Saturday, Sep. 26, 2009

Braves grind out overtime win over Eastmont

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- Dom Davis was bent over on his knees, pounding a fist into the field turf at Lampson Stadium on Friday night.

A half hour later, that fist was high in the air after Kamiakin's junior running back crashed into the end zone.

For 33 minutes and 45 seconds, the Braves offense was banging its head into a wall, coming up with yards but not much else.

But on back-to-back possessions -- with the game and a happy homecoming on the line -- Kamiakin's offense finally clicked as the Braves slipped past a game Eastmont squad 21-14 in overtime.

"This is football," said Scott Biglin, who in his first year coaching Kamiakin is getting all the drama he could ask for. "When you're in it, you hate it. But when you look back at it, I'll never forget seeing these kids and how they responded to a little adversity."

Davis' overtime touchdown -- a 10-yard blast over the right side that followed a 15-yard burst on the same call a play earlier -- combined with Matt Minnich's interception of a batted pass put the finishing touches on a thrilling if frustrating night for Kamiakin.

The Braves (3-1, 3-3 Cascade) rolled up plenty of yards: Hutchison was 22-for-40 for 275 yards, one pick and two TDs; Tim White, the CBBN's leader in receiving and yards, added eight catches and 129 yards to his totals.

But mistakes, quite often with the end zone in sight, cost Kamiakin on four first-half drives, and despite Hutchison's big numbers, he overthrew five wide-open receivers for potential big-gainers.

Of course, the big lefty also dropped in a gorgeous pass to Tyler Holle, threading it over two defenders while still giving his receiver just enough room at the back of the end zone.

"We just had to get some momentum," said Davis, who thought his night might be over prematurely thanks to an injured ankle.

The game's first score came on Kamiakin's first drive in the second half. And with the Braves defense at its best (Eastmont had just 41 yards at the half), it looked like it might be enough.

But the Wildcats (1-3, 1-2) scored twice in the fourth quarter -- once after a blocked punt set them up at the 3, and then on an 80-yard catch and run by Malachi Roberts -- for a 14-7 lead with 2:18 left.

And like that, a stadium that was humming with homecoming excitement went quiet.

"Maybe a little down," Minnich admitted. "We came through when it counted, though."

Hutchison led the offense swiftly down the field on an eight-play, 61-yard drive -- including a fourth-down conversion run by Minnich. It ended with Hutchison carrying it over from 7 yards out thanks to a great block from White on the corner.

After Kamiakin got the ball in overtime and scored in two plays, it was up to the defense. The unit, which already had five sacks (three by Jonathon Allen) and three takeaways, didn't disappoint.

"The defense played solid all game," Minnich said, "and our offense came through for us."

* Kevin Anthony: 509-582-1403; kanthony@tricityherald.com

Kamiakin 21, Eastmont 14 (OT)

Eastmont 0 0 0 14 0 -- 14

Kamiakin 0 0 7 7 7 -- 21

SCORING PLAYS

K--Tyler Holle 25 pass from Corey Hutchison (Garrett Bowe kick)

E--Lucas McGill 1 run (Enrique Espinoza kick)

E--Malachi Roberts 80 pass from McGill (Espinoza kick)

K--Hutchison 7 run (Bowe kick)

K--Dom Davis 10 run (Bowe kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--E, Josh Campos 7-48, Ryan Pierce 2-19, McGill 10-16, Sam Gwinn 11-11, Michael Perez 3-11, Espinoza 1-3, Team 2-(minus 11). H, Davis 12-61, Hutchison 9-17, Matt Minnich 1-4, Tim White 1-1, Cody Wilmoth 4-0, .

PASSING--E, McGill 5-10-1-123, Gwinn 1-8-1-15. K, Hutchison 22-40-1-275.

RECEIVING--E, Roberts 3-105, Darren Spaeth 2-22, Gabe Vasquez 1-11. K, White 8-129, AJ Griffiths 5-46, Zach Umemoto 4-33, Holle 3-49, Tyler Wolf 1-7, Davis 1-1.

FIRST DOWNS--E 10, K 18. FUMBLES-LOST--E 5-2, K 4-2. PENALTIES-YARDS--E 4-35, K 8-77.