Elma Exhausts All Avenues On Way To Title -- Eagles Score 31 Points In 2Nd Half

TACOMA - Ben Dougherty needed help removing his jersey after Elma's 37-34 victory over Pullman for the Class 2A state football championship.

The Eagles' white shirts are tight, he explained. And he suffered a dislocated little finger while diving for a score in the middle of Elma's 31-point second-half spree yesterday at the Tacoma Dome.

But as Dougherty looked down at the swollen, right digit that turned his passes to flutter balls, the real reason for his struggle to undress became apparent.

He was exhausted.

"I'm the most tired I've ever been in my life," Dougherty said. "I don't have any energy to celebrate."

When he regained his strength, he and his Eagle teammates had plenty to cheer. Dougherty completed 22 of 38 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior also scrambled for 91 yards and played defense to help third-ranked Elma (12-1) win its first state championship.

After taking a knee on the final play, Dougherty rolled over onto his back and held the football aloft while his teammates piled on. The relieved Eagles had to play a near-perfect second half to come back from a 28-6 deficit.

But they've scored points in bunches all season. Even though their heads were hanging at halftime, they still expected to win.

"Coach (Jim Hill) just said to play hard and we'd come out on top," junior Dustin Clark said. "He said somebody had to make a big play, and I thought I might be the one to do it."

The 5-9, 150-pound Clark made an oversized contribution.

He had plenty of help. Clark followed his first-half interception and touchdown catch with an equally impressive second half. He intercepted Pullman quarterback Aaron Linehan again in the fourth quarter to set up Mark Burbidge's 1-yard score that tied the game, 34-34.

Then he kicked the game-winning field goal from 26 yards on the Eagles' next possession.

The fifth-ranked Greyhounds (11-2), who had 343 yards of offense in the first half, couldn't respond. They had three turnovers and just 69 yards in the second half. And many spent the game's final seconds sitting on the turf at midfield, holding their heads in their hands and wondering what happened.

"It's the biggest game of my life and it's over," said Linehan, who finished nine for 17 for 229 yards. "There's nothing you can do."

The Eagles' comeback from a 22-point deficit will stay with the Pullman players a long time.

Linehan, a senior, completed eight of nine passes in the first half for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Cole Sheridan had 108 yards receiving and 35 yards rushing by the break, and the Greyhounds' 99-yard drive on their first possession seemed to indicate they would reverse the outcome of their previous title-game appearance - a 35-34 loss to Peninsula in 1978.

"We expected to just roll over them in the second half," said Sheridan, who also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score that put Pullman ahead 34-21.

"We felt we just had to hold on to the victory and we couldn't hold on to it."

Or maybe Elma just took it from them. Elma 0 6 22 9-37 Pullman 14 14 6 0-34 FIRST QUARTER Pull-Leonel Dorvil 32 run (Nate Brown kick), 4:03 Pull-N. Brown 53 pass from Aaron Linehan (N. Brown kick), 2:48 SECOND QUARTER Elma-Dustin Clark 21 pass from Ben Dougherty (kick failed), 11:53 Pull-Cole Sheridan 57 pass from Linehan (N. Brown kick), 11:06 Pull-N. Brown 5 pass from Linehan (N. Brown kick), 3:00 THIRD QUARTER Elma-Anthony Trail 14 pass from B. Dougherty (Dustin Clark kick), 9:12 Elma-B. Dougherty 15 run (Mark Burbidge pass from B. Dougherty), 5:04 Pull-Sheridan 90 kickoff return (pass failed), 4:52 Elma-Matt Totten 9 pass from B. Dougherty (Clark kick), 1:29 FOURTH QUARTER Elma-Burbidge 1 run (kick failed), 7:36 Elma-FG Clark 26, 3:45

Elma Pull First downs 19 16 Rushes-yards 34-149 29-183 Passing 242 229 Comp-Att-Int 22-38-2 9-17-2 Return Yards 116 182 Punts-Avg. 4-46.8 1-36.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2 Penalties-Yards 5-64 1-10 Time of Possession 29:32 18:28 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing - Elma, B. Dougherty 17-91, Burbidge 11-45, Totten 6-13. Pullman, Dorvil 10-85, Sheridan 10-63, Linehan 8-21, J.D. Morscheck 1-14. Passing - Elma, B. Dougherty 22-38-2-242. Pullman, Linehan 9-17-2-229. Receiving - Elma, Burbidge 7-112, Mike Butorac 6-58, Clark 3-26, Clay Linich 3-12, Trail 1-14, Totten 1-9. Pullman, Sheridan 3-108, N. Brown 3-83, Morscheck 2-20, Josh 1-18.