2015: Simpson, Cassano help Gonzaga Prep win football championship

DECEMBER 5: Tribal members Matthew Simpson and Bob Cassano celebrate after helping Gonzaga Prep capture State 4A Football Championship. Simpson, a defensive end, greets his grandfather Lonnie Simpson following the game. Cassano, the offensive coordinator, celebrates with fellow coaches from above. Cassano's mother, Christine Cassano, lives in Inchelium and is a member of the Colville Tribes.

FROM SEATTLE TIMES:
4A football: Gonzaga Prep beats Skyline to win first state title since 1986

TACOMA – A winning tradition, it seems, can’t tackle a dominate running game.

Skyline learned that on Saturday, when Gonzaga Prep denied the Spartans a sixth 4A state title with a bludgeoning 34-16 victory in the finale of the 2015 Gridiron Classic at the Tacoma Dome.

Making their first 4A title game appearance since 1987, the Bullpups instead won their third title overall and first since beating Juanita in 1986.

“This feels awesome,” Bullpups senior running back Evan Weaver said.

Gonzaga Prep (14-0) rode bruising inside running from Weaver, mixed in option sweeps from Devin Culp, and built a 21-point lead by the half. The Bullpups ate large chunks of the clock with a running game that finished with 521 yards on 83 carries, both 4A championship game records.

Gonzaga Prep set records for most first downs at 29 (old record of 22 shared by two teams), total offense of 564 yards (old record of 475 yards shared by two teams), total rushing yards (previous record was 446 by Newport in 1992), and most rushing attempts (it was 57 by Gonzaga Prep in 1982).

“We’ve got big guys up front and great guys to run behind them,” Gonzaga Prep coach David McKenna said. “I’m just happy for our kids.”

The big running numbers allowed the Bullpups to limit the chances that quarterback Blake Gregory and the explosive Skyline offense got. Gregory finished with 316 yards passing, sending him over the 3,000-yard mark for the season with 3,252, but most of it came after Gonzaga Prep was too far in front.

Consider the first half alone. Gonzaga Prep ran 49 total plays, amassed 358 yards of total offense (315 on the ground), got 18 first downs and scored on four of its final five possessions. Meanwhile, the Spartans (12-2) managed to run just 23 plays for 102 yards.

And 46 of those Spartan yards came in the final minute of the half on a Gregory to Logan Wanamaker pass that set up the Spartans’ only points of the half, a 33-yard field goal from Jack Crane. That was Crane’s 17th field goal of the season, one shy of the state record of 18 set in 2011 by Mount Si’s Cameron Van Winkle.

The first down that came with the Wanamaker catch was only the fourth of the half for Skyline, which also turned the ball over twice in the first 16 minutes, including just the third interception thrown by Gregory in 14 games this season. He later threw his fourth of the year.

“They were getting some pressure on us that we weren’t used to the last couple of weeks,” Skyline coach Mat Taylor said. “We kind of got out of our comfort zone a little bit.”

Weaver had a game-high 133 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Quarterback Liam Bell added 115 yards on 18 rushes. Culp, a sophomore receiver, took four end-around plays for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard ramble that put the Bullpups on top, 17-0, with 10:22 to play in the second quarter.

The Bullpups last appearance in the title game resulted in a 27-21 loss in 1987 to Puyallup. On Saturday, Gonzaga Prep denied the Spartans’ eighth title overall and Taylor’s potential record fifth 4A title. Taylor currently is tied with Chiawana coach Steve Graff and former Curtis coach Bob Lucey with four.