Issaquah crushes Kentwood
November 10, 2009
By Tim Pfarr
Grant Gellatly, Issaquah senior running back, is stopped at the half-yard line before scoring on the next play against Kentwood, as Matt Hubbard defends. By Greg Farrar
With the help of senior running back Grant Gellatly, the Issaquah High School Eagles cruised past the Kentwood Conquerors 42-10 Nov. 6 at Kent’s French Field in the preliminary round of the state playoffs.
Issaquah, 7-3, moves on to the first round of the 4A state tournament and meets unbeaten Jackson at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in Everett Memorial Stadium.
The match against Kentwood marked Gellatly’s first full game, as he has battled hamstring injuries all season. He proved to be unstoppable against the Conquerors, rushing for 150 yards on 23 carries and scoring five touchdowns.
“He’s a special player,” Issaquah head coach Chris Bennett said. “It’s just nice to have him back.”Gellatly scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 1 and 2 yards. His third touchdown came on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Kentwood found its only success of the game in the first half, trailing by 11 points at halftime.
The Conquerors (7-3) started strong, marching down the field. However, the Eagles held them to a field goal. Issaquah stopped Kentwood’s second drive on fourth-and-one at the Eagles’ 15-yard line.
Kentwood’s only touchdown came on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Tristen Askew to Mike Roy in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Issaquah shutout Kentwood 21-0.
“We could finally see our offense clicking with Grant back,” senior quarterback Ryan Bergman said.
Bergman connected with junior wide receiver Evan Peterson for a 77-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Gellatly finished Issaquah’s scoring with scoring runs of 4 and 24 yards in the third quarter.
“The weather was miserable, so we relied on the run a little more,” Bennett said.
On defense, Nik Landdeck led the team, racking up 13 tackles.
“He was a tackling machine Friday,” Bennett said.
However, Bennett said the day’s success transcended individual performances.
“Overall, it was a good team effort against a pretty decent Kentwood team,” he said.
Jackson, Issaquah’s next opponent, comes off a 38-15 victory against Eastlake. The Timber Wolves have outscored opponents 406-138 this season.
Standouts for Jackson have been quarterback Andy Gay and running back Riley Carr. Gay led the Western Conference in passing with 1,840 yards. Carr has rushed for 628 yard and 15 touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 507 yards and seven touchdowns.
“We’re just going to come out, practice and work hard,” Bergman said regarding Issaquah’s preparation for the game against Jackson. “We’ll get our offense going again.”
Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
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