Ike holds off Southridge rally 27-21

YAKIMA -- It didn't take long -- barely enough time to thaw out from the freezing night -- for Southridge's locker room at Zaepfel Stadium to transform from a room full of faces crumbled in tears to one filled with smiling hugs.

Still some tears, sure, but warmer than just a few minutes ago.

The message was clear: Once a Sun, always a Sun.

The Southridge football season came to an end Friday night, finishing on the short side of a 27-21 loss to unbeaten and seventh-ranked Eisenhower in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

Cadets quarterback James Lopez threw for 128 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, and Ike (11-0) survived a thrilling second-half rally by Southridge (8-2).

"We came out fighting in the second half," said senior center and captain Brent Anderson. "We have too much heart to go down like that."

Southridge quarterback Stephen Garcia answered the bell after the Cadets scored 85 seconds into the third quarter to go up 27-7.

Garcia sparked the run-happy Suns' suddenly needed air attack, completing 11 of 18 throws after the break for 124 of his 148 passing yards.

He connected with Rylie Dean on a 8-yard TD to pull within 27-14 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.

After the Suns held Ike to a three-and-out, Garcia engineered a 68-yard drive.

The 6-foot-3, 206-pound QB bulled ahead to convert a fourth-and-1 and later scored on a 10-yard scramble with 6:22 left to pull his team within a single score.

But Southridge's final drive stalled near midfield, thanks largely to Jonathan Hererra, who dropped Garcia for a 10-yard loss. A fourth-and-17 pass to Austin Graves came up 3 yards short of the first-down sticks.

"They're fighters, and they haven't worked as hard as they have worked for nothing," Southridge coach Andy Troxel said of his team. "(The Cadets) were a better team tonight.

"We were one play away."

A game that pitted Southridge's CBBN-best defense against the league's top offense looked like it might turn into a rout as the Cadets scored three times in the second period and again early in the third.

Lopez was the catalyst, showing nifty footwork to slip away from Southridge's dominating pass rush and create more time for his receivers to work downfield.

It was a bit of a surprise, with the Cadets having the league's No. 2 rusher in Joe Fuerst, who despite the aerial emphasis still ran for 109 yards and a TD.

"Joe does his thing, bottom line," Lopez said, "but we got air power, too."

The Suns limited Ike to just 282 total yards, almost 100 off its season average. But they only mustered 262 themselves, including 108 on the ground from Dallin Palmer.

But it was clear in the Southridge locker room after the game that the highlight-reel catches and ball carrier-crunching tackles weren't the memories that would endure.

"This is my family," Anderson said, "and I wouldn't give any part of this season up for the world."

Eisenhower 27, Southridge 21

Southridge 0 7 7 7 -- 21

Eisenhower 0 20 7 0 -- 27

SCORING PLAYS

S--Stephen Garcia 1 run (Chandler Mertens kick)

E--Ryan Watson 11 pass from James Lopez (Andre Arcand kick)

E--Asya Morioka 18 pass from Lopez (Arcand kick)

E--Morioka 8 pass from Lopez (kick fail)

E--Joe Fuerst 7 run (Arcand kick)

S--Rylie Dean 8 pass from Garcia (Mertens kick)

S--Garcia 10 run (Mertens kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--S, Dallin Palmer 22-108, Garcia 16-23, team 1-(minus 17). E, Fuerst 23-109, Lopez 6-34.

PASSING--S, Garcia 13-26-1-148. E, Lopez 10-24-1-139.

RECEIVING--S, Tyrell McGee 3-46, Chris Whitney 3-39, Dean 3-27, Austin Graves 1-13, Gunner Morby 1-12, Palmer 1-10, Nate Hanarhan 1-7, AJ Henderson 1-2. E, Antonio Martinez 5-70, Morioka 3-48, Watson 2-21.

FIRST DOWNS--S 16, E 12. FUMBLES-LOST--S 0-0, E 1-0. PENALTIES-YARDS--S 3-25, E 9-49.