Undefeateds to collide at WSU: Bulldogs advance on 27-0 shutout; face Cardinals

Two teams which have been circling one another for most of the season in this corner of the state will collide Saturday afternoon to decide who gets the east side ticket to the state 1B championship game Dec. 3 in the Tacoma Dome.

Colfax and Waitsburg/Prescott will each charge out onto the artificial turf at WSU's Martin Stadium Saturday with 11-0 records.

The Bulldogs advanced to the semi-final round with a 27-0 shutout of the Lind/Ritzville/Sprague Broncos last Saturday at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane.

The Cardinals advanced with a 54-13 crunch of neighboring DeSales in the other east side quarter-final game which was at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco.

Colfax Coach Mike Morgan expects a head-on battle before an east side state contender emerges from the Saturday semi. The Cardinals have a big line and a couple of power backs who will bring a straight ahead attack at the Bulldogs.

"They are an awfully good team with solid coaching," Morgan said. He added the Bulldog coaches and players have been watching every game film the Cards have turned out this year.

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Number-one key for the Cardinals is QB Zach Bartlow who likes to run the ball but also can throw it when the opportunity presents itself.

Bartlow rushed for 206 yards against the Irish last week in the quarter-final round at Pasco. He also totaled 142 yards passing with a 7-8 completion mark.

Coach Morgan noted Bartlow plays a lot like the Broncos' Jake Eichner, although Bartlow is bigger while being just as fast. The Cardinals run out of a shotgun offense similar to the pistol offense used by Eichner and the Broncos last week.

Kris Cady is the Cardinals power back. He scored twice last week against DeSales. He packed the ball 16 times for 180 yards.

Last Saturday at Pasco, the Cardinals used Bartlow and Cady to just pound away at the DeSales line on the way to the big 54-13 win.

"I'm sure they're going to pound away at us with those big lineman and the power backs," Morgan said.

Colfax also dominated the LRS Broncos Saturday at the Gonzaga Prep field. They committed a stack of penalties and had three TDs called back, but they got the job done, particularly on defense.

The Bulldogs held Eichner and the LRS offense to just 117 yards. Eichner and the Broncos started to move the ball down field on their first possession, but they were stopped when Justin Berarducci snagged the first of his two interceptions for the day.

Colfax then launched a drive and scored with 6:53 left on the first quarter on a short run by QB Alex Teade.

The quarter-final battle went into a diversion mode on the next Bulldog possession when they had two TDs called back and sustained five penalties during a single possession.

Colfax advanced for a first-and-goal on the eight yard line, scored but had it called back on a penalty, lost yardage again, scored on a corner pass and had it called back. The sequence ended with the Bulldogs facing close to 40 yards to keep the ball.

Morgan said his review of the game tape showed all the penalties were valid. He noted as teams advance in the playoffs, more experienced officials get the limited number of games and that elevates the overall standard of play.

LRS was stopped on the next drive, and Colfax hit another TD at 10:18 in the second quarter on a short run by Tyler McNannay. The TD was set up with a big pass to Kellen Morgan.

They closed out the half on a 64-yard pass play from Teade to Tyler McNannay. That tally went on the boards after Damon Buck picked off another Eichner pass.

The last LRS drive in the first half ended when Berarducci booked his second interception with 44 second left in the half.

Buck started the second half with another TD in the kick return. It was also called back on a penalty.

Colfax put on the topper with 23 seconds left in the third quarter when Teade hooked up with Kellen Morgan on a 49 yard pass play. That came after the Broncos, who were running out of game time, gambled on a fourth down play and the Bulldog defense shut them off.

Colfax finished with 469 yards of offense. Teade hit 13-20 for 304 yards passing. The Bulldogs booked 165 rushing with McNannay booking 95 yards on 20 carries and Alvin Li getting 65 yards on 13 carries.

Morgan said the bottom line for the Gonzaga stop was that the Bulldogs got the job done. He credited the Broncos with battling all the way. A lot of the Colfax fumbles and penalty calls were the result of a hard hitting Bronco defense.

Winner of Saturday's semi-final in Martin Stadium will play the winner of the west side semi-final between. South Bend and Orcas Island in the Tacoma Dome. South Bend defeated Napavine 16-7, and Orcas eliminated Tacoma Baptist 21-14 in the west side quarter finals.

Championship game for 2B has been booked by the WIAA for 7:30 in the Tacoma Dome next Friday, Dec. 3.