Instant classic: Sumner rallies to stun Chiawana in 3OT, advances to 4A championship game
When referees confirmed RB Steele Isaacs’ game-winning touchdown with arms to the sky, Sumner’s sideline mobbed their star tailback. Just feet away, Spartans TE Carter Cocke doubled over with emotion in the endzone, overwhelmed by the moment amidst the pandemonium. And within minutes, head coach Keith Ross had found his wife for a spinning embrace, both unable to hold back tears.
Ross could finally celebrate, and with a smile, looked to his wife: “I can’t believe it.”
Sumner, pack your bags – you’re headed to Seattle.
For the first time in Ross and Co.’s 27 years at the helm, his Spartans will play in the state championship game at Husky Stadium. Through ups and downs, summits and valleys, the powerhouse defense and run-heavy offense that trampled through the 4A SPSL has prevailed again.
And it couldn’t have arrived with any less drama.
Eight yards from paydirt, Isaacs took a designed outside zone run left, veered around a block from Cocke, and extended the football over the pylon with two arms before twisting and landing upside down. It was the capper of an instant classic: Sumner had erased a 14-point halftime deficit, pitched a second-half shutout to force overtime, and completed the improbable comeback to outlast visiting Chiawana in Saturday’s 4A semifinals, 37-31.
It’s been Sumner’s motto all season long: ‘Why not us?’
So why not these Spartans?
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Isaacs said, flooded by family and fans for photo ops. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve known Coach Ross my entire life, and to be on the team he has going to the state championship, I feel like I have to do it for him.
“I owe it to him.”
Spartans returner Neicko Noffke raced 65 yards on a second-quarter kickoff return for a score, kicker Austin Ferencz drilled three field goals from 40+ yards, and Cocke secured a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut Sumner’s deficit to three points. All before Isaacs scored twice.
But Sumner spent most of their afternoon against the ropes, trailing by 21-7 at the break following costly, early turnovers that placed Chiawana in the driver’s seat. The season faded.
The message inside the halftime locker room: It’s 0-0. There’s a brand new ballgame to play.
“What do you want to remembered on? Your careers could be over in 24 minutes, or you could be in a final,” Ross said. “That’s really all I said. I wasn’t mad. I just said, ‘You decide what’s going to happen.’”
Cocke looked at the scoreboard, then his teammates. No panic. “We ain’t done.”
The 14-point comeback in its entirety: Ferencz drilled a 42-yard field goal that cut Chiawana’s lead to 11. On Sumner’s ensuing possession, Cocke rose to grab his one-yard touchdown on a “pop play” over Chiawana’s stacked defensive box that expected an Isaacs run. The senior tight end snagged a similar throw from Sumner QB Nate Donavan for the two-point conversion, making it 21-18.
Then, Ferencz again. Another 42-yarder tied tied Saturday’s thriller with eight minutes to play, and when both teams missed go-ahead kicks in the final two minutes, an all-time classic continued.
“That’s not what we do… We don’t give up,” Cocke said. “We don’t quit.”
Riverhawks TE Gage Williams and Isaacs traded one-yard touchdown runs in overtime. Ferencz and Chiawana kicker Morgan Dodson traded second-overtime field goals. But Dodson’s next attempt in 3OT missed wide.
Rules dictated an instant 1st and goal once teams reach triple overtime, and Sumner was 10 yards away from the trip of a lifetime.
Isaacs carried for two yards. Then Isaacs dashed for the win.
“We knew these are the two best defenses in the state,” Ross said. “We were just trying to run it and kick a (game-winning) field goal, but they loaded the box so we could run outside zone. Steele scores, and we don’t have to kick.”
Now, one more win to go — for all of the marbles.
“This isn’t about me. This is about Sumner,” Ross said. “But I’m glad we get to (go) to one. And this was the team we knew could get us there.”
Chiawana’s Williams scored three touchdowns, all on one-yard runs. Riverhawks DB Brooks Zaro snagged an interception and raced 98 yards for a second-quarter pick-six, an early field flipper that stole Sumner’s momentum.
“We don’t panic when we’re even or behind,” Ross said. “This team’s pretty special.”
Sumner will play for next week’s 4A state championship at Husky Stadium in Seattle with one last test awaiting in No. 1 Camas. The undefeated Papermakers cruised to the title game with impressive playoff wins over Curtis, Arlington, and Gonzaga Prep.
Cocke smiled, tears visible: “To be able to be this team for Ross is a magnificent feeling. I’m extremely blessed.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 8:56 PM.
