It wasn’t the best day on the gridiron for Bellevue Wolverines, but it was proficient enough to clinch a spot in the Class 3A state championship game.
Bellevue captured a 56-28 victory against the Bishop Blanchet Braves in the Class 3A semifinals on Nov. 27 at the Tacoma Dome. The Wolverines may have outscored the Braves by 28 points but its coaching staff and players weren’t completely thrilled with the performance. The Wolverines were penalized 11 times for 103 yards and also committed four turnovers on fumbles.
Despite the miscues, there were plenty of bright spots in the victory. Bellevue running back Ercle Terrell rumbled for three rushing touchdowns, cornerback Isaiah Gilchrist had three interceptions and quarterback Justus Rogers rushed for 104 yards and connected with Tyson Penn on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Jack Sampson, Isaiah Ifanse and Christoph Hirota each scored a rushing touchdown apiece.
Gilchrist said it wasn’t pretty but was glad his team came out with the win.
“The first half was really tough,” Gilchrist said. “At halftime we went in and tried to correct as many errors as we could. At the end of the day its survive and advance.”
The Wolverines will return to the Tacoma Dome to play the Eastside Catholic Crusaders in the Class 3A state title game Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The Crusaders defeated the Wolverines 35-13 in the 2014 Class 3A state title game. Last year’s loss is something that has been on the mind of Bellevue players for the past 12 months.
“We just have to have a great week of practice and get ready for Eastside Catholic. We knew they would get there and we can’t wait to play them,” Gilchrist said.
Bellevue defensive lineman Marquis Deweert, who scored on a 7-yard fumble return for a touchdown on Bishop Blanchet’s first offensive play from scrimmage which gave the Wolverines a 7-0 lead with 11:52 left in the first quarter, echoed Gilchrist’s sentiment.
“We just got to get ready and prepared for next week,” Deweert said. “We really didn’t play a good game at the start with a lot of penalties and a lot of mental mistakes. We just got to fix that in practice. It is a great honor playing Eastside Catholic because that is a great team down their on the Plateau. We just can’t wait to play them.”
Bellevue stalwart defensive lineman Omar Dyles knows how formidable the Eastside Catholic football team is going to be in the title game.
“I definitely think we are hungry. They have a great team. They have Brandon (Wellington) and he is a truck in the backfield and also is a great guy on defense. Harley (Kirsch) is an all-around playmaker and he is very smart,” Dyles said. “We’re up for the challenge.”
Bellevue head coach Butch Goncharoff said his team has to improve if they want to have an opportunity to bring home a state title after a one-year hiatus.
“We’ve got to play better. I don’t care who we play, we’re not going to win if we play the way we did today,” Goncharoff said. “We need everybody to step up.”
