Wolverines roll over Cougars in first meeting since 1990

Don’t blame Bothell for seeing blue Friday night. It was everywhere.

The blue trim on their uniforms. The blue penalty flags in honor of the late Terry Enis, the legendary coach who died from prostate cancer last year. And finally, the blue blur of the Bellevue Wolverines, racing past the Cougar defenders to the tune of 392 rushing yards.

In the two teams first meeting since 1990, Bellevue raced out to 24-0 halftime lead and went on to beat Bothell 38-19 at Wolverines Stadium in a matchup between state playoff teams a year ago.

The biggest play in the non-league contest came in the first quarter, when Bothell had halted Bellevue’s first drive at midfield and awaited a Wolverine punt.

Instead, punter and starting quarterback Tommy Castle threw to a wide-open Jamal Atofau, who sprinted 43 yards and set up Bellevue’s first points of the game.

“That brought us in the red zone again,” Castle said. “That definitely set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Set the tone it did. Bothell (0-2) turned over its next two possessions and punted on its third. Meanwhile, Bellevue (2-0) kept rolling, handing the ball to senior running back Peter Nguyen, who scored on the Wolverines next two possessions. Castle added a six-yard score with just over a minute remaining in the first half to help Bellevue to its big lead.

“We wanted to get up on them early and hold on for dear life,” said Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff. “And that’s what we did. We executed.”

Nguyen, who rushed for 111 yards, added another score in the third quarter, his third of the game, and later threw a lead block downfield that helped his younger brother David cement a 76-yard score, Bellevue’s final points of the night.

“Other teams key on Peter and that opens everything up,” Castle said. “You know he is always going to be there.”

Bothell finally got on the board in the third quarter after switching from senior starting quarterback James Korn to junior Mitchell Muller, who completed his first pass and then handed off to Cougar running back Patrick Ottorbech, who broke two Bellevue tackles in the backfield and exploded for a 64-yard touchdown.

“You’ve got to wrap him up and we talked about that,” Goncharoff said. “One guy can’t bring him down.”

Bothell scored twice more when Muller hit tight end Evan Hudson for a three-yard score and then dove in from the one-yard line on a quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter. Muller ended up going 9 for 11 for 81 yards in relief.

“You just can’t make mistakes against a Bellevue team and we made too many,” said Bothell coach Tom Bainter.

Bellevue played without starting safeties Cam Warren and Taylor Anderson, both out with injuries, and also lost starting linebacker Eric Nelson, who left with a broken arm.

The Wolverines will have an extra day to heal this week, as they’ll headline a showcase of games at Qwest Field on Saturday, where they’ll take on California High School of San Ramon, Calif., at 8 p.m.

“It’s a game they wanted us to play,” Goncharoff said. “If you can’t get excited about Qwest Field, you can’t get excited about football.”

OTHER GAMES

Interlake 53, Yelm 48

Quarterback Matt Malos and wide receiver Dylan Amell shattered school records as Interlake defeated Yelm 53-48 on Friday.

Malos completed 17 of 31 passes for 433 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns in only his second-career start to help the Saints (2-0) defeat the Tornadoes. Amell had 12 catches for 303 yards and five touchdowns for Interlake, both school records.

Matt Mwangi also scored twice for Interlake; once on a 1-yard run, and later on a 15-yard pass from Malos.

Roosevelt 34, Sammamish 7

Nick Foster racked up 190 yards through the air and three touchdowns as Roosevelt scored all 34 of its points before Sammamish got on the board.

Paul Woodworth caught two touchdown passes and had a 59-yard rushing touchdown for the Roughriders (2-0).

Henry Simekha got the Totems (0-2) on the board with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Newport 40, Mercer Island 33

Ian Case rushed for four touchdowns and Jonte Giacomino scored twice, once on a 96-yard kickoff return, as Newport (1-1) held on to defeat Mercer Island 40-33.

Mercer Island (1-1) racked up 275 passing yards but Giacomino’s third-quarter 69-yard touchdown run put Newport ahead for good.

Bryce Borer, Kurtis Rosengreen, and Jack Harrison all caught touchdown passes in the loss for the Islanders.

Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045 or jwillits@bellevuereporter.com.