Class 4A semifinals: Capital works overtime to get semifinal victory

KENNEWICK — Capital Coach Wayne Sortun knows how to come to Kennewick and win a state semifinal playoff game.

Back in 1998, the Cougars won a 3A semifinal game at Lampson Stadium by beating Moses Lake. This time around — in Class 4A — Sortun had his team spend the night in the Tri-Cities rather than make the long drive from Olympia on the day of the game. Still, it took two overtimes and the legs of running back Tony Davis for Capital to escape with a 34-28 semifinal victory over Walla Walla yesterday

The victory snaps an eight-year streak of having an Eastern Washington team in the 4A state championship. Capital (10-2), unranked at the end of the regular season plays the Mountain View-Kentwood winner next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.

"That tops last week's game (a 24-21 win over Bothell)," Capital quarterback Jon Oatman said. "We didn't drive 5-1/2 hours here to lose. Then you go double overtime to get to state. It's a dream."

The Cougars almost had the dream become a nightmare, thanks to a hard Wa-Hi rally. Capital held a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter, as Davis broke loose for TD runs of 3, 23 and 74 yards.

"He's our go-to guy lately," Oatman said.

The last TD came with 8:53 to play in the third quarter, on an inside trap reverse that caught the Blue Devils defense off guard. "We knew Davis was a talented running back," Walla Walla Coach Marc Yonts said. "We wanted them to go outside. He kept hitting a crease on the inside, and they kept going to it." Davis finished with four TDs and 187 yards rushing on just 16 carries.

"He's just a sophomore," Sartun said. "He didn't even start for us until two weeks ago when one of our seniors got hurt."

But if the Blue Devils (10-3) have shown anything this season, it's that they don't give up. After halftime, Wa-Hi abandoned its rushing game for a short, West Coast-offense passing attack led by Casey Waddell. The senior was 30-for-48 for 257 yards with two touchdown passes.

"They dared us to pass," Waddell said. "Our line and running backs are great. But it's tough when they have us outnumbered in the box."

So late in the third quarter, Waddell cut the lead to 21-14 when he hit Pierce Johnson for a 29-yard scoring strike. Johnson had 11 catches for 125 yards.

The Blue Devils moved the ball to the Capital 8 late in the game. But the drive stalled, and the Cougars took over. Then came the strangest play of the game.

Capital failed to get a first down and the Cougars lined up for a punt on fourth-and-two from their own 16 with 2:30 to play. But Sartun called for punter Jordan Carey to fake it and run for the first down. Carey — bound for the University of Oregon on a football scholarship — fell 1 yard short as Wa-Hi's Marc Siegal made the tackle.

"That was simply a bad call on my part," said Sartun, who looked a bit stunned after the game. "That was a surprise," Yonts said. "We were able to capitalize on it."

Six plays later, Waddell dived in from the 1 to tie the game at 21 with 54 seconds left. Both teams scored in the first overtime. But in the second OT, Keith Goldenberger intercepted Waddell on the first play to end the Blue Devils' drive. It took Capital just two plays to put the game away — Davis ran 23 yards down to the 2, and Ben Tolman dived in from there for the winning score.

Capital	7 7 7 0 7 6 — 34
Walla Walla	0 7 7 7 7 0 — 28

Cap — Tony Davis 3 run (Ben Schrager kick)
WW — Zac Widmer 2 run (David Cerna kick)
Cap — Davis 23 run (Schrager kick)
Cap — Davis 74 run (Schrager kick)
WW — Pierce Johnson 29 pass from Casey Waddell (Cerna kick)
WW — Waddell 1 run (Cerna kick)
Cap — Davis 4 run (Schrager kick)
WW — Justin Coronado 5 pass from Waddell (Cerna kick)
Cap — Ben Tolman 2 run

Rushing — Capital: Davis 16-187, Tolman 18-65, Carey 10-50, Oatman 5-(-15), Totals 49-287. Wa-Hi: Widmer 22-61, Waddell 5-(-3), Rosso 1-(-5), Totals 28-53.

Passing — Capital: Oatman 5-10-1-62 yards. Wa-Hi: Waddell 30-48-1-257.

Receiving — Capital: Morris 2-24, Goldenberger 1-14, Simonetti 1-14, Carey 1-10. Wa-Hi: Johnson 11-125, Coronado 7-44, Rosso 4-36, Widmer 4-33, Gwinn 4-19.

First downs — Capital 18, Wa-Hi 20. Fumbles-lost — Capital 0-0, Wa-Hi 3-2. Penalties-yards — Capital 5-50, Wa-Hi 2-20.