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BELLEVUE — The top-ranked Bellevue Wolverines, winners of 30 straight games, defenders of four Class 3A football titles, lost Friday night.
Really, they lost.
Issaquah, a previously .500-team that faltered in season-opening losses to Mission Viejo, Calif., and Prosser, made just enough big plays, stuffed Bellevue's running attack when it counted and stunned the Wolverines 31-28 in a KingCo 3A slugfest.
As the game ended, Issaquah players mobbed the field, swarming each other and screaming in disbelief. The Wolverines, meanwhile, wandered around dazed. Some pounded the turf in frustration. Others wept or cussed openly.
Issaquah had been the last team to beat Bellevue, a 24-21 win Sept. 25, 2003.
"I really don't even know what just happened," said Issaquah quarterback Bryan Jones, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 127 yards and a TD. "I honestly didn't believe this whole week."
Issaquah (5-4, 4-2 KingCo) employed a devastating dink-and-dunk ball-control strategy, rolling Jones out for short passes to the flat and throwing mostly out of play-fakes.
The Eagles also added a new wrinkle to their offense: running Jones, the KingCo 3A passing leader, out of the shotgun formation. The 6-3, 185-pound senior, who had rushed 21 times for minus-61 yards this season, lumbered this way and that Friday night for 62 yards, almost every time catching Bellevue's defensive front off guard.
Issaquah running backs Matt Glenn and Greg VanDyne rushed for almost 130 yards combined, and the Eagles had 14 plays that gained 10 or more yards.
The Eagles were also fearless on their kickoffs, trying three onside kicks, including one to start the second half, which they recovered.
Bellevue running back Keith Rosenberg, a Washington State recruit, played his first game since suffering a sprained knee in September. He made several big plays, including a 56-yard TD run in the third quarter to pull Bellevue to 24-21. He also recovered an onside kick late in the game when Bellevue (7-1, 5-1) trailed 31-28.
Top lineman Stephen Schilling was back too, after missing three weeks with a strained shoulder.
But their returns were offset by the noticeable absence of the Wolverines' top two rushers, Thomas Zaffino and Anthony McQueen. Zaffino sat out the first three quarters with a bad ankle, and McQueen didn't play. Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff declined to say why.
"They just beat us. They beat us off the ball. They outplayed us. They outcoached us," Goncharoff said. "If we're a true Bellevue team, we're going to come out and fight."
Goncharoff told his players in the postgame huddle: "Don't ever forget, never forget this feeling. This season isn't over."
Bellevue's vaunted wing-T sputtered in the first half, fumbling twice. Both turnovers led to Issaquah touchdowns.
Bellevue clawed back to 17-14 by halftime. But Issaquah's offense converted several key third downs in the second half and scored twice more. Issaquah's defense held when it counted most, stopping two late-game Wolverines possessions on fourth down.
Bellevue quarterback Eric Block ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Really, they lost.
Issaquah, a previously .500-team that faltered in season-opening losses to Mission Viejo, Calif., and Prosser, made just enough big plays, stuffed Bellevue's running attack when it counted and stunned the Wolverines 31-28 in a KingCo 3A slugfest.
As the game ended, Issaquah players mobbed the field, swarming each other and screaming in disbelief. The Wolverines, meanwhile, wandered around dazed. Some pounded the turf in frustration. Others wept or cussed openly.
Issaquah had been the last team to beat Bellevue, a 24-21 win Sept. 25, 2003.
"I really don't even know what just happened," said Issaquah quarterback Bryan Jones, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 127 yards and a TD. "I honestly didn't believe this whole week."
Issaquah (5-4, 4-2 KingCo) employed a devastating dink-and-dunk ball-control strategy, rolling Jones out for short passes to the flat and throwing mostly out of play-fakes.
The Eagles also added a new wrinkle to their offense: running Jones, the KingCo 3A passing leader, out of the shotgun formation. The 6-3, 185-pound senior, who had rushed 21 times for minus-61 yards this season, lumbered this way and that Friday night for 62 yards, almost every time catching Bellevue's defensive front off guard.
Issaquah running backs Matt Glenn and Greg VanDyne rushed for almost 130 yards combined, and the Eagles had 14 plays that gained 10 or more yards.
The Eagles were also fearless on their kickoffs, trying three onside kicks, including one to start the second half, which they recovered.
Bellevue running back Keith Rosenberg, a Washington State recruit, played his first game since suffering a sprained knee in September. He made several big plays, including a 56-yard TD run in the third quarter to pull Bellevue to 24-21. He also recovered an onside kick late in the game when Bellevue (7-1, 5-1) trailed 31-28.
Top lineman Stephen Schilling was back too, after missing three weeks with a strained shoulder.
But their returns were offset by the noticeable absence of the Wolverines' top two rushers, Thomas Zaffino and Anthony McQueen. Zaffino sat out the first three quarters with a bad ankle, and McQueen didn't play. Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff declined to say why.
"They just beat us. They beat us off the ball. They outplayed us. They outcoached us," Goncharoff said. "If we're a true Bellevue team, we're going to come out and fight."
Goncharoff told his players in the postgame huddle: "Don't ever forget, never forget this feeling. This season isn't over."
Bellevue's vaunted wing-T sputtered in the first half, fumbling twice. Both turnovers led to Issaquah touchdowns.
Bellevue clawed back to 17-14 by halftime. But Issaquah's offense converted several key third downs in the second half and scored twice more. Issaquah's defense held when it counted most, stopping two late-game Wolverines possessions on fourth down.
Bellevue quarterback Eric Block ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Bellevue's streak was far from huge! They won 30 and got bounced from the playoffs.
De La Salle went 8-3-2 in 2004, they lost their first 2 games of the year and tied in the third. They still ended up winning the championship.
DLS was capable of turning it around and making it a good season, where Bellevue went home with nothing but 2 loses, memory of beating a mediocre California team(long beach poly) and no championship. Will they be able to start a new streak next year?
De La Salle went 8-3-2 in 2004, they lost their first 2 games of the year and tied in the third. They still ended up winning the championship.
DLS was capable of turning it around and making it a good season, where Bellevue went home with nothing but 2 loses, memory of beating a mediocre California team(long beach poly) and no championship. Will they be able to start a new streak next year?