the Mariners leaned heavily on its run game to close it out. Dorsch led the way with 103 yards on 12 carries, and senior Dawson Smith picked up 41 hard-earned yards between the tackles on 13 carries.
Burlington wouldn’t go away easily, and scored on a 42-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. When the Tigers converted on a two-point conversion, that brought Sehome’s lead to just six points.
Burlington-Edison would threaten twice more in the fourth quarter, including a drive into the red zone. But, clutch interceptions by Malo and Smith would nullify any chance that the Tigers would have of moving on this season.
The Mariners (7-2) will now play a well rested Lynden (6-2) squad this Friday at Civic Stadium at 4:30. The winner will advance to the Class 2A state playoffs.
Sehome 20
Burlington-Edison 14
SEH 7 7 6 0 – 20
BE 0 6 0 8 – 14
SE – Malo 39 pass from Kaepernick (Nelson kick)
SE – Dorsch 1 run (Nelson kick)
BE – 5 yard touchdown pass (kick blocked)
SE – Malo 27 pass from Kaepernick (kick failed)
BE – 42 yard touchdown run (2pt good)
SEH BE
37-198 Rushing Att-Yards 33-109
8-19-1 Comp-Att-Int 11-17-2
129 Passing yards 93
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – SEH: Dorsch 12-103, Smith 13-41, Nelson 3-32, Kaepernick 9-22. BE: N/A.
PASSING – SEH: Kaepernick 8-18-0-129, Nelson 0-1-1-0. BE: N/A.
RECEIVING – SEH: Malo 4-95, Nelson 1-15, Clark 1-11, Chisolm 1-6, L. Evans 1-2. BE: N/A.
