High School Sports Blog

Mason Kelley covers High School Sports for The Seattle Times. Sandy Ringer is also a frequent contributor to this blog.

November 22, 2009 at 6:49 AM

Reese and Pioneers 'Raise 7 For Matthew' against King's

There's so much to discuss after a game like what was staged Friday night at Woolsey Stadium. But in Nooksack Valley's 54-47 Class 1A quarterfinal win over King's, another story broke out that superseded even the Pioneers escaping from under a 27-point hole.

First off, however, I need to back up just a bit to clarify that the difference-maker down the stretch for Nooksack Valley was Anthony Reese (and not Quinton deGrasse). Saturday's story (link here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsports/2010321889_fessenden21.html) has since been corrected, so that's good. This mistake stemmed from taking the roster at face value: deGrasse was listed as No. 7; Reese wears No. 85.

But for this game, it turned out, Reese opted to go with lucky No. 7 for a touching reason. Here's where the real -- and most important -- story begins.

The Pioneers entered Friday involved in a cause greater than themselves, greater than a chance at reaching the semifinals for the first time since 1975. They were playing for Matthew Newman, the junior quarterback for Highland (Cowiche), who suffered a concussion in a game Sept. 18 and immediately underwent surgery to remove a portion of his skull to help lessen the swelling and pressure around his brain.

Newman is currently at Seattle Children's Hospital, after spending three weeks at Yakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center. Here are two links if you'd like to get involved in a variety of ways: www.Raise7forMatthew.com and http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/matthewnewman1.

Back to Reese and his tribute to No. 7 for the Highland Scotties. Not only did the Pioneers' all-purpose star honor Newman, he was also seen along with other teammates holding up seven fingers after touchdowns.

There were plenty to go around, as Nooksack Valley's high-octane offense scored 41 points in the second half to shock the host Knights. These gestures go a long way in continuing the onslaught of support being shown to Newman as he enters his seventh week at Children's.

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Reese and Pioneers 'Raise 7 For Matthew' against King's

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