KingCo 3A/2A: Bellevue freezes Liberty 24-7

BELLEVUE -- A fear lingers for every team that plays Bellevue. That as the Wolverines push forward with their wing-T offense, the defense will creep forward, like cars at a red light.

And eventually, when they creep too close, Bellevue will throw it over them.

Liberty, like no other team this season, had a hold on Bellevue's running game Friday night. And late in the third quarter, the Patriots trailed by only 10 with their offense beginning to bloom.

But that's when it happened. Bellevue ran a play-action pass, and a Liberty defender froze for just a second. That's all it takes. When the defense looked back, Bellevue's Brayden Van Ackeren was running free past it. And when Van Ackeren took in a 69-yard pass from Tommy Castle, Bellevue had all it needed for a 24-7 victory.

"We definitely had momentum then," Castle said. "But it wasn't over by any means."

Top-ranked Bellevue left its homecoming game with the KingCo 3A/2A championship, its fourth league title in five years. But the eighth-ranked Patriots, after a scoreless first half, emerged from halftime ready to make the Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 league) earn it.

Liberty's sophomore quarterback, Trey Wheeler, started out 0 for 7 with a pair of turnovers. But at halftime, Liberty coach Steve Valach said to him, "No. 7, we're going with you." And Wheeler came back with a 202-yard second half that helped the Patriots rally.

But the Patriots (6-2, 4-1) scored only once, on a 27-yard Wheeler pass to John Kirksey. As the league's top two defenses overwhelmed the top two offenses, three plays tilted the game toward the Wolverines: Van Ackeren's long catch, and two fumble recoveries by Bellevue lineman Leonard Wolfork.

Wolfork picked up the first fumble late in the first quarter after Wheeler dropped a snap.

"All I saw was daylight," Wolfork said, but a Patriot caught up to him at the 6. And Eric Nelson, who had 98 rushing yards, ran in a touchdown two plays later.

Other games

At Mercer Island 27,

Sammamish 10

The Islanders (3-5, 1-4) picked up their first KingCo win of the season and second in a row at the expense of the winless Totems (0-8, 0-6).

At Interlake 64,

Mount Rainier 28

The Saints (5-3) ended a nearly 20-year playoff drought with the nonleague win that clinched a KingCo 3A/2A berth. The Rams of the Seamount League dropped to 4-4.

Interlake sophomore Matt Malos completed 20 of 30 passes for 283 yards and 4 TDs. Brett Kirschner added 143 yards rushing and three touchdowns. And Dylan Amell had 11 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.