Federal Way blows by Rogers in 4A districts opening round, 67-30
The equation that lifted the Federal Way Eagles back into the position with which they have become accustomed turned out to be quite simple.
Three is greater than two. And it’s definitely greater than zero, a number to which Federal Way held visiting Rogers on so many possessions in a first-round District 3/4 boys basketball game on Saturday night that the count was easily discarded.
Federal Way ran away with this one, beating the Rams 67-30 to punch its ticket to the state Class 4A regionals for the eighth consecutive season. Excepting last February, when the Covid-19 pandemic erased all WIAA post-season events, the last time Federal Way failed to advance out of districts was in 2014.
“It’s only my first year,” junior Colton West said. “Keeping the tradition alive.”
Though technically a home game, Saturday’s contest was played at Thomas Jefferson High. Federal Way Athletic Director John Yellam explained that a broken bracket on one of Federal Way’s baskets still is being repaired, making the Eagles home floor unavailable for use.
Federal Way will play Tahoma, a 56-49 upset winner at Olympia on Saturday, in a 5 p.m. district semifinal on Thursday at Curtis High. The Bears earned their first trip to a regional since 1981 with the win.
Rogers remains alive for a regional berth, but will need to win two loser-out games next week to earn a spot in the Feb. 25-26 games.
The first of those district consolation bracket games will be played at home on Wednesday against Sumner, when Rogers will try to rebound from a stifling defensive effort and outside barrage of three-point shooting administered by Federal Way.
“They were tremendous with pressure,” Rogers coach Joe Callero said. “We tried to simulate their game pressure in practice with six guys on the court, but the aggression at the right time and in the right place was excellent.”
The Eagles held Rogers to just nine points in the first quarter, then turned the defense up even another notch or two during quarter No. 2. The Rams didn’t make a field goal over the second eight minutes, with their only points coming on three of four free throws made in the final three minutes of the second quarter.
“A lot of time these kids are thinking their offense creates the defense,” Federal Way coach Yattah Reed said. “That’s not what we’re about. You can pick and choose when you want to play ‘D.’ You can control that, but you can’t always control the ball going in the basket.”
Federal Way had its struggles getting the ball in the basket – at least inside the 3-point line. But for as many layups and short shots in the lane that the Eagles missed, it seemed virtually everything went in from outside the arc.
All six of Federal Way’s made field goals in the first quarter were 3-pointers. The Eagles first seven made field goals overall, culminated by Dae’Sean Johnson-Holiman’s bomb with 6:16 left in the second quarter, were threes. Even when Dace Pleasant finally made one in close, on a putback of yet another layup miss, he got fouled and made the free throw to make it a three-point possession.
Overall, every one of the first nine scoring possessions for Federal Way resulted in three points, including three made free throws from West after being fouled on a 3-point attempt in the final second of the first quarter. The Eagles led it 21-9 after those free throws, and 27-9 after Pleasant’s traditional three-point play with 5:34 to go in the first half.
Federal Way finished the game having made 13 from beyond the arc, nine in the first half. West made six of those to finish with a game-high 21 points.
“We actually wanted to turn it into a three-point shooting contest,” Callero said. “We had a plan, at least for the first six minutes or so looked like we had a plan. But when you’re up 10, the basket looks so much bigger.”
Rogers actually led this one early, 5-3, after Spencer Barnes (who led the Rams with 10 points) made two of three free throws with 6:14 to go in the first quarter. But then the outside shots started to fall for the Eagles, while the defense made it miserable for the Rams.
At one point during the second quarter, Rogers matched the seven Federal Way 3-pointers with seven consecutive turnovers as the Eagles pulled away.