SEATTLE — A 20-7 first-half lead vanished after four second-half turnovers for Toledo as the Riverhawks fell short in the 2B State Championship Game 47-34 to Tri-Cities Prep at Husky Stadium Saturday.
The Riverhawks (12-1), in their second state title appearance and first since 1996, surrendered 33 points in the second half after they hadn’t given up more than 26 all season. The Jaguars scored touchdowns on all four Toledo turnovers, including a dagger pick-six in the final three minutes.
Toledo leaned exclusively on the run game for its first possession as the wind gusted in the Seattle morning. Quarterback Eli Weeks picked up a big gain up the middle and wide receiver Adam Kruger ran through defenders on a run to the outside to move the Riverhawks into the red zone.
Tri-Cities Prep gifted the Riverhawks a fourth-down conversion on a fourth-and-2 in the red zone, and Carter Swofford capitalized with a 1-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion on a 16-play drive that took more than half of the first quarter clock.
On the first throw of the day by either team, Rohan Feigenbaum picked off TCP quarterback Jarrett Garza to give the ball back to Toledo. The senior cornerback logged an interception in his third straight state contest.
On Toledo’s first throw of the day, Weeks found Kruger on a 45-yard catch and run to put the Riverhawks back in the red zone. The Riverhawks deployed the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Tush Push” with a Weeks 1-yard rushing touchdown just before the end of the first quarter, but a two-point run failed to keep the score at 14-0 through one.
TCP quickly responded on the first snap of the second quarter on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Garza to Aiden McCabe to cut the lead to 14-7.
But Toledo’s run game, led by Swofford, continued to punish the Jaguars on its third possession, as Weeks nabbed his second rushing touchdown of the first half to extend the lead to 20-7. However, another two-point conversion failure kept the score there with 6:40 on the second-quarter clock.
The Jaguars answered with a Jake Sherfey 5-yard rushing score to slice the margin to 20-14 late in the second quarter.
After Weeks picked up a key first down on a fourth-and-3, Toledo moved backward due to a pair of holding penalties to close the first half with a 20-14 lead. TCP’s defense brought heaps of pressure on Weeks and forced errant throws to open receivers.
Toledo forced the first punt of the day on the opening possession of the first half, but the Riverhawks gave it right back on a botched double handoff that was fumbled by Beaver deep in Toledo territory. Sherfey scored his second rushing touchdown of the day to tie the game at 20, but a shanked extra point kept the deadlock still with 7 minutes and 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Toledo turned the ball over again on a fumble by Brady Weeks, giving the Jaguars the ball at the Riverhawks 28 and a chance to take the lead. The Jaguars did just that as Garza found Tilden Shumway for a 3-yard touchdown catch, with Toledo facing its first deficit of the entire season in the state title game, trailing 27-20 with 4:39 left in the third.
On the ensuing kickoff, a Riverhawk touched the ball but three Toledo players couldn’t corral it, and the Jaguars pounced on the ball at the Toledo 10-yard line. With momentum firmly in their favor following three straight turnovers, Jameson Elliott converted a fourth down with a 2-yard TD run, and in the span of less than nine minutes, TCP capitalized on a third straight turnover to take a 34-20 lead.
With Toledo looking for any sign of life on offense, Beaver and Swofford provided life with multiple chunk plays as the clock entered the fourth quarter with the Riverhawks down two touchdowns.
Swofford ended the dry spell with a 2-yard touchdown plunge to make it a one-possession game again, but he couldn’t cut deeper into the deficit on a two-point conversion run. Toledo nearly recovered an onside kick after the score, and a 30-yard outside run by McCabe set up TCP in the red zone again. Sherfey responded to Toledo’s TD with his third score, this time from 9 yards out to extend the lead to 41-26 83 seconds into the fourth quarter.
A pair of big run plays led to a 19-yard touchdown pass by Weeks to Kruger with 8:21 on the fourth, and a crucial fourth-down conversion broke their skid on two-point conversion with an option by Weeks to Swofford to draw within one possession at 41-34.
Toledo finally got the stop on defense it desperately needed about midway through the fourth quarter, and a poor punt gave the Riverhawks the ball back at the TCP 48. On a decisive fourth-and-3 in TCP territory, Toledo couldn’t snap the ball in time, and a fourth-and-8 resulted in a turnover on downs as Weeks came up short with under six minutes to go.
On a TCP fourth-and-6 with under three minutes left, Garza was pressured by Nico Acosta and couldn’t connect on a throw to hand the ball back to Toledo at its 42. But on the first snap of the possession, Weeks threw an interception right to Karter Gadish, who returned it untouched for the dagger touchdown to make it 47-34 with 2:38 remaining after a blocked extra point.
Toledo’s rushed possession ended with the final horn sounding before it could inch any closer, and the Tri-Cities Prep celebration began on the Husky Stadium turf.
