‘We’ve brought Puyallup back to what it was.’ Holcomb scores six TDs as Vikings oust Mount Si

The cheers could be heard far beyond the closed door of the visiting locker room on Friday night at Mount Si High School.

All of the jubilant shouting and victorious pounding of the ground echoed through the gymnasium. This Puyallup High School team knows those frustrating middling seasons are behind them.

Two seasons ago, this program missed the state playoffs entirely. Now, the fifth-seeded Vikings (11-1) are one win away from the Tacoma Dome.

“We wanted to change the way this football team has been looked at the past couple of years,” senior wide receiver Darius Morrison said. “I’m super excited. I can’t even explain it.”

Few, if any, are questioning the Vikings now.

After breaking away from a slow start, Puyallup piled up 525 yards of total offense, scored four touchdowns in the second half, and came away with a decisive 47-34 over fourth-seeded Mount Si in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

For the first time since 2005 — and the sixth time in school history — the Vikings have advanced to the semifinals.

“It’s probably the best feeling I’ve ever had, just knowing that we’ve brought Puyallup football back to what it was,” Vikings quarterback Jacob Holcomb said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

Holcomb, the 4A SPSL MVP who paced Puyallup to back-to-back undefeated league seasons, threw for five touchdowns in the win, and rushed for another.

He finished with 350 total yards, completing 17 of 24 passes for 296 yards, and rushing for another 54 on 10 carries.

Holcombs final scoring strike of the game – a perfectly placed 57-yard dagger to tight end Isaac Clark over the middle on play action – silenced an otherwise raucous Wildcats crowd.

“It’s a read,” Holcomb said. “If the linebacker comes up, I slip and pop it to (Clark). And the linebacker did, and Isaac took it to the house. That was an awesome play.”

“That was the look they gave us, and we took advantage of it,” Puyallup coach Gary Jeffers said. “It’s always a run-pass option. (Holcomb) just sees it. He pulls the trigger.”

The touchdown gave Puyallup a 40-28 lead with six minutes, 39 seconds to play, and shifted momentum back to the Vikings after a 5-yard scoring run by Mount Si’s Cole Norah cut the lead to one possession less than two minutes earlier.

Puyallup forced a punt on Mount Si’s next drive after Clark’s score, and workhorse running back Kyle Cramer — who finished with a game-high 164 rushing yards on 29 carries — punched in a 3-yard insurance touchdown with 2:36 remaining.

Mount Si scored once more, when Oregon-bound quarterback Cale Millen found Zachary Soliday for 18 yards, but the touchdown was signaled as time expired.

“It doesn’t get any bigger,” Jeffers said of the win. “I’m thrilled that our kids battled the way they did.”

Millen opened up an early two-score lead in the first quarter, connecting with Kevin Corder (5 yards) and his favorite target Jonny Barrett (32 yards) for touchdowns on the Wildcats’ first two drives.

Puyallup fired back on its next two possessions — Holcomb rushed up the middle for a 12-yard score and found Morrison down the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown on the following drive — but a pair of failed PAT attempts helped Mount Si hold on to its early lead.

The Wildcats scored again on a 24-yard pass from Millen to Colby Botten early in the second quarter, and later had the ball in Puyallup territory in position to score again, but running back Cole Norah fumbled after a completion.

Puyallup took over, Cramer twice converted on crucial fourth downs, and Holcomb threw a jump ball to Justin Haase for a 10-yard score just before the half expired, cutting Mount Si’s lead to 21-19.

“I think it took us a little while to get our bearings about us defensively, but once we did, we shut them down,” Jeffers said. “We sputtered a little bit in the first half, but we were still able to score some points and keep within reach. We finally hit our stride in the second half.”

Millen — whose 51 touchdown passes are 10th on the state’s all-time list for a single season — finished 38 of 50 passing for 364 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He recorded 219 passing yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, throwing just one incompletion on 21 attempts.

But, Puyallup’s defense shut down the senior quarterback for much of the second half, and finished the game with six sacks.

“I think we started to put a little bit more pressure on him, and that certainly helped us,” Jeffers said.

Puyallup took its first lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, when Holcomb rolled to his right and found Haase for a short 6-yard score, and never lost it.

After forcing a Mount Si punt, the Vikings added a third consecutive touchdown, when Holcomb threw a slant to Morrison in traffic, and Morrision turned it into a 51-yard score, pushing the lead to 33-21.

“I think we had some situations where it was difficult for them to match up, so we took our shots where we could get them,” Jeffers said.

Morrison finished with a game-high 178 receiving yards on five catches. Botten (131 yards on 15 catches) and Barrett (128 yards on eight catches) each passed the century mark for Mount Si.

The Wildcats were in position to cut Puyallup’s lead back to one possession late in the third quarter, but Ben Rodriguez picked off Millen in the end zone to end the scoring threat.

“Ben does a great job of diagnosing the offense and anticipating where the ball is going to be, and jumps it,” Jeffers said. “He’s been very successful doing that.”

Norah’s rushing touchdown came on Mount Si’s next possession, with 8:02 remaining in the fourth, but the Wildcats couldn’t catch up.

Puyallup travels to meet the winner of Saturday’s contest between Bothell and Union next week.

The semifinal could potentially be a rematch of Puyallup’s meeting with the Titans in Week 5 — the Vikings’ only loss of the season.

“We’re just a bunch of brothers that play together, that want to win, that compete,” Holcomb said. “I think that’s what’s special about us. All we want to do is win. That’s all that matters to us.”

MS – Kevin Corder 5 pass from Cale Millen (Reed Paradissis kick)

MS – Jonny Barrett 32 pass from Millen (Paradissis kick)

P – Jacob Holcomb 12 run (kick failed)

P – Darius Morrison 41 pass from Holcomb (pass failed)

MS – Colby Botten 24 pass from Millen (Paradissis kick)

P – Justin Haase 10 pass from Holcomb (Carter Pierce kick)

P – Haase 6 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)

P – Morrison 51 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)

MS – Cole Norah 5 run (Paradissis kick)

P – Isaac Clark 57 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)

P – Cramer 3 run (Pierce kick)

MS – Zachary Soliday 18 pass from Millen (no attempt)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: P – Holcomb 17-24-0-296. MS – Millen 38-50-1-364.

Rushing: P – Cramer 29-164; Holcomb 10-54; Ethan Steward 2-10; Danny Uluilakepa 1-1. MS – Norah 11-45; Millen 16-18; Daniel Harrison 3-14.

Receiving: P – Morrison 5-178; Clark 1-57; Steward 5-35; Haase 3-17; Uluilakepa 2-8; Kyler Johnson 1-1. MS – Botten 15-131; Barrett 8-128; Norah 7-48; Kevin Corder 5-33; Soliday 3-24.

This story was originally published November 17, 2018 at 2:59 AM.