Sammamish Falls At Finish -- Prosser Wins On Td With 17 Seconds Left

TACOMA - The trick play didn't work. Sammamish didn't complete a pass until the final play of the game, and the defense gave up 28 straight points in the span of little more than a quarter.

Still, Sammamish was within one minute of concluding its run as postseason underdog with the school's first state title in football.

"You almost did it, doggone it," Sammamish Coach Dwaine Hatch told his players.

He smiled, and his players looked up at him through their tears. Across the field, Prosser celebrated its third state title of the decade after beating Sammamish 42-38 at the Tacoma Dome last night to win the Class 3A state title.

Despite a record five touchdowns by Chris Raftery, the Sammamish patent on the playoff improbable expired when quarterback Tali Ena completed a 12-yard pass to Lance Womach for the deciding touchdown with 17 seconds left. It was the fifth lead change in the game and finished a nine-play drive that spanned 61 yards in 1 minute, 15 seconds.

Ena was 5-of-6 passing on the final drive for 68 yards as he helped Prosser overcome a 15-yard penalty for an illegal substitution with 53 seconds for playing. The nephew of the former Washington State player by the same name finished 20-of-32 passing for four touchdowns and 294 yards, a record for the Class 3A state-title game.

"We couldn't stop 'em," Sammamish senior Geoffrey Schock said.

Before Ena's final touchdown pass, it was Sammamish making the improbable comeback. Sammamish trailed 28-17 at halftime after giving up two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half, and the Totems trailed 35-17 and went three-and-out its first two possessions of the third quarter.

"We knew we were going to come back," Sammamish senior Mike Kennewick said. "We weren't going to let ourselves die in the state championship."

Senior Phil Johnson started the Totems' rally with a third-quarter interception, which he returned 36 yards to the Prosser 13. Raftery scored a 1-yard touchdown two plays later to give Sammamish its first points of the second half.

It was the first of Raftery's three second-half touchdowns in a span of 7:15 in the second half. His third touchdown gave Sammamish a 38-35 lead with 8:29 remaining. Raftery, whose five touchdowns were a record for any state-title game, gained 154 yards on 28 carries.

His third touchdown completed Sammamish's comeback from near-disaster. Prosser had scored two touchdowns in the final 1:33 of the first half and led 28-17 at halftime.

A trick play - Hatch's calling card in the playoffs - failed to work when a fake punt was stopped short of the first down. Three plays later Scott Storms scored on a 49-yard screen pass. Sammamish's next drive ended when Schock's third pass of the game was intercepted, and Prosser scored on Charles Krebs' 27-yard touchdown reception with 16 seconds left.

Raftery's second-half touchdown flurry changed all that. Sammamish felt it was in good position heading into the final drive.

"We thought we finally got it turned our way," said Schock, who finished 1-of-9 passing. "But the momentum just turned again."

Prosser drove inside the Totem 15 twice in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs' first chance reached the Totem 13 before a holding penalty and Jake Gardner's sack pushed Prosser to the Sammamish 32.

But on the next drive, Prosser overcame a 15-yard penalty for an illegal substitution and the game ended with Ena's touchdown pass.

"It feels so horrible to get so close to having it," Raftery said.