Kingco Conference / No. 6 Inglemoor 17, Redmond 7 -- Inglemoor Stays Perfect -- Hemmingson Gets Big Interception

REDMOND - When Rod Hemmingson couldn't do it all throwing the ball, he reverted to catching it to help the sixth-ranked Inglemoor football team to a 17-7 comeback victory over Redmond in a KingCo Conference Crown Division game last night at Redmond High School.

Hemmingson, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior, was forced into the game at quarterback when starter Justin Stolmeier suffered a shoulder injury after being sacked on the game's fourth play.

Hemmingson, who had played no more than a series at quarterback in any previous varsity game, completed six of eight passes, without an interception, for 67 yards and ran the rest of Inglemoor's faking, pitching wing-T offense almost perfectly.

But Inglemoor still trailed late in the third quarter.

"So I snagged the interception and helped myself out," he said.

Behind 7-3 after Kyle Sullivan's 30-yard field goal with 3:15 left in the third quarter, Hemmingson, also a starting safety, intercepted a Redmond pass at the Redmond 26-yard line two plays later and returned it to the 4.

"I thought I was going in," he said. "When that adrenaline takes over, you just think `Run 'em over, run 'em over.' "

It worked the other way around once he got inside the 5.

But the Hemmingson pick set up Kip Andersen's 1-yard touchdown run with 2:04 left in the third quarter and sparked the ignition of Inglemoor's sputtering offense.

Hemmingson also added a fumble recovery early in the fourth

quarter, then directed another Viking scoring drive finished by Tim Kim, who ran 23 yards for a 17-7 lead.

"We knew he could play," Inglemoor Coach Frank Naish said. "He just makes things happen. He's not afraid to take it on."

At quarterback, his most impressive characteristic was his apparent calm in the huddle and in the pocket - and on the run. Most of his completions came on rolls to the right, most often with defenders in his face.

Said Hemmingson: "I've got faith in my teammates, and I know they have faith in me."

Redmond scored on its first drive of the game - a 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive finished by quarterback Cameron Fricks, who scored on a 1-yard run with 4:21 left in the quarter.

Inglemoor (3-0 in Crown, 5-0 overall) was held to only 14 yards in the first quarter and 88 for the first half.

But a persistent Inglemoor running game produced 68 yards in the fourth quarter - matching its three-quarter total until then. And four second-half Redmond turnovers clinched it for the Vikings.

Fricks led Redmond (2-1, 4-1) with 151 yards on 12-of-20 passing, but he threw three interceptions.

OTHER GAMES

At Woodinville 47, Interlake 0 - Marques Tuiasosopo ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries in a cross-division victory for the Falcons (0-2 Crown, 3-2 overall). Tuiasosopo scored on runs of 64, 5 and 40 yards.

Woodinville's defense, led by lineman Brian Kertson and linebackers B.J. Detmer and Brigham Tomco, held Interlake (1-0 Crest, 3-2) to 100 yards in total offense.

At Bellevue 13, Issaquah 10 - Justin Johnson's 16th touchdown of the season, a 39-yard breakaway run in the third quarter, lifted the Wolverines (2-0, 3-2) to a Crest Division victory.

Issaquah (0-2, 2-3) took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter on James Close's 29-yard field goal and Close's 18-yard touchdown pass from Darren Kerr.

But Bellevue got a 5-yard touchdown pass from Nate Hickey to Tom Ryan before halftime, and Johnson's third-quarter gallop gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

At Newport 39, Sammamish 7 - Newport, leading only 12-7 at halftime, pounded out 219 rushing yards in the second half to pull away from winless Sammamish (0-2, 0-5). Shane McCormick, who also threw a 47-yard touchdown pass, led the Knights (1-1, 2-3) with 97 rushing yards, including an 8-yard scoring run, on 13 carries.