KingCo 3A football: Newport wishbone breaks Issaquah

ISSAQUAH — A wishbone describes Newport's offensive formation, but not its options.

A wishbone only has two prongs, but Newport's option offense has three weapons.

Mike O'Hara, Brad Barto and Josh McGowan each gained more than 80 yards rushing and each scored a touchdown last night in Newport's 21-13 victory at Issaquah in a KingCo 3A Conference football game.

"Teams have to swarm us," Barto said. "If they swarm to one back we have two more backs to give it to."

O'Hara had 178 yards rushing, McGowan gained 120 yards and Barto finished with 80, but Issaquah never trailed by more than eight points and drove inside the Newport 5 with less than 3 minutes in the game. But the Indians fumbled on a first-and-goal play and Newport lineman Kasey Kilmer recovered the ball at the Newport 3.

"There were a few pretty tense moments," Newport Coach Gary Taller said.

The Knights (3-0) scored less than half their season average of 42.5 points, but had no complaints after a victory over previously undefeated Issaquah (2-1). Issaquah drove inside the Newport 10 four times, but scored only twice.

"They gave us everything they had," Taller said. "But that's how it is in this league."

KingCo 3A has produced two state finalists in the past two seasons and yesterday the league's top two scoring teams faced off in a game that wasn't decided until the final 2 minutes.

Issaquah senior Ashley Stallworth was one of the shortest players on the field last night at 5 feet 7, but no one played a bigger role as he scored two touchdowns and had an interception.

He rushed 14 times for 111 yards and scored 12 of Issaquah's 13 points. He broke two tackles on a 20-yard scoring run in the third quarter and dragged a third Newport tackler the final 5 yards.

"We talk about 'want-to,' " Issaquah Coach Buddy Bland said. "On that play, he had 'want-to.' "

Stallworth's touchdown made the score 14-13 in the third quarter, but Issaquah's extra-point attempt went off the left upright.

Newport scored on its first possession of the fourth quarter as McGowan scored on a 1-yard run set up by his 36-yard run the play before. The Knights held an eight-point lead the rest of the game.

Stallworth also scored Issaquah's first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run that capped a four-play, 58-yard drive. The first play was a 37-yarder on a pass from quarterback Mark Gray to Blake Ferguson, two sophomores who set up the Indians' first score.

Gray finished 7-for-12 passing for 134 yards. Ferguson caught three passes for 80 yards and rushed seven times for 43 yards.

Newport had 11 yards of total offense and one first down on its first two drives combined. But the Knights drove 97 yards in 10 plays on their third possession. O'Hara gained 77 yards on that drive, including 41 on Newport's first play and he scored on a 5-yard run to end the drive.

Issaquah fumbled on its third play of the next drive. Newport then drove 63 yards in five plays, the last an option pitch from quarterback Jeff James to Barto.

Newport, which averaged 424.5 yards rushing in its first two games, finished with 411 yards rushing.

Other games

At Bellevue 57, Cedarcrest 7 — The third-ranked Wolverines (3-0) rolled up 501 rushing yards while holding the Red Wolves (1-2) to minus-25 yards on the ground and only 87 yards passing. Jay Johnson carried 11 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns for Bellevue. His 64-yard TD run started an avalanche of scores that put the Wolverines ahead 30-0 after one quarter. Yohanns Carr gained 128 yards on only six carries and Gavin Smith had 82 yards and a pair of TDs on 12 carries for Bellevue. Cody Pettersen scored the Cedarcrest touchdown on a 42-yard pass from Sean McDonald.

Skyline 56, at Sammamish 21 — Simi Reynolds scored six touchdowns, including a 71-yard pass reception from Brian Foreman for the game's first score, as the Spartans (2-1) rolled past the Totems (1-2). Reynolds also scored on pass receptions of 37 and 10 yards from Foreman, and reached the end zone on runs of 1, 8 and 4 yards. Brody O'Connor hit Blair McKinney with an 86-yard scoring strike and Tyler Kaluza had a 25-yard interception return for a TD as the Spartans used big plays to bury the Totems. Brett Gardner ran for TDs of 2 and 30 yards for Sammamish.

At Mercer Island 45, Interlake 14 — Connor Webster rushed for 158 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Islanders (1-2) got their first victory and kept the Saints (0-3) winless. Mercer Island rushed for 374 yards. Mike Allan put Interlake ahead with a 25-yard touchdown reception from Chris Campbell in the first quarter. But Webster ran 7 yards for a TD in the second quarter, and Dan Taylor's 2-yard run put Mercer Island ahead 12-7 at halftime, and the second half belonged to the Islanders.