4A Football | Graham-Kapowsin falls in quarterfinal game
SPOKANE - Graham-Kapowsin’s offense was missing its biggest ingredient. But it might not have mattered, given the way unbeaten Ferris was operating Saturday on its way to the Class 4A state football semifinals.
The Saxons (12-0) handed the visiting Eagles (8-4) - who were without injured rushing leader Marcel Smith - a 49-14 shellacking at Albi Stadium. Second-ranked Ferris returns to Albi Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday to face No. 1 Bothell (12-0) in the semis.
Smith sprained his ankle in last weekend’s win over South Kitsap, said coach Eric Kurle, and did not suit up.
“Marcel had a bad ankle last week,” Kurle said of the 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior. “He tried to come back this week, and it just didn’t respond.
“That’s 2,600 yards of offense, but they [Ferris] are a great football team. I don’t know if it would have made a difference.”
Smith rushed for 24 touchdowns during the regular season. The Saxons put seven on the board in this game, four in the second quarter for a 35-0 lead.
They had 414 yards of offense that included 119 on two Jeff Minnerly passes. And the defense proved stingy, stifling 250-pound fullback Chris Ratteray and forcing the Eagles to abandon their running game.
Ratteray managed only 15 yards on six carries and the Eagles gained 35 on the ground, but Graham-Kapowsin (8-4) did score twice in the final 47 seconds of the third quarter.
Jeff Logan went to the air - he finished with 155 yards - and sophomore Eli Shoemaker had a 13-yard gain on a reverse to set up the first score, a Ratteray 1-yard run.
Then, after a recovered onside kick, Shoemaker followed a 16-yard catch with a 20-yarder for a TD to make the score 35-14.
But Ferris answered with two TDs on McKenzie Murphy 1-yard runs in the fourth quarter.
“We have no excuses,” said Kurle. “We didn’t play real well, but they did a good job.”