Gusting winds ripped through Snoqualmie Friday night — at one point causing a pre-game power surge that left Mount Si Stadium in darkness for 25 minutes.
But with second place in the KingCo Crest on the line, weather conditions weren’t swaying Issaquah head coach Chris Bennett from his game plan against Newport.
“We really wanted to go pass first tonight and spread them out,” he said.
That’s exactly what the Eagles did as they tallied 307 yards through the air, and cruised to a 35-6 homecoming victory over the Knights. The win clinched the No. 2 spot in the KingCo Crest and a meeting next Friday with KingCo Crown No. 3 team, Woodinville.
But Friday’s game was about more than the earning the second seed — Issaquah was doing some soul searching after a tough 42-0 loss to Skyline the previous week.
“After taking it on the chin last week it’s kind of nice to come out and be the dominant team in the end,” Bennett said. “We didn’t want to go in with a loss … we kind of wanted to go in and make sure we had a little momentum going.”
Quarterback Ryan Bergman guided the Eagles’ offense from the get-go. The senior, who completed 23 of 39 passes for 294 yards, found receiver Mitchell Bair in stride down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown at the 1:45 mark of the first quarter.
Bergman said his arm was feeling strong, and the blustery conditions didn’t even cross his mind.
“I didn’t notice (the wind) that much,” he said. “I just felt good.”
Bergman, who hadn’t rushed for a touchdown all season, punched in two rushing TDs in the second quarter. His scores from 1 and 3 yards gave the Eagles a 21-0 halftime lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Bergman marched Issaquah 63 yards on six plays, before connecting with Evan Peterson for a 29-yard TD down the left sideline. Peterson had 10 catches for 147 yards.
While the offense seemed to click on all cylinders, the same could be said for Issaquah’s defense. The Eagles forced the Knights to punt four times, and forced one interception on their five first-half possessions.
“Our defense came out with intensity, we tackled well, wrapped up well and made sure we had the tackle,” junior middle linebacker Nik Landdeck said. “Everyone just swarmed tackled, and it just went from there. “
Landdeck snagged a key interception in the second half — one of three Newport turnovers. He also ran in a 15-yard TD, his second score of the season.
The Knights lone touchdown came on the final play of the game when freshman backup quarterback Isaac Dotson scrambled in from 18 yards out.
Issaquah will face Woodinville at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell at either 5 p.m., or 8 p.m., Oct. 30.
“We’ve got loser-out game coming up, and we have momentum,” Landdeck said. “We’re going to carry on from this game, and hopefully go further into the playoffs.”
Newport’s loss forced the Knights into a three-team tiebreaker for the No. 3 spot in the Crest at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27 against Eastlake and Redmond at Lake Washington High School. The winner of the tiebreaker will play the No. 2 team from the Crown, Inglemoor, Oct. 30 at Pop Keeney.
