Huard throws for 400-plus yards, but No. 9 Lancers can’t climb out of early hole in Bothell

BOTHELL — Kennedy Catholic High School coach Sheldon Cross knows the formula to beat a Class 4A KingCo program on the road.

The Lancers needed breaks, the third-year coach said, but got few. They needed to play well on defense, but gave up 29 points in the first quarter. They needed to stop the run, but allowed 314 yards on the ground.

Offensively, they needed to capitalize on early opportunities, but didn’t score until the second quarter. And, mostly, the young Lancers needed confidence, but couldn’t find it right away.

All of those miscues burned ninth-ranked Kennedy Catholic early on Saturday night, and the Lancers couldn’t dig out of a four-touchdown deficit in the first quarter, dropping a 59-41 loss to 4A power Bothell on the road at Pop Kenney Stadium.

“We had our jitters,” Cross said. “A young crew coming into what we dubbed an SEC environment. The bright lights got to them in the first quarter. By the time we settled in, it was a fight.”

Wipe away that shaky first quarter — during which Bothell scored four touchdowns in less than nine minutes — and Kennedy Catholic outscores the Cougars the rest of the way.

But, Bothell exploited early mistakes, and made sure any run the Lancers made the rest of the way was answered.

Kennedy Catholic’s first drive included four incompletions from sophomore quarterback Sam Huard — including a pass that fell to the ground of fourth-and-20.

The Cougars took over at the Lancers’ 28-yard line, quarterback Erik Bainter hit a wide open Riley Morrison for a 12-yard touchdown four plays later, and the lead never exchanged hands.

Cross said the Lancers saw an advantage on the early decision to go for it on fourth-and-long, but couldn’t execute.

“We knew coming into this we needed to take some chances,” he said. “We needed to have success early and sustain this environment.

“We have to be the aggressor. We’re the Golden State Warriors is our philosophy — we have to shoot 3’s. We have to run and gun.”

It just took too long for any shots to fall.

Bothell running back Christian Galvan scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 5 yards each time, Colin Fisherkeller punched in another 3-yard score, and the Lancers didn’t answer until the second frame when the deficit was already too deep.

“It got off to a rough start, obviously, but at the end of the day you can’t dwell on that,” Huard said. “You have to keep fighting. I thought our team did a great job to keep fighting and dealt with the adversity well.”

After a string of incompletions and miscommunications in the first quarter, Huard fired his first touchdown pass with 11 minutes, 26 remaining in the second on a 14-yard screen to Justin Baker, and completed five passes on that drive.

The Lancers got a stop on the ensuing drive, and a 65-yard pass from Huard to Baker eventually set up Zaire Lazolo’s 1-yard touchdown run.

But, the Cougars stopped the comeback bid there. Bothell scored two more touchdowns before the half expired, taking a 43-12 lead into the break.

Another two scores and a safety in the second half kept the Lancers out of reach.

Galvan carried Bothell’s offense, consistently producing in key moments to keep the Cougars in control. The junior rushed 31 times for 241 yards and four touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of Bothell’s 483 yards of offense.

Bainter finished 11 of 23 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and threw two interceptions. Morrison caught two touchdown passes and ran for another, and tallied 74 yards on six catches.

“Their offensive line and their running back (Galvan) dominated up front, and they had a heck of a game plan,” Cross said. “They dominated the line of scrimmage and we couldn’t. That’s the name of the game.”

Kennedy Catholic found more success in the second half, outscoring the Cougars four touchdowns to two.

Huard rallied from early incompletions to finish 33 of 53 for 444 yards and two touchdowns — including a 79-yard pass to Baker that closed scoring — and threw one interception.

Baker led all receivers with 172 yards and two touchdowns on six catches, and rushed for another 10-yard score. Junior Alexander piled up 127 yards on 11 catches, and Jabez Tinae had nine catches for 82 yards and a 1-yard rushing touchdown on a direct snap to open the second half.

Lazolo added two rushing touchdowns of 1 and 8 yards.

“We keep fighting, we keep competing,” Cross said. “All we talked about at halftime was win the second half.”

“We’ll get back to Kennedy, watch the film, learn from it and get ready for our game next week,” Huard said.

This story was originally published September 9, 2018 at 1:14 AM.