POSTED: Thursday, Dec. 03, 2009

PREP FOOTBALL: Inside the Class 1B state final

The Lummi football team got the rematch it wanted last week and dominated Neah Bay in the Class 1B state semifinals to reach the state title game for the second time in four years. The Blackhawks rushed for more than 300 yards for the second consecutive game and dumped the Red Devils 64-36 to avenge two regular season losses. It was a balanced rushing attack by Lummi with Eddy Williams, Kyle Finkbonner, and Ty Jameson leading the way. This could be as athletic a team as the Blackhawks have had in recent years.

Now the Blackhawks get another rematch, this time with Tri-Cities Prep which beat top-ranked Cusick 42-26. The Jaguars bested Lummi 82-32 in Week 2 and the Blackhawks would like to erase that loss as well. Tri-Cities Prep has a talented team led by quarterback Will Hoppes. He's thrown for 2,510 yards this season and has 37 touchdowns passes to just six interceptions. The Jaguars also have a talented running back in Kevin Ratuiste and a very good receiver in Troy Redmann. Ratuiste's rushed for 1,220 yards and 15 touchdowns while Redmann has 78 receptions for 1,482 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.

LUMMI'S THREE KEYS TO VICTORY

1. KEEP RUNNING THE BALL

It's hard to believe that Lummi has run its way to the state title game since its offense has been so pass oriented in the past, but that's exactly what's happened this season. The Blackhawks have kept the ball on the ground in recent weeks and had great success in doing so. Lummi can still pass the ball, but its ability to run has added another dimension to the offense. That's going to create some challenges for the Tri-Cities Prep defense and the Blackhawks will look to take advantage of that. Lummi doesn't have to rush for a ton of yards to win, but its offense will likely have to produce quite a few points one way or another.

2. AVOID TURNOVERS

There's no doubt Tri-Cities Prep has an explosive offense so it's going to be important for Lummi to make the most of its opportunities. That means holding onto the ball and not giving the Jaguars a short field or any easy scores. The Blackhawks have done a great job in recent weeks at avoiding costly turnovers and that will need to continue. The other thing to keep in mind is how successful each team is with its onside kicks. At least one of these teams will take a shot at one at some point in the game to try seizing some momentum. If it's unsuccessful it could be costly.

3. FORGET ABOUT THE FIRST MEETING TRI-CITIES PREP

It took just three quarters for Tri-Cities Prep to drop an 82-32 loss on Lummi during the second week of the season, but the Blackhawks are a vastly different team now. Since then Lummi has worked hard to establish its running game and the defense has been very good. The Blackhawks rushed for only 40 yards in that loss to the Jaguars. In its last two wins, alone, it's rushed for more than 600 yards. The Blackhawks also hadn't entrusted their offense to quarterback Ty Jameson yet. He's shown a great ability to manage the game and has nice touch.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

EDDY WILLIAMS

Lummi running back

Williams has rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns in the Blackhawks' two state playoff wins. He's got game-breaking speed and enough power to make would-be tacklers pay.

WILL HOPPES

Tri-Cities Prep quarterback

Stop Hoppes and you stop the Jaguars, only problem is nobody has really been able to do it. Hoppes has accounted for 49 touchdowns this season, including 37 passing. He's arguably the best 8-man player in the state.

LUMMI ROSTER

No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.

1 David James WR/DB 5-5 128 Sr.

2 Roger James WR/DB 5-4 122 8th

5 Logan Toby QB/DB 5-4 127 8th

7 Eric Robinson WR/S 5-11 164 Jr.

8 Jeremy Roberts RB/DB 5-8 154 Jr.

10 Jared Tom QB/LB 5-8 138 Fr.

11 Andre Revey RB/LB 5-5 142 Jr.

12 Robert Scott RB/LB 5-6 147 So.

13 Titan Jameson QB/LB 5-8 142 Jr.

23 Devon Roberts RB/DB 5-6 130 Jr.

24 Kyle Finkbonner RB/LB 5-9 156 Sr.

25 Eddy Williams RB/LB 5-7 145 Jr.

30 Michael James OL/DB 5-7 138 Sr.

32 Joseph Fryberg OL/DE 5-8 155 Sr.

34 Deion Hoskins RB/LB 5-6 182 8th

35 Joe Brady WR/DE 5-4 148 Fr.

37 Chris Lewis WR/DE 5-8 158 So.

50 Ted Edge OL/DL 5-7 148 Sr.

55 Lukus James OL/DL 5-5 169 Fr.

59 Jeremy Spottedbear OL/DL 5-10 167 Fr.

60 Alex LaClair OL/DL 5-8 187 Sr.

70 Kyle Sturgeon OL/DL 5-7 189 Jr.

75 Joe Phair OL/DL 6-0 228 So.

80 Tony Rivera TE 5-11 174 Jr.

88 Martin Oldham WR/DB 5-9 152 Sr.

90 Kevin Cultee OL/DL 5-9 169 Fr.

95 Darian Williams OL/DL 5-5 138 8th

99 Murphy Julius OL/DL 5-9 187 Jr.

LUMMI RESULTS

Sept. 5 Wishkah W 58-12

Sept. 12 at Tri-City Prep L 82-32

Sept. 19 Taholah (at Seattle Memorial Stadium) W 58-24

Sept. 26 at Neah Bay L 28-22

Oct. 3 Lopez W 74-50

Oct. 10 Crescent* W 56-7

Oct. 17 Highland Christian* W 53-8

Oct. 23 at Clallam Bay* W 68-18

Oct. 31 Neah Bay* L 50-30

Nov. 5 at Lopez* W 62-38

CLASS 1B TRI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS

Nov. 13 Taholah (at Silverdale) W 68-16

CLASS 1B STATE PLAYOFFS

Nov. 20 at Wishkah Valley (at Tumwater) W 66-16

Nov. 27 Neah Bay (at Tacoma) W 64-36

Dec. 4 Tri-Cities Prep (at Tacoma) 4 p.m.

LUMMI STATISTICAL LEADERS

RUSHING

Player Att. Yards Avg. TD

Eddy Williams 51 776 15.2 12

Kyle Finkbonner 47 438 9.3 5

Ty Jameson 41 219 5.3 6

David James 19 197 10.4 2

Deion Hoskins 33 194 5.9 2

Robert Scott 16 176 11.0 3

Team total 267 2,438 9.1 34

PASSING

Player Cmp. Att. Yards TD Int.

Ty Jameson 97 156 1,963 27 4

Joseph Fryberg 46 71 949 16 2

Kyle Finkbonner 9 14 156 3 2

Team total 160 253 3,228 48 9

RECEIVING

Player Rec. Yards Avg. TD

David James 48 1,092 22.8 17

Eric Robinson 21 514 24.5 11

Tony Rivera 18 347 19.3 2

Eddy Williams 15 311 20.7 5

Jeremy Roberts 7 201 28.7 2

Kyle Finkbonner 13 192 14.8 2

Team total 160 3,228 20.2 48

SCORING

Player TD FG XP 2XP Pts.

David James 23 0 0 5 148

Eddy Williams 17 0 4 2 110

Eric Robinson 12 0 3 6 87

Deion Hoskins 7 0 0 2 46

Kyle Finkbonner 7 0 0 2 46

Tony Rivera 3 0 0 4 26

Robert Scott 4 0 0 3 30

Jeremy Roberts 4 0 0 0 24

Ty Jameson 6 0 0 3 42

Team totals 104 0 7 41 711

TRI-CITIES PREP ROSTER

No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.

1 Evan Whitsett QB/DB 5-5 135 Fr.

3 Chase Castona WR/DB 5-10 170 Jr.

5 Will Hoppes QB 6-0 190 Sr.

11 Troy Redmann WR/DB 6-0 170 Jr.

12 Jameson Pederson WR/LB 6-4 175 So.

20 Jacob Schmidt RB/DB 5-6 135 So.

21 Mateo Ledesma OL/DL 5-10 160 Fr.

22 Kevin Ratuiste RB/DB 5-10 160 Sr.

24 Brian Richards WR/DB 5-9 145 So.

32 Michael Cole RB/DB 5-1 145 Fr.

33 Kevin Daly RB/DB 5-10 145 Fr.

34 Anthony Hinkson RB/DB 5-11 160 Fr.

40 Jarrod Ver Steeg OL/LB 5-1 175 Jr.

42 Antonio Ledesma WR/DL 6-2 185 Sr.

43 Luke Barnett QB/DE 5-10 170 Jr.

44 Jay Orth WR/LB 6-0 205 Sr.

50 Brendan Lee OL 6-0 180 Jr.

51 Tevin Stutzman OL/DL 6-0 195 Jr.

52 Chance DeSmet OL/DL 5-9 160 Fr.

60 Jose Chapa OL/DL 5-7 180 Jr.

71 Chris Liston OL/DL 5-7 210 Sr.

TRI-CITIES PREP RESULTS

Sept. 4 at Imbler (Ore.) L 40-36

Sept. 12 Lummi W 82-32

Sept. 25 at Cove (Ore.) L 66-52

Oct. 2 Lyle/Wishram W 44-30

Oct. 9 at Sunnyside Christian W 46-0

Oct. 16 at St. John-Endicott W 40-12

Oct. 23 Lacrosse/Washtucna W 46-0

Oct. 30 at Colton/Pullman Chr. W 62-50

Nov. 6 Touchet W 56-14

CLASS 1B SOUTHEAST DISTRICT PLAYOFFS

Nov. 13 Wilbur-Creston W 50-0

CLASS 1B STATE PLAYOFFS

Nov. 20 at Almira-Coulee-Hartline W 52-22

Nov. 28 at Cusick W 42-26

Dec. 4 Lummi (at Tacoma) 4 p.m.

TRI-CITIES PREP STATISTICAL LEADERS

RUSHING

Player Att. Yards Avg. TD

Kevin Ratuiste 105 1,220 11.6 15

Will Hoppes 80 810 10.1 12

Troy Redmann 44 304 6.9 5

Jacob Schmidt 52 280 5.4 3

Anthony Hinkson 10 99 9.9 2

Team total 305 2,713 8.9 37

PASSING

Player Cmp. Att. Yards TD Int.

Will Hoppes 150 220 2,510 37 6

Evan Whitsett 23 41 270 3 4

Troy Redmann 5 6 117 1 0

Team total 180 269 2.956 42 10

RECEIVING

Player Rec. Yards Avg. TD

Troy Redmann 78 1,482 19.0 19

Kevin Ratuiste 43 578 13.4 8

Antonio Ledesma 37 538 14.5 8

Jameson Pederson 16 274 17.1 4

Team total 179 2,956 16.5 41

SCORING

Player TD FG XP 2XP Pts.

Kevin Ratuiste 24 0 0 9 182

Troy Redmann 24 0 0 9 182

Will Hoppes 12 0 0 5 82

Antonio Ledesma 8 0 0 8 64

James Pederson 4 0 0 0 24

Jacob Schmidt 4 0 0 0 24

Anthoony Hinkson 3 0 0 0 18

Team total 83 0 0 35 608