The Cascade Christian Cougars knew they would have to slow down Connell Eagles running back Matt Hadley to have a chance to win the Class 1A state championship football game.

Hadley, who has committed to Brigham Young University, rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in Connell’s 28-7 victory against Cascade Christian on Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.

It was the third consecutive year the Cougars have faced the Eagles in the season finale. Connell won the title in 2009 and Cascade Christian earned the crown in 2010.

Cascade Christian senior running back Alex Milton said slowing down Hadley was a tall order.

“It was so hard,” he said. “Our whole game plan was to try to stop him. We knew we had to hit him hard and hit him low. He is a big boy and is a (NCAA) Division I guy.”

Cascade Christian head coach Randy Davis said Hadley was the key to Connell’s victory.

“I think we played about as best as we could against him,” Davis said. “We gave up one long one (a 70-yard touchdown run) at the end of the game. Our guys were just tired. Our defense battled with them all day. We just didn’t get it done on offense.”

The Cougars started the game off strong when Josh Bagley recovered an onside kick at Connell’s 43-yard line. Cascade Christian marched 43 yards and took an early 7-0 lead on a Hunter Austin 3-yard touchdown run with 8:04 left in the first period.

But the Cougars never scored again, and Connell scored four unanswered touchdowns to cruise to a 21-point victory.

Perhaps the most crucial play of the game came right before halftime. Connell quarterback Chandler Salisbury connected with Kade Eppich on a 44-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left in the half to give the Eagles their first lead, 14-7. Salisbury’s pass on an out route was nearly intercepted by Cougars cornerback Nate Brar, but it was instead hauled in by Eppich.

Hadley added a 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and put the game away with his 70-yard run in the fourth. Eppich had a game-high three interceptions from his safety position, and he compiled four catches for 73 yards.

Davis said he was proud of his team’s effort.

“You can’t take anything away from these guys,” he said. “We battled hard. We weren’t supposed to be here, and we were. I wish it was a different result, but that’s a great team over there.”

Despite falling in the state title game, Milton said the Cougars didn’t have anything to hang their heads about. They returned just six starters from their 2010 state championship team and weren’t projected to return to the state finals to defend their title.

“Obviously, you want to win it all, but I’m so proud of our team,” Milton said. “No one gave us a shot to even be here. We had an amazing year. Connell was just one step ahead of us, but we fought hard and gave it our all.”

Fellow senior Joshua Shreffler added that losing to Connell was a tough pill to swallow.

“It’s nice to get this far, but losing still sucks,” he said. “We wanted to do better. Connell played a great game today.

“It’s been a great four years,” Shreffler said. “I have so many great memories from playing on this team. I’m going to miss it. We had so much fun.”

Sophomore Nathan Roosendaal said the camaraderie shared among the 2011 Cougars was unmatched.

“It’s hard knowing we gave it our all, and it still wasn’t enough,” he said. “I love my brothers on this team, and I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else but here with my team right now.”