Dec 1, 2001 - The Seattle Times
TACOMA — The Inchelium Hornets weren't satisfied with simply winning last year's Class B-8 state football championship.
Since the week after winning the 2000 title, the Hornets of Eastern Washington's Ferry County had a goal to repeat. This year, however, they wanted to go undefeated all the way to the title, and yesterday's 36-29 victory over Prescott at the Tacoma Dome gave Inchelium that distinction.
The Hornets (12-0) rallied from a 13-0 deficit in the first quarter to run wild on the Tigers from Walla Walla County (9-4).
Senior running back Chris Burch spearheaded the comeback by setting a B-8 state finals rushing record with 333 yards on 35 carries. Burch scored all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter as Inchelium ran off 28 straight points before halftime.
The Hornets ended their season with a 22-game winning streak that dates to last season, and claimed the school's fourth state championship in four trips to the title game.
Before the Hornets could celebrate at the Tacoma Dome, however, they had to gather their wits after Prescott quarterback Sam Erwin dashed 99 yards for a touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage. Erwin's was the longest run and in B-8 finals history.
"We didn't come into this game too psyched up," said Burch, whose rushing total surpassed that of Colton's Nick Bates, who had 297 in the 1997 game.
"We didn't know what happened (after Erwin's run), but we settled down and played our game. When you come into the Dome, you have to be experienced to know what's going to happen."
Burch drew on his solid performance in last year's title game, as did several teammates who also returned to Tacoma. Quarterback Jacolby Simpson, who passed for 282 yards in the final last year, ran for two touchdowns, the second with 4:43 remaining on a 1-yard plunge to keep the Tigers out of reach.
Erwin hit Justin Clements for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:08 to play, followed by Thomas Clements' two-point conversion run. But the Tigers ran out of timeouts and could not keep the Hornets from getting a first down.
"We knew what we had to do," Prescott Coach Ron Clements said. "We had a big back to stop (Burch). We knew we had to shut him down and the quarterback, and they got just a few too many yards. They (the Tigers) played the ballgame that they could."
Erwin led the Tigers with 182 rushing yards and 120 yards with two touchdown passes, although the Hornets' John Wayne Swan sacked Erwin several times. No other Prescott back ran for more than 34 yards.
"When you get to this point, anything can happen," Inchelium Coach Duane Gatlin said. "They (Prescott) matched up real well with us. The kids woke up there with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter, and said, 'We have to do something here.' "
Prescott 13 0 8 8 — 29
Inchelium 6 22 0 8 — 36
Pres — Sam Erwin 99 run (kick failed)
Pres — Rory Rowlette 37 pass from Erwin (Thomas Clements kick)
Inch — Jacolby Simpson 15 run (pass failed)
Inch — Chris Burch 65 run (Simpson run)
Inch — Burch 40 run (run failed)
Inch — Burch 13 run (Corey Johnson pass from Simpson)
Pres — Travis Matson 19 pass from Justin Clements (Matson pass from J. Clements)
Inch — Simpson 1 run (Burch run)
Pres — J. Clements 19 pass from S. Erwin (T. Clements run)
Rushing — Prescott: Thomas Clements 8-34, Justin Clements 8-18, Sam Erwin 14-182, Jonathan Gonzalez 1-2, Brett Mayberry 1-10, Travis Matson 1-11. Inchelium: Chris Burch 35-333, Howard Finley 4-15, Jacolby Simpson 10-38, Corey Johnson 1-8.
Passing — Prescott: Erwin 7-15-0 120, Kent Lindstrom 1-1-0 9, J. Clements 1-1-0 19. Inchelium: Simpson 4-8-1 67.
Receiving — Prescott: T. Clements 3-37, Rory Rowlette 3-69, Lindstrom 1-5, Matson 1-19, J. Clements 1-18. Inchelium: Finley 3-55, Johnson 1-12.
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