MARYSVILLE — Marysville Getchell had many opportunities to beat Shorecrest on Oct. 27. They forced turnovers and were stout against the run all night.
But the first-year team just isn’t there yet.
A banner at Quil Ceda stadium read “When three fall, we all stand tall” to honor three Getchell students involved in a car crash on Oct. 24.
“Win it for Juan,” another sign said, in memory of Juan Mendoza, who died in the accident. The stadium held a moment of silence in his memory before the game.
Getchell was bailed out on Shorecrest’s first drive when the Scots went away from their power running game and instead threw incomplete passes to have to punt. The Scots faked the punt, however, and their punter thundered down the Getchell sideline for a huge gain and a first down. Senior running back Troy Phillips ran 21 yards to the house just minutes later to put his Scots up 7-0 with 8:39 left in the first quarter.
The Charger defense stopped Shorecrest runners for short gains in the first quarter and stripped the ball from Philips on Getchell’s seven-yard line after he steamrolled a defender. The Chargers’ rushing attack kick-started with big gains from senior running back Cullen Zackuse, but they could not generate offense or points in the passing game.
Scots senior wide receiver John Odion hauled in a 31-yard pass to put his team up 14-0 at 9:35 in the second quarter.
Getchell came to life with junior quarterback Dylan Diedrich’s 45-yard strike to junior wide receiver Alexzander Seymer on 4th and 3, and trailed only 14-8 after a successful two-point, spread-formation conversion.
But Shorecrest took the wind right back out of Getchell’s sails when junior running back Keegan Lockler returned the Charger kickoff 92 yards for a score. The score stood at 21-8 with 6:37 left in the half.
Zackuse took the ball and powered down the Getchell sideline to keep his team in it, but the drive stalled after a handful of short flank passes. A Charger field goal made it 21-11 Shorecrest at 2:15 before halftime.
Shorecrest kept its momentum by returning the kickoff to the Getchell 18-yard line and scoring quickly from that distance for a 28-11 advantage heading into the half.
Getchell’s punt on their first drive of the second half landed deep in Shorecrest territory, but the Chargers could not keep the ball from rolling into the end zone from the one-yard line. The defense forced and recovered Shorecrest sophomore running back Matt Brennan’s fumble 21 yards from a score but had to settle for another field goal to cut the deficit to 28-14 with 5:26 to go in the third.
Philips pounded up the middle for a first down on 4th and 1 from the Scots’ 37, but Shorecrest would put four plays later.
Diedrich drew the Scots offside with a hard count on 4th and 1, but his fourth down pass from the new set of plays fell incomplete to end the third quarter.
The Scots owned the fourth quarter with senior wide receiver Jerome Seamon’s 42-yard touchdown grab at 7:49 and a 12-yard score from a Getchell kickoff return fumble for a final score of 42-14.
“One more week — you’ve got one more week to get it together,” Getchell coach Davis Lura told his players after the game, urging them to give the coming week’s practices all of their best effort. “A win would be like you went undefeated to me.”
The Oct. 27 game was Homecoming for Marysville Getchell. Josh Estella and Tessa Kramer were crowned Getchell’s 2011 Homecoming king and queen. Nick Fay and Casey Capili were elected the Chargers’ senior prince and princess, Forrest Brown and Haley Santana the junior prince and princess, Michael Cameron and Shandale Garcia sophomore prince and princess, Roger Devora and Lindsey Fitch freshman prince and princess.
