Stephen Lewis shines in 2nd half of game that goes to the final play

Unofficially, Lewis rushed for 76 yards and caught another 62 yards in passes, most in the 2nd half, in Oak Harbor's first loss in Wildcat Memorial Stadium. It's only the Wildcat's 3rd loss in 3 years and 1st loss at home in that same period.

The game started out slowly, with OH forcing Cascade to punt on their first possession. Quarterback James Jordan overthrew his first two attempts before finding Derrick Clarit on a short pass.

Cascade was first to find the scoreboard on an absolutely incredible catch with 1:24 left in the first quarter, then went for 2, making the score 8-0 for the Bruins.

On the ensuing kickoff, a short, high kick bounced around and the Wildcats were unable to grab it before a Cascade player fell on it, giving the Bruins a first down at the Wildcat 30. A few plays later Cascade fumbled the ball at the Oak Harbor 9, and with 2.4 seconds left in the 1st, Donovan Hunt ran the ball out to the OH 46 yard line, then got another 15 tacked on for a facemask penalty. At the end of the first quarter, it was Cascade 8, Oak Harbor 0.

To start the 2nd quarter, OH moved the ball down inside the 20, but the drive stalled, and Kevin Flavin's field goal attempt was partially blocked. Cascade got the ball on their own 20, and the first two plays were stuffed at the line of scrimmage by combinations of Greg Goebel and Bennett Richter. Cascade ran the ball out to their own 37 before fumbling the ball. Rashaad Smith came up with the ball, but again, an Oak Harbor drive stalled, with a 4th down pass incomplete at the Cascade 5. Cascade got the ball on their own 18, and again, two plays in a row were tackles for losses. The first, by Lewis, resulted in a 4-yard loss, and the second was a team effort. Cascade's punt from their own 15 went out of bounds at midfield, but the first Oak Harbor snap was mishandled and resulted in a Cascade ball on the Wildcat 40 with 1:53 left in the half. The first Cascade play was stuffed by Lewis at the line. The second Bruin play was a sweep that was stopped by the Wildcats on the 32, short of the first down. Cascade, facing a 3rd and 2 and 28 seconds left, called a time out. It didn't help, as on the very next play, Nick Rouser got through the Bruin line for a QB sack back at the 39. Cascade called another timeout with 10 seconds remaining, but the pass was intercepted by Samual Wolfe and returned to midfield where time ran out. At the half, it was still Oak Harbor 0, Cascade 8.

The 'Cats got the kickoff to open the 3rd quarter. The opening drive seemed like it was all Stephen Lewis. He had 9 carries and racked up most of his rushing yardage on that drive. Several plays seemed to be stopped, but Lewis forced his way between defenders, and his 2nd and even 3rd efforts allowed him to reach the first down mark rather than settling for a short gain. Lewis got the ball down to the Cascade 5-yard line for a first and goal, but again the drive stalled, but this time Flavin's 22-yard kick was good with 2:13 in the 3rd. OH-3, Cascade-8.

Cascade opened their next drive on their own 36, then Josh Higbee made a touchdown-saving tackle at the Oak Harbor 24 after the Bruin quarterback got around the right side of his line. That play ended the 3rd quarter with the score still 8-3 for Cascade.

Starting the 4th, Cascade converted a 4th and 1 with a QB sneak down to the Oak Harbor 13. On the next play the Cascade QB ran around his right side again and this time found the end zone. After a made PAT, the score with 10:41 left in the game was Cascade 15, oak Harbor 3.

Wolfe grabbed the short Cascade kick and returned it to the Cascade 47. Clarit got the ball down to the 33 and Lewis down to the 30. After getting nothing on the next 3 plays, Cascade took over on their own 33 with 8:17 left. The Cascade QB broke free again, running all the way to the OH 35, but a holding call brought the ball back to the Bruin 45, but with a 1st down. Rouser made a nice head tackle for a 2-yard loss, but the Cascade QB again broke free, reaching the end zone from his own 47. Another flag on the Bruins brought it back to the 40 for a 3rd & 5 with 4:38 left. The Wildcats were able to stop the Bruins from getting the first down, and got the ball on their own 31. Higbee caught a nice screen pass out to the 48, but the next two plays were incomplete passes. Facing a 4th & 10 from his own 48, Jordan found Lewis down at the Bruin 39 for another Oak Harbor first down. After 2 more overthrown balls and a short scramble by Jordan, the Wildcats again faced a 4th down play on the 37. On the 4th down play, Jordan again connected with Lewis, who broke through a tackle at the 20 and ran in for the Oak Harbor score. Flavin's kick was good, and with 2:18 left it was now Oak Harbor 10, Cascade 15.

The 'Cats attempted an onside kick, but the ball touched one of our players on the shoulder before it traveled 10 yards, so it was Cascade ball on the OH 47. It looked like it was over, as Cascade's QB continued to move the ball, until it reached the 37. At that point, the ball was fumbled. I didn't see who recovered, but it didn't matter, as it was Oak Harbor football on the 40 with 45 seconds left.

The first play was an incomplete pass, and Cascade called a timeout with 40 seconds left. 2nd & 10, Lewis catches the ball at the Cascade 48. Oak Harbor first down with 35 seconds left. The next play was a screen pass to Lewis, but the referee ruled that it was trapped and incomplete. 3rd & 10 - Jordan scrambles a bit in the backfield, gets a pass away to the end zone, but it's knocked away at the last second by Cascade. 16 second are now on the clock and it's 4th & 10. Jordan throws a nice pass, but the Cascade defender stepped in front of the OH receiver at the 5 yard line and ran the interception back to the 48, running the clock out. Final score Cascade 15, Oak Harbor 10.

Looking at unofficial stats, both teams were dead even in total yards, but one stat stuck out and that was Oak Harbor's completion rate of just 25%. The Wildcats actually passed for more total yards than Cascade, but was 6 for 24 while Cascade was 5 of 7.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Monroe, where the Bearcats beat Shorewood on the road for their first win in over a year.

In other WESCO action:
Jackson 32, Stanwood 8
Mountlake Terrace 29, Lynnwood 6
Monroe 20, Shorewood 6
M-P 46, Shorecrest 14
Arlington 37, Glacier Peak 7
Lake Stevens 36, mariner 34
Snohomish 24, Kamiak 7
Meadowdale 28, #3 Edmonds-Woodway 27
Blanchet @ Everett - No report

Other games of interest.
Archbishop Murphy 26, Lynden 15
Port Townsend 37, Coupeville 14