Lummi loses state title game in heartbreaker

One more non-call, one less fumble, one more stop.

Lummi coach Jim Sandusky passionately reiterated that only one additional play working in the Blackhawks’ favor would’ve been the difference between Lummi winning a state championship and losing one.

“One play away,” Sandusky said. “I can’t say anything more than one play away.”

The Blackhawks appeared poised to capture their second state championship, first since 2010, late in the fourth quarter holding onto the ball and a narrow lead, but a critical turnover was compounded by Lummi’s ill-fortune.

Looking to go up two scores, Blackhawks’ John Ballew fumbled at Almira-Coulee-Hartline’s 1-yard line, the Warriors drove 99 yards with three minutes to go to take the lead and a go-ahead Lummi score with seconds remaining during the ensuing possession was wiped away by a holding call.

Lummi’s result was a heartbreaking 46-42 Class 1B State Playoff championship game loss Friday, Dec. 4, at the Tacoma Dome.

“It was hard to lose that way,” Lummi two-way starting senior Hank Hoskins said. “There’s not really anything else to say. I love this team, and I hope we come back and do it again.”

Hoskins, who was battling leg cramping the entire second half, powered Lummi’s offense, finishing with four touchdowns (three rush, one receiving) and ran for a team-high 77 yards on 16 carries.

Free Borsey ran back a late first half onside kick attempt 52 yards for a score and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Casimir. Raven Borsey logged a team-high 78 receiving yards on four receptions.

Although Lummi’s defense had been so impressive during the Blackhawks’ three state playoff games, allowing only 20 total points, Lummi’s offense was responsible for keeping the game close during the first half.

The Blackhawks (11-3) struggled containing ACH quarterback Dallas Isaak, who accounted for all five Warriors’ first-half touchdowns and racked up 267 total yards of offense.

Neither team stopped the other’s offense in the first 24 minutes, as the Warriors took a 38-28 halftime edge.

But the Blackhawks moved Free and Raven to defensive end in the second half and kept Isaak off the board during the final two quarters.

“Our defensive ends the first half were running right in at him,” Sandusky said. “We worked on it all week, and to see that over and over was really frustrating.”

Lummi took its first lead of the game with 0:13 left in the third quarter when Free took an 11-yard shovel pass from Casimir in for a score following a recovered onside kick. The score put the Blackhawks in front 42-38.

After another fourth-down stop, Ballew was 1-yard away from giving Lummi a two-score lead with three minutes to go in the game. He took a handoff 17 yards, bulling his way to ACH’s 1 before he lost the football.

ACH marched 99 yards, scoring and taking a 46-42 lead with 1:35 to play.

Hoskins, on the third play of the ensuing drive, connected with Free for a 40-yard touchdown pass, but a flag wiped the play away.

Four plays later, facing a fourth-and-6 on ACH’s 36 with 0:53 left, Casimir was sacked, and the Warriors ran out the clock.

“It was a fun ride,” Free said. “There are some people I am going to definitely miss on the field, but we have a lot of guys returning next year, so I think we will be good.”

Lummi finished with 14 penalties for 127 yards to ACH’s four for 30 yards.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Lummi loses state title game in heartbreaker."