Class B-8 football: Koller, L-W defense overwhelm Touchet

TACOMA — For fleeting moments, this game had that patented B-8 football feel.

Wide-open spaces. Run and gun. Yards begetting touchdowns begetting more yards until you need a calculator to keep track of an ever-growing mountain of points.

And that was when Nick Koller touched the ball.

The rest of this game came down to defense. Pure and simple. So Lacrosse-Washtucna's 38-6 victory over Touchet in the Class B-8 state championship game yesterday at the Tacoma Dome really makes a point.

Cliché? Sure. But by the time Koller booked this statement into evidence, the L-W defense had proved it true.

"Defense wins championships," Koller said. "We've heard that since our freshman year. And it did."

Three touchdowns and a B-8 state-finals record 342 rushing yards from the man himself didn't hurt either. But Coach Jeff Nelson of Lacrosse-Washtucna (12-0) was more impressed with how Koller stacked up to the rest of the field.

Koller had 381 total yards, including a 39-yard reception. Every other player on the field combined gained 197. And Touchet (8-4) had only 169 playing against eight determined defenders.

"They were awesome," Nelson said of his defensive troops. "That was the best defensive effort I've ever seen against a team the caliber of Touchet. It would be tough to replay something like that."

The Tigercats were everywhere, holding Touchet's main option, Josh Burrowes, to 62 yards on 12 hard-fought carries. They were relentless, forcing Touchet quarterback Steve Hudson to take 20-step drops and dropping him for five sacks.

Most importantly, they were there when the L-W offense went cold. For 2½ quarters of what was supposed to be high-scoring football, they protected the 24 points the offense put up in eight first-quarter minutes.

"Lightning strikes in this game," Nelson said. "You better watch for it."

Actually, it struck for L-W all season, as they made it to the state playoffs for the first time since 1982. Stud nose tackle Zach Fischer transferred in six weeks ago. The defense that never gave up more than 18 regular-season points welcomed him. The rest, as they say, is history.

State-championship history. Defense wins championships history.

"It's amazing," Koller said, trying to explain the feeling. "We play in small towns with 400 population. We play on grass fields that aren't flat. This is what we've been dreaming about since we were little kids."