"Rams stop River Ridge's 2-point attempt to tie" -- Sept. 9, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

North Thurston's game against River Ridge on Friday night turned to a chess match with high stakes, each coach guessing the others' next move. Rams quarterback Kaleb Wilson said he couldn't watch. Running back Alex Ward said he just prayed.

With 2:29 left in the fourth quarter and the Rams up by two, the coaches made their moves as the Hawks lined up for a two-point conversion.

"They had the same situation on three yards out and they scored," Rams coach Rocky Patchin said. "We had to do something different."

The Hawks had run a bootleg play, so the Rams prepared with an "all-out team stunt."

"We ran that same set earlier in the game, and all three times we got clear," Hawks coach Steve Schultz said. "On a goal line in a key situation, I like to have the option to throw or run, but there was wall of white that came through there. I don't know that it would have mattered what we ran. They were all over our guys."

Checkmate.

The Rams outsmarted the Hawks to claim a 14-12 victory at South Sound Stadium. Wilson completed 12 of 21 passes for 124 yards, and Ward rushed 24 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The duo combined for most of the Rams offense and complemented each other throughout the game.

"When you've got a threat like that up the middle, it's just tremendous, because then they have to bring the defense in," Wilson said of Ward's rushing attacks. "When we want to go outside, we can. We have the options all the time."

The Rams got on the scoreboard with 9:32 left in the first half. From his own 40, Wilson connected with Ward on a 10-yard pass. Seven plays and 19 yards later, Ward bolted up the middle for his first TD.

"It was key blocking and they made the hole for me," Ward said. "I just put my head down and went all out."

The Hawks came back late in the third quarter when Ross Creamer hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Joey DeLuca. But Hawks kicker Alyssia Mottern's boot fell short, pitting the score at 7-6. Ward struck again in the fourth quarter, and then the Hawks started their decisive drive after linebacker John Skorna recovered a Rams fumble.

The Hawks used a 10-play, five-minute drive to set up running back Charles Richardson's touchdown just before the two-point conversion play.

DeLuca finished the game with 85 passing yards on 17 attempts. Richardson ran the ball six times for 25 yards and the touchdown.

Patchin wasn't thrilled with the Rams offense, expecting 25 more points, but his defense overshadowed that with strong tackles and tight coverage.

Afterward the Rams sang their school chant, raving about the game and last minute execution.

In chess, it was a move. In football, it was a win.

"I tell our kids all the time that there's going to be one or two plays that make a difference in a game," Patchin said. "That was one of them."