WCK falls to Liberty Bell in state title

SEATTLE--“I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me.”

Wilbur-Creston-Keller’s Wildcats dreamed of reaching the highest heights of 8-man football in the State 1B Championship game played in Husky Stadium at the University of Washington last Friday, December 1. But reality encroached upon their dream in the form of Liberty Bell’s Mountain Lions, who dominated most of the game to take their second straight State Championship by a score of 68-22.

The opening quote sounds Shakespearean or even Biblical, yet it was spoken by the character Morpheus in the sci-fi classic “The Matrix Reloaded” after watching the destruction of his iconic ship, the “Nebuchadnezzar”. Similarly, after scoring the first touchdown of the game, the Wildcats watched their hopes go up in flames as the Mountain Lions could not be stopped while scoring 9 of the next 10 touchdowns.

WCK was the only team to score in an abbreviated fourth quarter under a running clock, but by then it only mattered for Wildcat pride. Yet the final act of the 2023 season cannot mar the accomplishments of 12 weeks of near perfection.

“We are super proud of our kids. It was an historic season, a phenomenal accomplishment,” said Head Coach Darin Reppe. “For twelve weeks, our team had an answer for every offense and defense our opponents could put on the field. They (Liberty Bell) were the better team last Friday.”

WCK’s “3-Headed Monster” of running backs Kalub Dreger and Preston Michel, with quarterback Kallen Maioho, roamed and fed at will all season long behind the big guys in the trenches, including center R.J. Dreger, guards Adam Oates and Treven Houston, and tight ends Syrius Smoger and Gavin DeBord.

But the Mountain Lions, who were the defending State 1B Champions, had a “3 Headed Beast” of their own in brothers Lucien and Remington Paz at quarterback and running back, plus wide receiver Bodie Thomson. This trio scored almost all of Liberty Bell’s points in the Championship Game. With all WCK’s speed, they could not catch or contain for long these three, who slipped away again and again for big plays.

Questions have been raised (and not just in Wildcat Country) as to why L.B. was still receiving an exemption from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to play 8-man football at the class 1B level while they are the size (population-wise) of many class 2B teams. The Lions play every other sport at the higher level as part of the Central Washington 2B League. In fact, L.B. played (and defeated) Brewster, the #10 seed in class 2B, in an 11-man game on September 16. If they had played a full 11-man schedule in their own league, the Mountain Lions would have had to deal with State 2B Champion Okanogan in league play to even advance to the playoffs.

WIAA exemptions are reviewed every two years. Over the past three years, Coach Reppe noted that Liberty Bell has a combined record of 30-4 in 8-man football, including an undefeated 10-0 record this season. And so, the question is being asked: Should the Mountain Lions still be receiving an exemption to play 8-man football? (In other words, when will the WIAA finally require Liberty Bell to pick on someone their own size?)

On the other side of that question, popular opinion on Facebook and other online platforms indicates that many football fans from small schools regard WCK as the “true” small school Champions of 2023. One post posited that WCK and Neah Bay (whom Liberty Bell defeated in a semifinal a week previously) should have been allowed to meet to crown a “true” State Champion in class 1B.

On the positive side, as the situation was, Coach Reppe praised the WIAA for bringing high school championship football to Husky Stadium. “That provided the best championship atmosphere since the days when they were played in the Kingbowl,” he declared. And the class 1B title game was the only one of three scheduled last Friday and three more on Saturday to escape soaking rain as the sun peeped through scudding clouds before the “atmospheric river” arrived again this week.

WCK vs. Liberty Bell

The Wildcats (and their many fans) had a long trek just to get into Husky Stadium last Friday, as the main parking lot available was essentially three blocks north of the field. After fighting through Seattle traffic and a long string of traffic lights, and once arriving on foot at the main western entrance, everyone (including the team with all its gear) had to work their way around the south end of the massive stadium and descend an endless series of stairs to get even close to the field.

Still, it was worth the trek to dozens of Wildcat fans, who had turned Lions’ Field in Moses Lake into “Metcalf Field South” for the previous two games, the State Quarterfinal and State Semifinal contests. Although condensed into the lower section of the lower bowl (on the always shaded visitor’s side of Alaska Airlines Field) WCK fans turned that half of Husky Stadium into “Metcalf Field 2.0”.

This writer must admit that, even after allowing what should have been plenty of time for arrival, with extra time in traffic, as well as making sure everything was packed in clear plastic per security regulations (and potential rain), etc., he didn’t make it inside the stadium until after the National Anthem was sung. He saw WCK’s first touchdown on the big scoreboard screen from a distance, but by the time he had wrangled his way all the way down to the field as a media representative, Liberty Bell had scored twice themselves.

That first touchdown was apparently aided by a big 15-yard penalty for a cut block on Treven Houston, setting up a (perhaps unexpected) 14-yard pass from Preston Michel to Kallen Maioho for the opening touchdown. The conversion run attempt didn’t reach the goal line, but WCK had their only lead of the game at 6-0.

Liberty Bell spread the field as expected on offense, and quarterback Lucien Paz (who couldn’t be caught for even one sack by the vaunted Wildcat Defense) scrambled until wide receiver Bodie Thomson finally shook free in the secondary for a 29-yard pass from Paz for L.B.’s first touchdown. Little brother Remington (Remi) Paz caught Lucien’s conversion pass for extra points to take the lead at 8-6.

There was a third Paz on the field last Friday; Greyden Paz made what Coach Reppe called “a fantastic athletic play” to steal Michel’s next pass for an interception. The Mountain Lions immediately capitalized when Lucien P. hit Remi P. for a 30-yard touchdown. Greyden P. received his reward when he caught Lucien’s conversion pass attempt for 2 points and L.B.’s advantage had already grown to 16-6 barely six minutes into the game.

Liberty Bell was the only team WCK met this season with the speed to run with Kalub Dreger in open space, crippling the chance for option pitchouts that were a staple of the Wildcat offense all season long. Michel was able to gain some yards in the middle of the field, including a total of 21 yards on his next three carries, yet WCK turned the ball over on downs after gaining just one first down. Remi P. immediately capitalized with a 45-yard run for the third Lion T.D., then Lucien P. added extra points with a conversion run for a 24-6 lead.

R.J. Dreger made a nice recovery of L.B.’s onside kickoff but WCK went 4-and-out, giving up the ball on the first play of the second quarter. The Mountain Lions had to drive the ball 58 yards for their next T.D., yet that they could do. The Wildcat Defense stuffed a couple of sweep attempts for the only recorded tackles for loss (TFL’s) of the game by Adam Oates and Michel. But on 4th-and-19, Lucien P. again scrambled for time in the backfield and threw a 30-yard strike to Remi P. for the first down. On the very next play, Lucien scrambled the remaining 31 yards for L.B.’s next touchdown. His conversion pass attempt soared high, so the Lions missed out on extra points for the first of only two times in the game.

L.B. risked kicking the ball deep to Dreger near the goal line, and Kalub tried to burn them with a 20-yard return before being caught. Dreger picked up a first down on 3rd-and-6, but this drive failed after Kallen Maioho was dropped for a 10-yard sack on third down. Wildcats don’t punt (this year’s version, anyway), so WCK gave up the ball on downs and again L.B. made them pay immediately as Thomson caught Lucien P.’s next pass for a 24-yard T.D., then Paz tacked on 2 extra points with a short run for a 38-6 lead.

On WCK’s next possession, Maioho rolled away from pressure and threw his longest pass of the day to Michel for 31 yards. Still, from the 25-yard line, it took the Wildcats six more plays to score against a strong L.B. defense. Maioho picked up 12 yards on his next two carries, then on 4th-and-goal, completed a 9-yard pass to Michel for a touchdown. The same pair repeated the feat for extra points with a conversion pass, yet 38-14 was as close as the ‘Cats would get the rest of the way.

Although WCK had a chance at an onside kick recovery with one of Dustin Strozyk’s hard-to-catch bouncers, L.B. responded with a quick four play drive in just 1:31 to regain their previous advantage. Lucien P. hit Remi P. for a total of 33 yards on his next two passes, then let Remi run the last 3 yards for the touchdown. The younger Paz then showed off another ability, completing a successful conversion pass to Baker Smith to push the lead to 46-16. WCK didn’t have time to do much with only 29 seconds remaining in the first half but did get four plays off in that time with help from times-out.

The Wildcats could read the writing on the stadium wall but still had a half to play in the Championship Game. Liberty Bell sealed their fate with a 39-yard scoring run from Lucien P. not even a minute into the third period. Even without extra points as Lucien threw an incompletion under heavy pressure from Maioho, the Mountain Lions now had a 52-14 lead, just short of the 40-point margin required to trigger a running clock.

WCK fumbled the ball back just two snaps later as Maioho was stripped from behind just before hitting the turf. Starting from their own 29-yard line didn’t bother the Lions at all, as Lucien P. hit Smith with a 17-yard pass, then shook loose from backfield chasers to ramble 55 yards for the T.D. that did start the running clock with a 60-14 lead after he ran for extra points.

Unfortunately, Michel’s next pass attempt to Maioho was picked off by young Greyden P. but the Wildcat Defense finally rose up and stopped L.B.’s offense to take the ball back on downs. As the third quarter clock quickly ran down, WCK was not able to advance and gave the ball up on the 30-yard line. The Mountain Lions scored their last T.D. from that 30-yard line with one more pass from Lucien P. to Thomson, followed by a run to the pylon by the elder Paz for a 68-14 advantage.

WCK finally showed off some of their offensive abilities as a farewell to their fans with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up all but 3:42 of the fourth period clock. Michel gained 28 yard in four carries and Maioho made big yardage keeping the ball himself for 14 yards and 18 yards before dishing a nifty shovel pass to Syrius Smoger for a 6-yard gain. Kallen capped the drive with a 4-yard run for WCK’s final touchdown of an incredible season.

Sorry, we have no time left for final stats, but we’ll cover that in one more Wildcat Football story in next week’s exciting issue of The Register, when we’ll talk about Legacy.