Gridiron Classic Iii -- Central Valley Rushes To Title

TACOMA - Tyree Clowe was ready to crow.

After struggling the previous two playoff games, the Central Valley running back yearned for redemption in yesterday's Class 4A state championship football game against unbeaten South Kitsap at the Tacoma Dome.

He came up golden.

Clowe rushed for a big-school record 254 yards and scored three touchdows as the sixth-ranked Bears (13-1) blitzed No. 2 South Kitsap 49-13 for their first state championship.

"That's very special to me," Clowe said of the record. "I feel great."

The previous record for the state's largest classification was 194 by Newport's Chris Dixon in 1992. Clowe's 28 carries also broke the record of 26.

"He ran over people, he ran through people, he ran around people," Central Valley Coach Rick Giampietri said of Clowe, a 5-foot-10, 197-pound junior. "He just came unglued tonight."

After scoring at least one touchdown in each of the first 11 games, Clowe had been shut down the past two weeks. In the 10-0 semifinal victory over top-ranked Puyallup, gained only 51 yards.

He started slowly last night, netting just 18 yards on his first six carries. Then came the explosion - a 63-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter that snapped a 7-7 tie and put the Bears from Veradale near Spokane in front for good.

"I was real frustrated," Clowe said. "Once I broke that one, I just felt I had to do it again."

Clowe scored on a 4-yard burst with 1:52 left in the half and helped set up Chad Adamson's 2-yard TD with 14 seconds left with a trio of first-down dashes. He had 172 yards by halftime as the Bears went into the locker room with a 28-13 lead.

"We didn't have a problem catching him, but we couldn't tackle him," South Kitsap Coach D.J. Sigurdson said. "He's a physical runner."

South Kitsap of Port Orchard wasn't the only opponent overrun by Clowe. He finished the season with 2,254 yards and 35 touchowns.

Giampietri also raved about quarterback Chad Adamson, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.

"He'd been playing a little tight," the coach said. "Tonight, he was just sharp."

It was a wild first quarter featuring three touchdowns of 55 yards or longer. Two plays after South Kitsap's Riah Martin blocked Greg Papich's 36-yard field-goal try, Zac Scott intercepted Rob Minnitti and raced 55 yards for the opening touchdown. The Wolves had a quick answer: A 71-yard double pass that went from Minnitti to Tim Sams to Dustin Booth. Less than a minute later came Clowe's 63-yard run.

And there was plenty more from Central Valley, which tied the big-school record of 49 points set by Curtis in 1995.

Wil Beck, best known for his defensive prowess, scored the Bears' final touchdown on a trick play - the "fumblerooski." On third-and-goal from the 6, Adamson took the snap, set the ball back down on the turf between the center's legs and went into a play-action fake. The 296-pound Beck picked up the ball and rumbled into the end zone.

"Coach kind of did it to give me a little present," Beck said.

The Bears rolled up a record 480 yards of total offense, limiting South Kitsap (12-1) to 266. Minnitti was intercepted a 4A-record four times, three by Justin Folkins, another game record.

Central Valley was just the second Spokane school to make it to the 4A (formerly AAA) championship game. Gonzaga Prep reached the AAA final five times, winning in 1982 and '86.

Central Valley 14 14 14 7-49 South Kitsap 7 6 0 0-13 FIRST QUARTER CV-Zac Scott 55 interception return (Greg Papich kick), 4:58 SK-Dustin Booth 71 pass from Tim Sams (Nick Kenyon kick), 4:38 CV-Tyree Clowe 63 run (Papich kick), 3:12 SECOND QUARTER SK-Riah Martin 5 run (kick blocked), 11:44 CV-Clowe 4 run (Papich kick), 1:52 CV-Chad Adamson 2 run (Papich kick), :14 THIRD QUARTER CV-Marc Hinckley 4 pass from Chad Adamson (Papich kick), 6:39 CV-Clowe 10 run (Papich kick), 2:02 FOURTH QUARTER CV-Wil Beck 6 run (Papick kick), 10:45 A - 12,153 (four-game total)

CV SK First downs 22 15 Rushes-yards 47-282 34-172 Passing 198 94 Comp-att-int 13-17-0 3-15-4 Return Yards 128 113 Punts-avg. 0-00.0 2-34.0 Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-0 Penalties-yards 3-27 2-14 Time of possession 31:40 16:20 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing - Central Valley, Clowe 28-254, Beck 1-11, Bouge 1-11, McFarlane 2-5, Burnett 2-3, Easton 1-3, Graham 4-2, Brown 1-1, Adamson 6-(-1), Tasca 1-(-7). South Kitsap, Montgomery 14-81, Martin 9-44, Marceau 2-25, Cooper 3-23, Wilson 1-9, Minnitti 3-2, Kenyon 1-(-40, Newell 1-(-8). Passing - Central Valley, Adamson 13-17-0-198. South Kitsap, Minnitti, 2-12-3-23, Sams 1-1-0-71, Martin 0-1-1-0, Newell 0-1-0-0. Receiving - Central Valley, Papich 3-79, Miller 5-61, Graham 3-46, Hinckley 2-12. South Kitsap, Booth 1-71, Simonson 1-18, Sams 1-5.