Graham-Kapowsin survives special teams miscues, fends off Mead rally to advance to 4A quarterfinals

For much of the final quarter on Saturday at Art Crate Field, it seemed sixth-seeded Graham-Kapowsin High School’s football season might slip away.

Mead cut the Eagles’ three-possession lead to two with five minutes to play, recovered the ensuing onside kick, and pulled within a touchdown four minutes later.

Then the Panthers recovered a second onside kick at their own 45-yard line, setting up a manageable drive with 1:02 left.

“It was nerve-racking,” Graham-Kapowsin junior Malaki Roberson said.

Mead, the No. 11 seed, had every bit of momentum, a two-touchdown swing, and seemed primed to pull of an upset on the road in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

But the Eagles (10-1) got a break when they needed it most. Three penalties — totaling 29 yards — on Mead’s final drive pushed the Panthers back to their own 26.

And junior quarterback Ryan Blair’s desperation pass on fourth-and-5 fell incomplete with seven seconds left, sealing a 45-38 win for Graham-Kapowsin in Spanaway.

“They compete and they play hard,” Eagles coach Eric Kurle said. “We made some mistakes on special teams. On defense, communication on some coverage stuff (hurt us).”

Despite three costly turnovers — including two that led to Mead touchdowns — allowing a long kickoff return for a score, and the two botched attempts to recover onside kicks in the final minutes, the Eagles did enough to set up another postseason meeting with No. 3 seed Lake Stevens (11-0) next week.

“We wanted it bad,” Roberson said. “We’ve been with each other for years. It’s a great group of people and the bonds are inseparable.”

This is the third time in the past four seasons the to programs will play. Graham-Kapowsin beat the Vikings by a touchdown in the opening round last year, and Lakes Stevens ousted the Eagles in 2015 with quarterback Jacob Eason, who is redshirting with the Washington Huskies this season after transferring from Georgia.

“They’re a great team,” said Eagles quarterback Dylan Morris, a UW commit, who will meet the Vikings for the third time in his career. “We have to have a great week at practice, prepare well, and it will be a good game.”

This almost annual meeting almost didn’t happen. Every time the Eagles seemed like they would open up an insurmountable lead on Saturday afternoon, the Panthers found a way to respond.

Mead scored the game’s opening touchdown at the 8:33 mark in the first quarter, capitalizing on Graham-Kapowsin’s fumble on the first play of the game.

Blair connected with Jonathan Baird for 3 yards on the first of his four passing touchdowns.

That was Mead’s only lead of the game, and it lasted little more than two minutes, but Graham-Kapowsin could never quite creep away.

The Eagles scored the next three touchdowns, on a 20-yard run by Michael Kelley Jr., and two long passes from Morris to Roberson (70 yards) and Valentino Hansen (50 yards).

Morris threw an interception on the first play of Graham-Kapowsin’s next drive, and the Panthers converted another score, this time on a 29-yard pass from Blair to Michael Workman.

The teams traded two more touchdowns — Shabro Johnson punched in a 6-yard touchdown for the Eagles, and Blair and Baird connected again for 4 yards — and the Eagles entered the half with a 28-21 lead.

Morris’ second long touchdown pass to Roberson — this one for 93 yards — pushed the Eagles’ lead back to two possessions for 12 seconds.

Isaiah Saldana answered immediately for Mead, getting behind Graham-Kapowsin’s kickoff unit, and scurrying for an 80-yard score.

A Josh Williams field goal (35 yards) gave the Eagles a small cushion early in the fourth, and fullback Jake Porter barreled in for another touchdown five minutes later.

But Blair connected with Ryan Chan for a 39-yard touchdown less than a minute later. And that’s when Mead recovered the two onside kick attempts.

“It’s tough,” Morris said of the late theatrics. “We practice it, but it’s just hard to prepare for it. ... You just want to pick the guy up (who didn’t recover the ball) and clean it up in practice.”

Morris finished 18 of 24 passing for 376 yards, the three long touchdowns, and two interceptions. Roberson was his top target, hauling in nine catches for 247 yards and two scores.

Shabro Johnson led all rushers with 124 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, balancing a Graham-Kapowsin offense that outgained Mead, 563-390, and controlled possession for much of the contest.

Mead ran the ball just 18 times in the contest, and attempted 48 passes. Blair finished 30 of 48 for 318 yards, the four touchdowns, and one interception that led to Johnson’s rushing touchdown in the second quarter.

Workman led the Panthers in receiving with 136 yards and the touchdown on 11 catches. And Saldana finished with 180 all-purpose yards and the long kickoff return touchdown in the third.

M – Jonathan Baird 3 pass from Ryan Blair (Eli Eldridge kick)

GK – Michael Kelley Jr. 20 run (Josh Williams kick)

GK – Malaki Roberson 70 pass from Dylan Morris (Williams kick)

GK – Valentino Hansen 50 pass from Morris (Williams kick)

M – Michael Workman 29 pass from Blair (Eldridge kick)

GK – Shabro Johnson 6 run (Williams kick)

M – Baird 4 pass from Blair (Eldridge kick)

GK – Roberson 93 pass from Morris (Williams kick)

M – Isaiah Saldana 80 kick return (Eldridge kick)

GK – Williams 35 field goal

GK – Jake Porter 2 run (Williams kick)

M – Ryan Chan 39 pass from Blair (Eldridge kick)

M – Eldridge 18 field goal

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: M – Ryan Blair 30-48-1-318. GK – Morris 18-24-2-376.

Rushing: M – Saldana 6-41; Baird 1-32; Workman 2-5; Chan 1-2; Caleb Shawen 1-2; Cameron Crawford 5-2; Keli’i Zalopany 2-(-12). GK – Johnson 22-124; Porter 12-36; Kelley 2-27; Roberson 2-6; Morris 2-(-4).

Receiving: M – Workman 11-136; Jacob Dolezal 4-59; Baird 8-59; Chan 3-46; Crawford 2-9; Saldana 1-8; Zalopany 1-1. GK – Roberson 9-247; Hansen 3-69; Porter 3-31; Eython Daugherty 2-22; Seth Olmos 1-7.

This story was originally published November 10, 2018 at 7:24 PM.