The good, the bad, the controversial

We've hit the finish line for the 2006-07 school year and I think it's going to be best remembered for memorable games and controversies.

This year had one crazy game after another.

It started in the fall with the national record-tying nine-overtime 4A football quarterfinal in which Bothell beat Pasco 43-40.

Bellevue needed overtime to beat Kennedy 21-14 for its fifth 3A football title in six years. One of Bellevue's best players was a 20-year-old two-way lineman, Will Kanongata'a, who had started his high-school career — at Kennedy — in 2001. A federal judge granted him a rare sixth year of prep eligibility.

Upset of the year? My vote goes to Centralia beating Prosser 37-35 in a 2A football semifinal.

In basketball, Bainbridge held North Thurston scoreless, 21-0, in first half of a 3A boys basketball tournament opener, winning 63-29. Ferris of Spokane needed two overtimes to beat Kentridge 68-61 in the 4A boys title game.

This spring, Woodinville drubbed Franklin's softball team 64-0. This game wasn't viewed as a travesty on the day it happened and the Franklin kids even sang on the bus ride home. But seriously, 64-0? Once the media and rival schools got their teeth in it, Woodinville softball became a synonym for "run-it-up."

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association gained nationwide attention when officials proposed prohibiting booing at athletic events. Their final behavior code is due this summer.

There also was controversy over paying coaches. The WIAA Representative Assembly passed legislation that prevents the Bellevue football booster club from paying coach Butch Goncharoff $55,000 a year without school-board authorization.

As part of reclassification, the Class B ranks were divided into 2B and 1B. Critics said the split took a lot of charm and tradition out of the annual small-school tournament in Spokane because some appealing teams were playing in the 1B event in Yakima.

Finally, as the school year ends, debate is continuing on whether the four Seattle 4A schools should leave the KingCo Conference and return to the Metro League in the fall of 2008.

2A got tougher

This was the first year of reclassification and no neighborhood toughened up more than 2A.

Dropping from 3A to 2A, Lynden made itself known by winning state football and boys basketball titles. Another former 3A school from Whatcom County, Sehome, won the 2A baseball and both boys and girls track titles. At the boys meet, Sehome took 1-2-3 in the shot put with WSU football recruit Steven Ayers throwing 64 feet, 7 ½ inches to lead the way.

Memorable performances

• Britt Howell of 2B fastpitch champion Concrete threw four no-hitters, including a perfect game, in one week. The East Carolina recruit finished the season with 324 strikeouts and whiffed 1,128 batters in her career, which is believed to be a state record.

• Prosser quarterback Kellen Moore threw a state-record 67 touchdown passes and was intercepted only seven times.

• Greg Mahony of Mercer Island scored all of his team's points, including extra points, in a 41-20 football win over Seattle Prep.

• Alex Montgomery of the Lincoln of Tacoma girls basketball team recorded a quintuple-double in January, with 27 points, 22 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks and 10 steals in a 66-49 win over Central Kitsap. But Montgomery, who has committed to Georgia Tech, refused to play at districts because Lincoln's coach had been suspended, apparently for not reporting a confrontation between teammates.

• Carrie Dragland of Bothell scored just the second perfect 10 (on a vault) in the history of the gymnastics state meet.

• Decatur senior Brock Gates went 5 for 5 with four home runs and 11 RBI as the Gators beat Kent-Meridian 24-6 in April.

• Nectaly Barbosa of Prosser ran the 800 meters in 1 minute, 49.94 seconds, the second-best time in the nation this year.

• Devin Brooks of Holy Names won the 3A 100-meter hurdles for the fourth straight year.

• Elizabeth Lewis of The Bush School won the 1A tennis title for the fourth straight year and finished her prep career undefeated, matching the 1997 accomplishment of her brother, Chris.

Playoff goods

• North Central boys finished third in the 3A state basketball tournament after a dismal 4-16 regular-season record in the 3A/4A Greater Spokane League.

• The Issaquah boys baseball team endured a five-game losing streak and finished tied for fourth in the 3A KingCo Conference, then won the state tournament. It was the third state title this decade for Issy coach Rob Reese.

Here and there

• Al Roberts was co-head coach of the winless Garfield football team in the fall but was hired for a new job in the spring as the special-teams coach on the St. Louis Rams' staff. He had previous major-college and NFL experience.

• Jason Kerr, Franklin boys basketball coach, let his players do all the coaching and substituting in a game against Roosevelt. Franklin won the tense game 71-67.

• Cleveland High School boys basketball uniforms were stolen and the Sonics and Storm Foundation and the foundations of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis rode to the rescue and replaced them.

• The Bainbridge boys basketball team included the classical Pachelbel's "Canon" as part of its warmup music.

• The Bellingham girls golf team won its sixth straight state title (this time in 2A) and the Sedro-Woolley wrestling team won its sixth straight 3A state title.

• Selah baseball coach Mike Archer made his seventh trip to a baseball Final Four since 1996 but is still is without a title. Sehome beat Selah 6-1 in the 2A title game.

• Unbeaten streak that ended: Brewster baseball at 51 (49-0-2).

• Winning streak that ended: Lacrosse-Washtucna football at 49.

• Losing streaks that ended: Davis of Yakima football at 31 and Highline football at 29.

• Meridian football coach Bob Ames fudged on the weights of his players in the state football program to make the squad appear lighter. Senior tackle Cliff York was listed as 6-foot-2, 190 pounds but actually was 6-6, 280.

"What we do is nobody else's business," Ames declared.

This is the final Sideline Smitty column for this school year. See you in the fall.

Have a question about high-school sports? Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com