Too little, too late as Steilacoom’s comeback bid against Hockinson falls just short

If only there was more time on the clock.

What looked like a blowout early in the fourth quarter turned into a thriller as top-seeded Hockinson (11-0) outlasted No. 9 seed Steilacoom 35-28 (10-2) in the Class 2A quarterfinals at Doc Harris Stadium on Friday night.

It was the closest margin of victory for the Hawks, who are the defending 2A state champions, since Week 5.

Down 35-7 with seven minutes, 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Sentinels rattled off three consecutive touchdowns to make it a one-possession ball game.

First, it was a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback J.J. Lemming to Nehimiah Shird at the 5:21 mark to cut Hockinson’s lead to 35-14.

Then, the Sentinels forced a punt, and used a three-play scoring drive, capped by a 39-yard scoring pass from Lemming to Emeka Egbuka, to make it 35-21.

Egbuka would come up big again for the Sentinels about two minutes later with a 16-yard touchdwon reception to cut the Hawks’ lead to 35-28 with 1:41 to play.

But, the comeback came up just short. The Hawks recovered an onside kick attempt, Steilacoom was out of timeouts, and Levi Crum took a knee to end the game.

In the end, a sluggish start on offense turned out to be too much to overcome for the Sentinels.

In the first half, Steilacoom’s six drives resulted in four punts and one turnover. The lone plus play came from running back Jaymason Willingham, at Utah State commit, whose 25-yard touchdown scamper with 7:39 left in the second quarter opened up scoring for the Sentinels.

“There were little things,” Steilacoom coach Colby Davies said of his team’s first half struggles. “We throw that deep one to Emeka, and comes off his hands. That’s one he usually makes. Or, a throw that’s off by J.J. there. That’s one he usually makes. Or a bad snap.

“When you’re playing a team like this, you have to have things go your way a little bit. But, our kids battled. There’s not much else we could have done. I credit our kids. The effort was amazing.”

Lemming threw for 305 yards in the second half to finish with 377 total on 25 of 42 passing.

There was a particular sequence in the third quarter that seemed to keep the momentum with Hockinson. On two different occasions, the Sentinels had long touchdowns called back.

A 42-yard scoring catch by Egbuka turned into a touch back for the Hawks after he fumbled the ball out of bounds in the end zone.

After the Hawks turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession, the Sentinels had a 61-yard touchdown pass negated by an illegal shift penalty.

For the Hawks, it was a multifaceted attack. Wide receiver Sawyer Racanelli, Hockinson’s star receiver with plenty of Division I interest, got the Hawks on the scoreboard first with a 1-yard touchdown run from a direct snap with 3:16 left the first quarter.

Racanelli had two more scores — a 1-yard run in the third, and a 7-yard reception in the fourth. He finished with 94 yards on six catches, and added 46 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Also cashing in for the Hawks were tight end Nick Frichtl on a 23-yard touchdown reception at the 9:10 mark in the second quarter, and wide receiver Peyton Brammer on a 14-yard reception with 8:53 left in the third.

Quarterback Levi Crum ended the night with 22 of 46 passing for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

Despite the loss, there were positives to be drawn. Like how Egbuka, a highly sought after Division I prospect, matched up against another top player in Racanelli.

At defensive back, Egbuka had his hands full with Racanelli. But, the sophomore responded well. The 94 receiving yards from Racanelli, who had Egbuka covering him for a majority of the game, were his second-lowest total this season.

On the other side of the ball at wide receiver, Egbuka turned in another productive performance with 185 yards and the two touchdowns on 12 catches. Egbuka finishes with 72 catches for 1,492 yards and 26 total touchdowns his sophomore season.

“I’m proud of my guys, we have a lot of heart,” Egbuka said. “We showed we can compete with the best teams in the state. And we’re going to be back next year — stronger. It’s sad, losing the seniors. We’re all really close. That’s the hardest part of it.”

H — Sawyer Racanelli 1 run (Nick Charles kick)

H — Nick Frichtl 23 pass from Levi Crum (Charles kick)

S — Jaymason Willingham 25 run (Ty Reeder kick)

H — Peyton Brammer 14 pass from Crum (Charles kick)

H — Racanelli 1 run (Charles kick)

H — Racanelli 7 pass from Crum (Charles kick)

S — Nehimiah Shird 13 pass from JJ Lemming (Reeder kick)

S — Emeka Egbuka 39 pass from Lemming (Reeder kick)

S — Egbuka 16 pass from Lemming (Reeder kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: H — Crum 22-46-2-317. S — Lemming 25-41-1-377.

Rushing: H — Jon Domingos 2-9; Crum 15-55; Racanelli 10-46; Garrett Gundy 3-18; Cody Wheeler 4-16; Aidan Mallory 2-19; Team 5-(-18). S — Willingham 8-43; Lemming 4-4; Team 1-(-4).

Receiving: H — Racanelli 6-94; Gundy 2-15; Peyton Brammer 6-106; Wheeler 3-16; Mallory 1-14; Nick Frichtl 2-49; Jeremiah Faulstick 1-9; Domingos 1-14. S — Jayden Coalsen 6-45; Egbuka 12-185; Alex Brady 2-36; Shird 5-111.