STREAK ENDS AT 14; STARS TAKE GNFA TITLE

June 30, 2007 Burbank, WA 

For the second week in a row the Shockers offense sputtered and this time it cost them.  The Blue Mountain Stars ran away with the GNFA Title game in the second half to close the books on South Sounds record-setting season.  No South Sound team has ever won 14 games in a season and the Shockers incredible 775 points scored ranks 5th all-time in semi-pro history.  But the 10 points scored on Saturday night was not enough.

The signs were ominous from the beginning as uncut grass and large sprinkler heads present on the field created concern for the Shocker staff, and the opening kickoff went no better.  Special teams player of the game Randy Alderman opened the game with a booming kickoff taken deep in Stars territory.  As the Stars return man fought for extra yardage the ball clearly came out and was pounced on by an alert David Gutierrez.  The officials didn't see it that way and awarded the ball back to the Stars.  After a couple of Brett Jay scrambles, the Shockers finally held and forced a Star punt.  The Stars took no chances on the evening kicking away from the ever dangerous Bobby Poeltl, shanking many out of bounds instead of into the hands of the top returner in the nation.

The Shockers immediately drove down the field on the Stars to the amazement of the Star faithful, but two false start penalties in the red zone halted a touchdown drive and the Shockers settled for a Pat Hutnik field goal and a 3-0 lead.  But that would prove to be the end of the offensive fireworks for the Shockers until late in the fourth quarter.

Defensively the Shockers held the top rusher in the region in check and under 100 yards on the night, but timely scrambles by offensive player of the game Brett Jay gave Blue Mountain the time they needed to open up the passing game.  Jay hit Mike McGee in the second quarter for a score and a 7-3 halftime lead.  The third quarter began with South Sound playing the Stars aerial game rather than their own ground-and-pound with the Shockers big backfield and Blue Mountain had the answer.  After a drive and TD pass from Jay to tight end Kyle Hart, linebacker and defensive player of the game Andrew Sakoda intercepted a John Stewart pass on the Stars sideline and Jay quickly ensued with another strike to McGee, his second of the night.

The fourth saw the Shockers spark a bit on offense as Stewart found Bryan Hooper behind a Star defender for a 43-yard TD pass and the Shockers were down 21-10 with 8 minutes remaining.  Jesus Solis booted a field goal to make it 24-10 early in the fourth.  The Shocker defense roared back to life with Micah Tanaka intercepting Jay, but on a later possession Sakoda would again step in front of a Stewart pass, this time racing 35-yards untouched for the final score.  

"We were off kilter the whole game.  We had guys playing sluggish, not concentrating after some close calls and non-calls, and we didn't play our game, Shocker football wasn't being played tonight.  We didn't look close at the EFL rules which was our fault as a staff, to see that there were some differences in the rules that we play by...clock management was one of them and we let a lot of time tick away because we didn't prepare for the timing rules.  We didn't get pressure, we didn't come out and smack them like we normally do, we didn't tackle well and let guys get extra yardage.  We'll be back, no doubt about that, it's just frustrating to come this close to an undefeated season and let it slip away.  We were outplayed, outcoached, and outclassed.  The Stars are a solid team, but so are we and we plan on having a rematch next season".  (Shocker Coaches)

Punter Randy Alderman was named Special Teams Player of the Game for his fantastic punts which changed the field position battle all night long.

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