WENATCHEE – The Bulldogs got off to a fast start and never looked back as Cashmere defeated Nooksack Valley 38-12 in the quarterfinal round of the 1A state tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Apple Bowl.
The Pioneers went three-and-out to begin the game, and punted the ball away. The Bulldogs countered by swiftly driving the ball down the field and scoring the first touchdown of the game.
Nooksack Valley then gained a few first downs due to some penalties, but coughed the ball up on a mishandled pitch play to the left, and Cashmere recovered the ball in Pioneer territory at the 28-yard line.
The Nooksack Valley defense played well, and forced a 4th-and-7, but the Bulldogs converted that fourth down into a touchdown on a deep throw to the back of the end zone.
Cashmere was quickly on top 14-0 after one quarter of play.
The Bulldog’s special teams unit shined in the second quarter when they returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown, while also hitting on a 33-yard field goal.
At halftime, Cashmere was up 24-0, and the Pioneer offense was held to just 21 yards on 20 plays.
Turnovers remained to pester the Nooksack Valley offense in the third quarter as the Bulldogs used short fields to score two more touchdowns, and bring the lead to 38-0.
The Pioneers, unable to get anything going on the ground, moved senior running back Colton Lentz to quarterback in the fourth quarter, and he promptly picked up a first down running around the left end. The Cashmere defense packed the box, sure that Lentz would just keep running, and was quickly burnt on a deep pass from Lentz to senior wide receiver Tristan Kamphouse for a 32-yard touchdown.
Lentz, who played quarterback throughout youth football, went to the air once again on the next possession, and connected on a 67-yard bomb with junior wide receiver Cole Coppinger for another score.
Junior linebacker Andrew Dugger led the team with 12.5 tackles, while senior safety Cory Olney finished with 10.5 stops. Senior defensive end Brady Ackerman had two tackles for loss, while he and Lentz each also recovered a fumble.
The Pioneers finished their season with a record of 9-3.
Cashmere 38 Nooksack Valley 12 NV 0 0 0 12 - 12 CASH 14 10 14 0 - 38 CASH - 16 yard touchdown pass (kick good) CASH - 25 yard touchdown pass (kick good) CASH - 48 yard punt return touchdown (kick good) CASH - 33 yard field goal CASH - 8 yard touchdown run (kick good) CASH - 15 yard touchdown pass (kick good) NV - Kamphouse 32 pass from Lentz (run failed) NV - Coppinger 67 pass from Lentz (pass failed) NV CASH 16-8 Rush Att-Yards 45-171 13-34-4 Comp-Att-Int 15-21-0 217 Passing Yards 183 Individual Leaders RUSHING - NV: Lentz 13-28, Brown 3-(-20). CASH: N/A. PASSING - NV: Brown 10-29-4-115, Lentz 3-5-0-102. CASH: N/A. RECEIVING - NV: Bravo 6-81, Coppinger 3-93, Bauman 2-11, Kamphouse 1-32, Olney 1-0. CASH: N/A.
