The last time these two teams met was in the opening game of the season at Qwest Field for the Emerald City Kickoff Classic.

Bothell High at the time was ranked No. 2 and Issaquah High was No. 5. The Cougars won the meeting, 36-14, and put an end to their two-game losing streak to the Eagles.

Fast forward to last Friday night and a rematch in the 4A state quarterfinals. In the last home game of the season at Pop Keeney Field, the whole community showed their Bothell spirit on a chilly night. The now top-ranked Cougars cooled off red-hot Issaquah, 30-9, and will next play Skyline at 7 p.m. this Saturday in the semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.

Bothell (12-0) was clicking in all areas and had dismantled both teams it faced so far in the playoffs. This game was previewed to be a shootout for both offenses.

“Issaquah has a lot of weapons, and a big (offensive) line. We made sure everyone did their job and executed the defense called,” commented senior linebacker Kevin Sayson. This seemed to be paying dividends in the game as Issaquah was unable to find their groove until late in the second quarter.

The Cougars struck first with a first-quarter, 47-yard field goal by junior Jon Mercer. Junior punt returner Wendell Galvan helped set up the kick with a 12-yard return.

The Cougs’ special teams stepped up in the game. Senior Linebacker Jeremy Owen got through the Issaquah punt protection and blocked a punt that was recovered by sophomore Nick Anthony. This set up a Cougar touchdown, with Mitchell Muller finding senior wide receiver Kevin Knapp 9 yards out for a score early in the second quarter.

Issaquah’s quarterback Ryan Bergman led the Eagles down the field on the Bothell defense and ended the drive with a 30-yard Gavin Shumaker field goal.

Muller and the offense got one last chance before halftime and went down the field on the Eagle defense. Muller threw a strike to senior tight end Evan Hudson for a 29-yard gain, which helped set up another field goal, a 26-yarder drilled by Mercer.

Bothell led 13-3 at halftime, but not everything was great as the Cougars lost starting running back Luke Proulx to a shoulder injury.

But Bothell persevered.

“Just like every week, come out and attack to set a tone,” said Muller.

The Cougars took that to heart and had another beautiful drive down the field with Muller and senior wide receiver John Sullivan connecting multiple times on the drive; a 29-yard catch by Sullivan was the largest. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by senior running back Colby Burk.

Senior defensive ends Michael Hartvigson and Evan Hudson showed why they are NCAA Division I recruits. Hartvigson and Hudson each sacked Bergman once and Hudson also accounted for a tackle for a loss on Grant Gellatly. Their efforts proved to affect Bergman and Issaquah’s passing attack.

In the fourth quarter, Bergman and Issaquah did not quit and scored on a 1-yard run to cut Bothell’s lead to 20-9.

Muller and Knapp were not about to let Bergman and the Eagles back in the game. Muller threw a laser over the middle and Knapp did the rest in outrunning the defender en route to a 53-yard touchdown and Bothell cruised to victory from there.