Bothell High quarterback Jacob Sirmon wasn’t at his best on Friday.
The Cougars lost a conference showdown to Woodinville, 17-10, at Pop Keeney Stadium. It’s the lowest offensive output since the 2012 season, and the first time this year in which the Washington-bound quarterback has failed to break 100 passing yards.
Bothell coach Tom Bainter cut right to the chase: Woodinville (2-0 KingCo, 4-0) is to blame for that.
“I’ll tell you what got to Jacob — their defense,” Bainter said. “That is a good defense. They just play sound football. They’re aggressive, they’re athletic, they’re strong, they’re fast. They smother you, and they bring pressure with four.”
The Cougars (1-1, 3-1) aren’t likely to see a similar defense in the remainder of the conference schedule.
Sirmon rarely had time to throw, especially in the first half, and completed 11 of 28 attempts for 99 yards. To Sirmon’s credit, the junior was only sacked twice and finished without an interception for the fourth consecutive game, but Sirmon hit the ground on several plays and was forced into a handful of desperation passes.
The best stretch came late in the second quarter, when Sirmon completed a string of passes and hit senior Daniel Johnson on a 34-yard pass play to set up first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Sirmon eventually capped the drive — after a penalty — with a 10-yard throw to senior Alex Indelicato for Bothell’s only touchdown.
It took good field position and a few lightning strikes to get there.
“Our front seven, boy, those kids get after the ball,” said Woodinville coach Wayne Maxwell. “We’ve got three returners back in the secondary who have been doing a great job. It’s a solid, tough group.”
Bothell switched up the offensive scheme in the second half, running more max-protection, throwing more short passes and dumping a load onto Indelicato in the run game. The Cougars gave Sirmon far more time to throw, but the Woodinville secondary stepped up to keep the Bothell receivers under wraps.
Bothell had one final drive with a chance to win the game, but the drive stalled on the Woodinville 45-yard line after Indelicato was dropped for a loss and Sirmon saw a bullet pass bounce out of Johnson’s hands.
Woodinville held Bothell to just 35 rushing yards, 25 of which came from Indelicato. The Falcons rushed for 160 yards, led by Mack Minnehan’s 72 yards and Derek Hamer’s 65 yards and a 4-yard rushing touchdown.
Jaden Sheffy, who played for Cedar Park Christian last fall, finished with 13 completions for 151 yards and two interceptions.
Next, Bothell is scheduled to continue conference play against Eastlake on Fridayp Sept. 30 in Sammamish.
Following a few quiet moments in the home locker room at Pop Keeney Stadium, a very solemn cluster of Cougars padded two-by-two, hand-in-paw from the stadium lights to the waiting buses.
No one spoke. No one stopped to chat with friends, and the team was quickly whisked away to the showers up the hill at Bothell High.
SUMMARY
at Pop Keeney Stadium, Bothell
Woodinville 17, Bothell 10
W 3 7 0 7 — 17
B 0 10 0 0 — 10
SCORING
First quarter
W — Michael Roth 35 field goal, 2:58
Second quarter
B — James Johnston 40 field goal, 10:08
W — Derek Hamer 4 run (Roth kick), 5:08
B — Alex Indelicato 10 pass from Jacob Sirmon (Johnston kick), :58
Fourth quarter
W — Jared Eisenbarth 18 pass from Jaden Sheffy (Roth kick), 7:17
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSH — W: Mack Minnehan 12-72, Hamer 15-65, Sheffy 10-24, Brett Accimus 1-(minus 1); B: Indelicato 13-25, Christian Lee Galvan 2-8, Logan McKinney 1-4, Sirmon 5-(minus 2).
PASS — W: Sheffy 13-19-2-151, Minnehan 0-1-0-0; Sirmon 11-28-0-99.
RECEIVING — W: Eisenbarth 4-46, Roth 4-32, Nash Fouch 1-30, Hamer 2-19, Accimus 2-14; B: Daniel Johnson 4-54, Peter Davis 2-14, Da’Vicious Wilson 2-11, Indelicato 1-10, Kevin Liu 1-6.
