LACEY — If the coin toss lands in favor of Capital, Alex Everson wants the football, and he wants it first.
He knows the benefits of a successful gamble far outweigh the risks of a failed one, and for a team that has scored on its opening drive in every game this season, the odds were pretty hard to pass up.
“I like getting the ball first. I think we can make a statement right away when we put points on the board,” Everson, Capital’s offensive coordinator and current acting head coach, said. “It kinda gets demoralizing. That’s a hot start for us and a slow start for them.”
But what’s even more demoralizing than an opening-drive touchdown? Watching your opponent run the victory formation inside your own 3-yard line.
Capital survived a heavyweight bout and defeated Timberline 28-22 on Friday, Oct. 22 to secure the third seed in the Puget Sound League Nisqually Division and drop the Blazers to the fourth seed. The Cougars scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter and forced two crucial turnovers in the fourth to maintain their lead.
“Their run game was on point all night long,” Everson said of Timberline. “Our defense was able to square up a little bit and get some turnovers. That was huge to get the offense the ball. Can’t say enough about our guys staying strong and fighting against Timberline.”
Capital elected to receive the opening kickoff and did what it has done all season: march down the field on its first drive. A nine-play, 69-yard series concluded with senior quarterback Nolan Potts scampering for an 8-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion went awry after a bad snap.
The Cougars dominated the entirety of the first quarter, running 21 offensive plays compared to five for Timberline. Capital forced a three-and-out on Timberline’s first possession and then took 12 plays to go 54 yards, with Potts finding Carter Armstrong in the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard score.
Down 14-0 through the first quarter, Timberline found life on offense by feeding King Pridgen the football. But on fourth-and-12 inside Capital territory, backup quarterback Nathaniel Lalicker kept the drive alive with a 14-yard run on a fake punt, and Pridgen finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
Timberline’s defense made a stand late in the first half as Caleb Bacon intercepted Potts, but neither offense could keep its momentum going before halftime, when the Cougars led 14-6.
Blazers quarterback Cam Vongdara carved up the Cougars defense with his legs to start the third quarter, and he tied the game with a 7-yard rushing score and a two-point conversion.
Potts responded with his second rushing touchdown, and while the box score may officially call it a 12-yard run, it was closer to a 28-yard run as he picked up a bad snap that scooted along the turf behind him and juked a defender to find the end zone.
The final three minutes of the third quarter presented some haymakers from both teams. Timberline burst into the red zone on a 44-yard run by Cooper Jones, and Vongdara’s legs came up clutch again with a 6-yard touchdown run. Pridgen’s two-point conversion gave Timberline its first lead of the game at 22-21 with 56 seconds remaining in the third.
On the first snap of Capital’s ensuing drive, Potts rolled out to his right and threw a perfect strike to Julien Mikealson streaking down the field on a go route for a 62-yard touchdown.
With 35 seconds left in the third, the Cougars led 28-22. A combined total of 30 points were scored in the third quarter.
“That was just back and forth. They were playing well. They were running the ball down our throats, but we responded pretty well,” Potts said of the third quarter.
One week after the Blazers lost three fumbles against Lakes, the turnover bug came back to bite Timberline again. Early in the fourth quarter, Jones had the ball stripped away by Kennon Valentine, and Capital took possession just inside Timberline territory.
The Blazers’ defense quickly earned a stop, but after a strong start to the drive, Timberline fumbled three times in a four-play span, losing the last one. On the second fumble, Vongdara lost the ball and was shaken up on the play, briefly exiting in exchange for Lalicker, who fumbled back to Capital near the red zone.
Yet again, Timberline’s defense gave its offense another chance to tie or take the lead with four minutes left. But the offense only moved backward and turned it over on downs deep in Blazers territory. Potts converted a third down at the Timberline 3-yard line in the final 90 seconds and took a couple kneeldowns to secure the road victory and the third seed.
Capital (4-4, 3-2 Puget Sound League) will host a crossover game at Ingersoll Stadium next week against the loser of Friday’s Silas-Lincoln matchup.
“Offensively, we were getting stopped a little bit. We were slowing down, but our defense picked it right back up and took us to the W,” Potts said. “That was all we wanted to do was get a home game next week and to play in front of our city. That’s what I was talking about and preaching in the locker room. This team may not have the Division I athletes. We may not have the biggest, fastest or strongest. But we play our hearts out, and we all play for each other.”
Potts finished with four total touchdowns and 242 total yards of offense, while Mikealson led the Cougars with 92 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches. Garrett Murphy paced Capital with 58 yards on the ground.
Timberline rushed for 346 yards, highlighted by 162 yards from Pridgen, 76 from Vongdara and 84 from Cooper Jones.
It’s back to the drawing board for Timberline, which now sits at 2-3 in league play. The Blazers are staring down a trip to either the Stadium Bowl against Silas or the Lincoln Bowl against Lincoln next week in a crossover, as they will face the winner of the Silas-Lincoln game. Timberline’s defense is depleted, particularly in the secondary, and the turnover woes have been agonizing. But, there’s still more football to be played.
“Let’s just go finish,” Timberline head coach James Jones said. “Our kids played hard. They did everything they could do. They gave us everything they had.”
