Denny's Grand Slam Play -- Kirkwood Return Leads Interlake

BELLEVUE - When Interlake's Denny Kirkwood saw the football rolling on the ground, he knew exactly what to do with it.

Kirkwood picked up a Juanita fumble and raced 82 yards for a touchdown with 1 minute, 21 seconds left in the game to lift Interlake to a 20-14 KingCo Conference cross-division victory over the Rebels last night at Interlake High School.

With the victory, Interlake improved to 3-1 - the Saints' best start since 1987.

It was a game that the Rebels (1-3) seemed destined to win. They had overcome a 6-0 deficit and led 14-12 with less than 2 minutes left in the game and with possession.

But on a second-and-6 dive play from the Interlake 15, the ball squirted out of a pack of players near the line and rolled toward the left sideline.

Kirkwood, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound linebacker, picked up the rolling ball in stride and ran alone all the way to the end zone.

"When I picked up the ball, I looked back and saw the big pile," Kirkwood said. "There was no one else around, and I didn't hear a whistle, so I just took off."

Kirkwood, a senior, led the Saints with 149 yards rushing on 19 carries and also scored early in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run.

Interlake took a 6-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Omar Rich in the first quarter, but Juanita scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters to take a 14-6 into the fourth.

Greg Paribello's 8-yard run made it 7-6, and Juanita's Brandon Stalwick passed 24 yards to Casey Dill for the Rebs' second TD.

The Saints closed to 14-12 when Kirkwood ran for a 2-yard touchdown on a fourth down play with 5:07 left in the game. But the Saints failed on the two-point conversion run when Bryan Kirkwood was tackled in the backfield.

Juanita took the ensuing kickoff and drove down the field, before Kirkwood came up with the game-winning play.

"All we could do on that last drive was try and strip the ball," Interlake coach Bill Heglar said. "We thought we were dead in the water. But then we made something happen."

Eddie Johnson led Juanita with 109 yards rushing on 19 carries.

-- MERCER ISLAND 25, INGLEMOOR 20 - Senior Jason Marr caught seven pass for a Mercer Island High single-game record 217 yards and two touchdowns. His 37-yard reception to the Inglemoor 6-yard line set up Jamal Hill's 2-yard game-winning TD run with 48 seconds left in the cross-division KingCo game.

The Vikings (1-3) had gone ahead of the Islanders (4-0) on B.J. Quimba's 18-yard touchdown run with 2:33 left.

Senior quarterback Matt Hale completed eight of 14 passes for 227 yards and wasn't intercepted. All but 10 yards and one completion of Hale's passing went to Marr, who broke the 4-year-old school receiving yards record held by Brett Ogata (134 yards vs. Newport).

-- BELLEVUE 41, WOODINVILLE 7 - Chris Hixson threw two first-half touchdown passes as the second-ranked Wolverines (4-0) took a 35-0 halftime lead in the cross-division KingCo game. Bellevue had 590 total yards of offense in the game, including 380 rushing. The Falcons (1-3) became the first team this season to score a touchdown on the Bellevue defense when Chris Jenson ran 19 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

-- NEWPORT 24, BOTHELL 6 - Chris Dixon scored on runs of 5 and 10 yards as the 10th-ranked Knights (4-0) jumped to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Dixon finished with 82 yards on 14 carries to lead Newport's 252-yard rushing attack. Jason Mark added 75 yards on eight carries, and Nathan McAtee had 67 yards on 10 carries. The Cougars (0-4) scored on a 20-yard fumble return by Ryan Rhoades.

-- ISSAQUAH 10, AT LAKE WASHINGTON 3 - Brent Calapp, who had two interceptions in the game, intercepted a Lake Washington pass in the end zone to end one Kangaroo drive as Issaquah (3-1) won a defensive struggle. Rob Coy rushed for a touchdown and 104 yards on 26 carries for the Indians. Jeff Heier had 92 rushing yards on 18 carries for the Kangs (0-4). -- REDMOND 40, SAMMAMISH 7 - Running back Tom Jones rushed for 225 yards, including 28-yard touchdown run as the Mustangs (1-3) held the Totems (2-2) to one first down in the cross-division KingCo game. Redmond QB Jesse Travis completed 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns. The Totems, who gained 20 yards of total offense and completed one pass, got their only first down in the fourth quarter.