The game over, the team meeting adjourned, and the family hugged, Cole Graves finally had a chance to breathe for what seemed like the first time all night.
After rushing for 185 yards and three touchdowns on offense and three timely interceptions on defense, the senior couldn’t be blamed for being a little winded after the Rebels 47-34 win over previously unbeaten Interlake.
“I’m so tired, and so sore,” Graves said following the game. “Tomorrow’s going to feel nice and good.”
Graves helped set the tone for the night by picking off Interlake quarterback Matt Malos on the second play of the game. After Interlake’s Brett Kirschner opened the game with a 3-yard run, Malos stepped rolled out to his left, looking to hit a wide receiver on an out route. But there was Graves, all 6-foot-3 and 190-pounds of him, in between the receiver and the ball.
“I knew once he let the ball go, it was all mine,” Graves said.
Six plays later, Alex Minerich found the end zone and after a two-point conversion, the Rebels (5-1, 2-1) led 8-0 just over three minutes into the game. The quick score set the tone for what would be a good old fashioned shootout.
After Kirschner scored on a 2-yard run on the next possession, and the Saints two-point conversion failed after Graves picked off Malos again, the Rebels answered when quarterback Derek Kaufman scrambled for a 17-yard score. Eight plays later, Kirschner drove in for another score, this time from 12-yards out, to tie the game at 14.
On the very next play, Graves took the ball 71-yards for Juanita touchdown, and the Rebels never trailed again.
“If you give him a crease, he’s going to take a mile,” said Interlake coach Sheldon Cross. “And he did.”
The Rebels would score once more in the first half, when Kaufman hit tight end Brad Bomberry on a 43-yard play-action pass. Graves picked off Malos for the final time on the next play and the Rebels led 27-14 at the half.
Things looked good for the Saints early in the third quarter. Interlake’s defense forced Juanita to go three-and-out, and the Saints scored three minutes later on Kirschner’s third rushing touchdown of the night.
Then, just when it looked like the Saints were back in the game, trailing only 27-20, Graves struck again, this time breaking loose for a 66-yard touchdown run on the next offensive play.
“Cole has just come into his own as a player,” said Juanita head coach Shaun Tarantola. “He’s a tough load to bring down, and he ran physical today.”
Graves scored once more in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard run, and Kaufman hit running back Jeremiah Laufasa for a 31-yard score on a fourth-and-eight with just 3:40 remaining in the game. Interlake scored twice more in the fourth quarter on Kirschner runs, but couldn’t close the gap.
Malos finished 21 of 34 for 255 yards in the game, while Kirschner had 79 yards on 16 carries and scored all five of Interlake’s touchdowns.
“I’ll be honest, I knew Interlake was great on offense, but I did not expect them to move the ball on us like they did,” Tarantola said. “They put 34 points on us and they made it look easy.”
The Rebels weren’t too shabby on offense either, gaining 419 total yards, 97 of which came from Kaufman, who went 5 of 8 with two scores.
“At some point, in this gauntlet of our conference, you’re going to lose,” Cross said. “But I felt we got better tonight, as crazy as that sounds.”
