3A Football | 83-yard TD dash puts Lakes over Eastside Catholic 18-14

LAKEWOOD — This time, the rabbit stayed in the hat.

Junior-laden Lakes of Lakewood ended a magical Eastside Catholic football season Friday night with an 18-14 victory that turned on one electrifying play, an 83-yard touchdown run by Lakes' Terry Cotton with 9:31 to play.

It started as a routine dive up the middle and turned into the winning score.

"I saw the middle open," Cotton said. "There was no safety, no linebacker there so I took it."

EC had taken a 14-12 lead late in the third quarter on a 38-yard touchdown run by Marion Bactol after a 47-yard pass from Zach Cuaresma to Spencer Esau.

Third-ranked Lakes (12-0) advanced to the 3A semifinals and awaits the winner of today's quarterfinal in Vancouver between Ferndale and Union.

The loss ended the fifth-ranked Crusaders' season with a 10-2 record that includes the school's first Metro League championship since 1993.

"It was a great season," said EC coach Bill Marsh. "We just ran out of a little bit of the magic we needed there at the end."

The magic was in place last week when a 68-yard kickoff return by Bactol set up a last-minute touchdown in a 13-12 win over Mount Si.

This time, Bactol had a shot at a punt return with less than two minutes left, but muffed it and had to fall on the ball at the Crusaders' 37.

EC got a first down at the 42 on a 13-yard carry by Mike Bush, but the drive stalled and ended with a fourth-down incompletion at the 34.

Cotton carried 26 times for 153 yards.

The other member of Lakes' double-fisted running attack, Willis Wilson, gained 109 yards on nine carries and scored on a 58-yard scamper in the second quarter for a 12-0 lead.

The Lancers had gone up 6-0 earlier in the quarter on a 1-yard sneak by junior quarterback Dalton Gervais.

EC didn't have a first down until late in the second quarter but had a touchdown before the half ended.

Jump-started by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Lakes, EC got rolling. Cuaresma gained 11 on a keeper and Bactol gained 20 to the 10. Bush then carried 9 yards up the middle and completed the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Quinn Sinser's extra-point kick cut the lead to 12-7.

Bactol finished with 96 yards on 17 carries.