TACOMA — In the week leading up to its quarterfinal against Franklin Pierce, the W.F. West coaching staff wanted to keep the defensive gameplan simple.
Four weeks earlier, the Bearcats struggled to contain Tumwater’s Wing-T offense, but they felt they could have more success against Franklin Pierce’s Power-T if they made things easier for their players.
“If you did your job, you’d win,” W.F. West’s Kage Homan said. “And everyone did their job.”
The Bearcats shut down Franklin Pierce’s high-powered offense Friday in Tacoma, allowing just one touchdown to win 27-8 and advance to the state semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
“It was exactly how we wanted it to happen tonight,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said.
Earlier in the week, Hill said that the Bearcats would live and die on the gameplan, which was to have each player key in on one Cardinal.
The players on the field executed the plan to near perfection, only faltering on the one long touchdown, which didn’t come until late in the fourth quarter, when the game was out of reach.
Coming into the game, the Cardinals had averaged nearly 400 rushing yards per game. On Friday, the Bearcats held them to 148 yards, 69 of which came on the late TD run.
“It was a plan they had not seen all year,” Hill said. “Our coaches did an incredible job coaching up the plan and it was a lot of fun watching it come to fruition.”
The offense did its job to build a lead.
After the Bearcats recovered a surprise onside kick on the opening kickoff, Gage Brumfield capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Land.
“It’s just one play,” Hill said of the onside kick. “But to steal a possession from them, any time we can do that, we’re gonna take every opportunity we can to take advantage.”
Later in the first, Brumfield ran in a touchdown, and Land made it 21-0 before halftime with a rushing touchdown of his own.
Brumfield iced the game midway through the fourth, when he ran in his second rushing touchdown of the game from 10 yards out to make it 27-0.
When Brumfield was being interviewed after the game by King 5, a pair of teammates gave him the Gatorade bath. Hill could only smile and laugh as his team cheered.
“It means everything,” Hill said. “These guys have worked harder than anybody out there. They’ve got a bond that’s beyond brotherhood. For them to come out and play so hard for each other and give everything they have … I couldn’t be more happy.”
Homan shared a similar sentiment, saying that for him and the other upperclassmen, making it back to the final four is an amazing experience and accomplishment.
“(In 2022), it kind of just felt like I was riding the coattails,” Homan said. “But this, I mean, this is me and my boys. It’s amazing. It’s just one of those feelings that you can’t really describe.”
The Bearcats, of course, aren’t done yet. They’ll need to wait one more day to find out their next opponent, as No. 7 West Valley (Spokane) and No. 2 Anacortes will face off in another quarterfinal.
“We’re ready,” Homan said. “We know what we’re gonna do, and we’re gonna do it.”
