Inglemoor had plenty of chances to upset 4A KingCo opponent Woodinville on Oct. 3, but the Vikings couldn’t make plays when it counted.
The Falcons did.
Woodinville senior Mike Brumfield blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt by Anthony Arena with 3:56 remaining in the game to seal a 10-9 victory for his team at Pop Keeney Stadium.
“You’ve got to perform when you’ve got to perform,” said Vikings coach Frank Naish. “We have the best kicker in the state, and we just missed a field goal. Somebody blocked it.”
Woodinville learned its lesson about pulling through in close games earlier this season against Eastlake and Liberty high schools.
The Falcons split those games, losing to Eastlake and defeating Liberty.
“It’s all about making a play and coming up big,” said Woodinville coach Wayne Maxwell. “That’s something these kids have done.
“It’s the way you should play the game. You never die, and you leave it on the field. The kids wanted it today and made a play.”
Inglemoor needed its passing game to gel if the team was going to win, but a combination of steady rain and tight play by Woodinville’s secondary wouldn’t allow that to happen.
The first half was particularly rough, with the Vikings managing only 73 yards of total offense.
“We wanted to try and throw the ball, and it was hard to do that in these conditions,” Naish said. “If you want to play us, this is the perfect weather to play us in.”
Inglemoor quarterback Todd Campbell completed 11 of 23 passes for 110 yards, but most of his production came in the second half. He managed only 26 yards through the air in the first two quarters.
The Vikings’ defense showed promise early on as junior Craig Jacobson pulled down an interception during the Falcons’ second possession of the game.
Inglemoor failed to capitalize on good field position during the ensuing drive, which started at the Woodinville 42. The Vikings took a holding penalty on first down and eventually ended up punting.
Woodinville went on to score first with a 76-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Tim Ip, giving the Falcons a 7-0 lead.
Connor Jones added a 26-yard field goal late in the second quarter to make it 10-0 before halftime.
Campbell’s arm came alive in the third quarter as he connected on four consecutive passes and brought the Vikings within striking distance, but his team stalled at the Woodinville 21.
Brumfield then committed a roughing-the-kicker penalty as Arena attempted to put one through the uprights.
Campbell took advantage of the break running for a 7-yard touchdown that put the Vikings on the board 10-7.
Inglemoor later pinned the Falcons deep in their own end with a fourth-quarter punt, and Lance Larson sacked Ip for a safety to make the score 10-9.
Drew Daley then recovered a fumble for the Vikings to set up a potential game-winning field goal by Arena with just under four minutes remaining.
But Brumfield broke through and made amends for his previous mistake with a clean block on the ball.
“You’ve got to feel for the kid,” Maxwell said. “You’ve got to feel great for him to be able to overcome the adversity and come up and make the play of the game to finish it off.”
Woodinville ran out the clock to finish the contest with a 1-point victory.
“I told my kids at halftime that we were just beating ourselves with mistakes,” Naish said. “The second half, that was just a good football game.”