Sophistication has no place in Class B-8 high school football, the Inchelium Hornets learned yesterday.
Two coaches' lectures switched off the big city's bright lights and brought the Hornets back to reality for a 38-22 victory over Wishkah Valley for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association championship.
With Lonnie Simpson rushing for a Kingbowl record 278 yards, including a record scoring gallop of 78 yards in the third quarter, the Hornets became the first Indian reservation team to claim a state title.
"I think we had the Kingbowl jitters in the first quarter," Simpson, a senior running back, said after his four-touchdown game. "Better blocking made the difference after that."
COACH DUANE GATLIN put in an emergency call to his line coach, Ron Washington, in the opening period, requesting that the assistant abandon his scout-box headset in the Kingdome's upper atmosphere and return to the artificial turf with a speech that might bring the Hornets' linemen back to earth.
"Okay guys, we know we're in the Kingdome," Washington told the Hornets during a timeout. "Now it's time to forget about that and start playing football."
Recovering from an 8-0 first quarter deficit — the first time the Hornets had trailed a game all year — Inchelium buzzed for 30 points in the next two quarters to put the game out of reach.
The Kingdome's sophisticated synthetic playing surface was almost too nice for the Hornets from Colville country, they said after their first game on plastic grass.
"I think we play better on muddy fields," said Clint Abell, junior end.
Don Fox, Gatlin's other assistant coach, chipped in with some halftime advice about big-city sophistication, telling Simpson to quit trying to jitterbug around Wishkah Valley tacklers and start running like the high-powered halfback who rushed for 2,570 yards and 35 touchdowns in 11 previous games this season.
SIMPSON TOOK OFF like O.J. Simpson in the third quarter, rushing for 150 yards on eight carries, including a 26-yard tiptoe down the east sideline for a touchdown before his 76-yard gallop clinched the victory for the Ferry County team.
The performance overshadowed a three-touchdown day by Wishkah Valley's Pete Ancich, the state's 1982 scoring champion. Ancich, playing with a bruised thigh, wound up with 72 yards on 19 carries as the Loggers turned to quarterback Brad Taylor for much of their offensive production.
Taylor completed 8 of 17 passes for 193 yards and also was chosen the game's most outstanding defensive player. Simpson had no close competition in the offensive pressbox balloting.
Linemen Russell Camp and Joe Bear Swan contributed the springing blocks on Simpson's record scoring run. Swan, a senior end, also threw the key block on Rob Williams' 55-yard TD catch and run in the second quarter, then prevented a Wishkah Valley score in the final period.
The Loggers' Mike Burge scooped up an Inchelium fumble and ran 75 yards before Swan's diving save at the Hornets' 10.
Inchelium corked the Loggers' final scoring threat four plays later, and the Hornets ran out the clock against the state's top-ranked B-8 team to conclude their season with a 12-1 record. Wishkah Valley finished at 11-1.
"WE HAD A GREAT season, and one loss in the championship game doesn't take away from that," said Wishkah coach Rick McDougall. "If Simpson wants any recommendations to college coaches, I'd be happy to give 'em."
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Simpson, who concluded his prep career with more than 6,000 yards rushing, says he might enroll at the University of Idaho.
"One of the keys for Inchelium was their defensive ends," said McDougall, speaking of Swan and Abell.
Gatlin, his jacket dripping from an unscheduled trip into the shower, nodded in appreciation.
"I'm just elated," he said, the voice starting to fail. "My heart was in my stomach or my throat — I don't know where it went. I just know Wishkah had a goll-dang good ballclub."
Fancy words don't win games in Inchelium.
WISHKAH 8 0 8 6 - 22
INCHELIUM 0 16 14 8 - 38
SCORING
Wishkah - Ancich 1 run (Anderson run)
Inchelium - Rob Williams 66 pass from Flugel (Rob Williams pass from Flugel)
Inchelium - Simpson 9 run (Rob Williams pass from Flugel)
Inchelium - Simpson 26 run (Rob Williams run)
Wishkah - Ancich 3 run (M. Hoskey pass from Taylor)
Inchelium - Simpson 76 run (run failed)
Wishkah - Ancich 1 run (pass failed)
Inchelium - Simpson 8 run
STATS INCH WISH
Time of possession 22:07 25:53
First downs 16 16
Third down conversions 6-9 3-13
Total plays - net yards 58-446 58-299
Rushing plays - ny 49-355 41-109
Passing plays - ny 9-91 17-198
Passes 4-9-0 8-17-0
Fumbles lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties 7-45 5-45
Return yardage 25 6-105
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Wishkah: Taylor 16-(-4), Ancich 19-72, Anderson 5-35, Hoskey 1-(-2); Inchelium: Simpson 30-278, Williams 8-60, Flugel 11-0.
Passing - Wishkah: Taylor 8-17-0 193; Inchelium Flugel 4-9-0, 91 yards, 1 TD
Receiving - Wishkah: Berge 2-69, McCormick 3-95, Hoskey 2-22, Ancich 1-7; Inchelium Williams 3-86, Simpson 1-5.
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