- December 4, 2008
All You NEED To Know About The Bellevue Wolverines
Sr. RB Peter Nguyen leads the Wolverines ground game with 1,220 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Photo by Tom Castle, M.D. Provided courtesy of www.bellevuefootball.com
Saturday afternoon, 4 pm at The Tacoma Dome, the 2008 3A GSHL Champion #4 Union Titans (13-0) will play the 3A KingCo Champion #1 Bellevue Wolverines (13-0) in the WIAA Football State Finals.
So, just who are the Bellevue Wolverines?
Bellevue High School is located in Bellevue WA on the East bank of Lake Washington just West of I-405. Bellevue is about 8 miles away from Husky Stadium.
The Wolverines are coached by Butch Goncharoff and finished as 3A KingCo Champions with a 6-0 league record and are currently 13-0 overall.
Bellevue qualified for the state playoffs with a 48-10 win over Sedro-Woolley and then defeated Lindbergh 35-6 in the first round of state.
“We haven’t played our best football yet and it will be scary when we do.” Bellevue Head Coach Butch Goncharoff
In the Quarterfinals, Bellevue had a rematch with league rival #9 Liberty of Issaquah and the Wolverines defeated the Patriots 35-7 to advancing to last week’s Semifinals.
Bellevue had to postpone their Friday Semifinals game with #10 Capital due to a bus wreck on the way to the game. Monday, the #1 Wolverines proved they had all they needed in an easy 28-6 win over the Cougars. Senior RB #5 Peter Nguyen rushed 11 times for 154 yards and had 1 touchdown. Fellow Senior RB #2 Jamal Atofau added two more rushing touchdowns on the night.
“He’s the best running back I’ve ever seen in my life… At state I’ve gone against Nate Williams, Kiilsgaard, all those big backs, but Peter Nguyen is by far the toughest running back I’ve ever had to go against.” Bellevue Senior RB Jamal Atofau
Like Ferndale, Bellevue also runs the Wing T offense. All the talk however is that Bellevue runs it even better than the Golden Eagles do. Bellevue had 8 different players run the ball in their win over Capital Monday night. Bellevue is very good at hiding the ball when they run their offense. The pictures below are a good example of 1 running play in their 34-27 win over California High School earlier this season.
Bellevue QB #8 fakes hand off to first back through #5.
Bellevue QB #8 pulls the ball back out as first back through #5 sells the fake and wing back #30 heads over.
Bellevue QB #8, with back turned to the defense puts the ball out for the wing back #30 as #5 has his head down selling the fake still.
Bellevue QB #8, hands the ball to wing back #30 as defense tackles first back through #5, then continues to sell the boot.
Wing back #30 now has a HUGE hole to run the ball through.
“Teams key on Peter [Nguyen #5] and that opens everything up… You know he is always going to be there.” Bellevue Senior QB Tommy Castle
Sr. QB #8 Tommy Castle and Sr. RB #2 Jamal Atofau. Photo by Tom Castle, M.D. Provided courtesy of www.bellevuefootball.com
Bellevue has a stable of running backs.
Senior #5 Peter Nguyen 5’9″ 185 lbs leads the way with 1220 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns despite missing 5 games due to a sprained knee. Senior #2 Jamal Atofau 5’10″ 190 lbs has 202 yards and 3 TD. Junior #22 Will Fields 5’10″ 190 lbs has 687 yards and 10 TD. Junior #3 Freddie Levine 5’10″ 180 lbs has 611 yards and 5 TD. Senior #30 David Nguyen 5’9″ 180 lbs has 567 and 6 TD.
As a team, the Wolverines have rushed for 3691 yards on the season.
Bellevue does not pass the ball much at all. They did not complete a single pass in their 28-6 win over Capital last week.
Starting quarterback, Senior #8 Tommy Castle 5’11″ 175 lbs has only attempted 21 passes all season. Completing 8 for 176 yards and 2 TD. Castle has run the ball 12 times for 70 yards and 1 TD.
Like their running backs, Bellevue also has multiple quarterbacks see game action. Junior quarterback #9 Joe Joe Connor 5’10″ 170 lbs is 9/14 for 149 yards and 3 TD and has 209 yards rushing and another 2 TD. Pass happy Senior quarterback #21 Cam Warren 5’9″ 170 lbs is 13/19 for 227 and 1 TD and only has 16 yards rushing to go with all that passing.
Lost in all the offensive statistics is a very stout defense. The Wolverines D has only allowed 133 points on the season and has held their opponents to 10 or fewer points 9 times.
“We haven’t given up too many big plays… We haven’t been giving up points either, and that’s the main thing.” Bellevue Head Coach Butch Goncharoff
Senior LB #32 Eric Nelson 5’11″ 210, Junior LB #6 John Kanongataa 5’10″ 200 lbs, Senior DL #55 Julious Moore 6’1″ 250 lbs, Senior DL Drew Norris 6’1″ 260 lbs, Junior DL Sam Kenney 6’3″ 230 lbs, Senior LB Michael Cooke 5’10″ 185, Sophomore DB #10 Taylor Anderson 6’4″ 185 along with Jamal Atofau lead a nasty defense.
“We’re going to state… We’re going back home. The Tacoma Dome, the state championship, that’s our home.” Bellevue Senior RB Jamal Atofau
Video of Bellevue
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com?v=N1Efy8oxDz0 500 411]
Bellevue 34 California 27
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com?v=1zeujFK393c 500 411]
Bellevue 41 Central Catholic 13
A few notable facts about Bellevue’s season.
- Bellevue has a current winning streak of 13 games
- Opponents record are a combined 79-55
- 10 teams had winning record
- 2 teams had losing records
- Bellevue played Liberty twice. We only counted them once
- Bellevue averages 37.20 points per game
- Bellevue gives up an average of 10.2 points per game
Notable Bellevue post-season facts.
- Bellevue has made the state playoffs 8 years in a row
- Playoff wins over GSHL teams Tumwater (’93) and Columbia River (’01 and ’02)
- Lost in Semifinals last season to O’Dea 21-17
- Bellevue has won 6 WIAA State Football Championships, 1 4A and 5 3A
- 1983 (4A) over Kennewick, 2001 over Lynden, 2002 over Lynden, 2003 over O’Dea, 2004 over Ferndale, 2006 over Kennedy
2008 Bellevue Wolverines Schedule9/6/2008 @Central Catholic Ore(NL) W, 41-13 (PGE PARK) 9/12/2008 Bothell(NL) W, 38-19 9/20/2008 San Ranmon CA(NL) W, 34-27 (Qwest Field) 9/26/2008 Mount Si* W, 20-7 10/3/2008 @Mercer Island* W, 45-10 10/10/2008 Sammamish* W, 38-0 10/17/2008 @Juanita* W, 42-7 10/24/2008 Liberty (Issaquah)* W, 24-7 10/31/2008 @Interlake* W, 56-14 11/8/2008 Sedro-Woolley(NL) W, 48-10 11/14/2008 Lindbergh(NL) W, 35-6 11/21/2008 Liberty (Issaquah)(NL) W, 35-7 12/1/2008 Capital(NL) W, 28-6 2008 News Articles on Bellevue
High School Football | Bellevue takes a different route to semifinal game
Bellevue football players avoid serious injury in bus crash
Bus carrying Bellevue High football team overturns on I-5 near Des Moines
Bellevue sloppy in 35-6 win over Lindbergh
Peter Nguyen powers Bellevue to semifinals
Bellevue shakes off effects of bus crash to reach 3A state final
Bruised Wolverines clear last roadblock to 3A final
Skyline, Bellevue radically different in offensive philosophy
Bellevue overcomes aches and pains, will play Union for 3A state title
Bellevue downs Lindbergh’s air attack; wins 35-6
At Bellevue 48, Sedro-Woolley 10
Bellevue returns to state tournament with 48-10 win over Sedro-Woolley
Bellevue safety a long way from nowhere
Bay Area team tackles Wolverines Saturday
Bellevue faces California powerhouse Sept. 20 at Qwest Field
Bellevue survives scare, hangs on to 34-27 win
Bellevue ready for another run
Bellevue shakes off trauma, Capital
Wolverines rock Rebels 42-7 Bellevue blasts Bothell 38-19
Bellevue Wolverines begin season in unfamiliar territory
KingCo 3A team capsules: Bellevue Wolverines
- December 2, 2008
Union Titan Football Boosters Game Day Caravan and Tacoma Dome Tailgater For Bellevue 3A Title Game
The Union Titans Band in new uniforms. Photo by Wade Malwitz - www.bigcedarphoto.com
They keep winning, we keep partying.
The #4 Union Titans are heading up to Tacoma, again, Saturday to play the #1Bellevue Wolverines (13-0) in the WIAA 3A Football State Championship Game at 4 pm. Union defeated #3 Lakes 28-7 (watch video) Friday at the Tacoma Dome to earn another trip north.
The Union Titans Booster Club is throwing another tailgate party (in the same lot as last week) before the big game. The Booster Club will also have another caravan from Union High School to the Tacoma Dome.
“TO THE DOME” GAME DAY CARAVAN
Meet @ Union High School @ 9:30 am. Leaving from UHS @ 10 am.TACOMA DOME TAILGATE
Tailgate is in the In Land Technologies parking lot. For those that do not have portable grills there will be enough to go around so just bring whatever you want to grill and we can all just cook together. Bring your own chairs and whatever else you are drinking and eating and in addition to just being together we can save some money (and I’m sure eat better) by tailgating vs eating in the dome!!!!Hope to see you all in the parking lot of In Land Technologies “around 12:30 pm”.
3A Finals Schedule With Pick
We went 2-0 in the 3A games this week to bring our 3A picks to 12-2 . So here goes with round 4.
This game could go either way. Everyone had Bellevue in this game and no one had Union in it. Seems to be like Giants vs Patriots. No one gave the Giants a chance and they won. No one is giving Union a chance either…
Union (13-0)
vs
Bellevue (13-0)
Saturday Dec 6 at Tacoma Dome, 4 pm
2A Finals Schedule With Pick
Okay, so we went 1-1 last week. So here goes with round 4.
Prosser defeated Lynden 47-30 at the Tacoma Dome in last years Semifinals.
Lynden (11-2) at
Prosser (13-0)
Saturday Dec 6 at Tacoma Dome, 1 pmFor full coverage go to http://www.nwcathletics.com/
Lynden is a members of the Northwest Conference.
Union vs. Ferndale Football Game Replay On Comcast Channel 29 Tonight At 7 pm
Jr. QB #7 Brandon Weller passes to Jr. WR #18 Mitch Saylor in the Titans 21-14 WIAA State Quarterfinals win over Ferndale. Photo by Wade Malwitz - www.bigcedarphoto.com
Are you ready for some football?
I don’t think Hank Jr. will be opening the game on Comcast Channel 29 tonight, but I am pretty sure that Dex Homer will once again block a last second field goal attempt and that Mitch Saylor will run it back 65 yards for the winning touchdown.
Tonight at 7 pm you can watch the replay of the classic Ferndale at Union football game from November 22nd.
The game will also play tomorrow at 7 pm and again Friday night at 9 pm.
Top 10 playoff plays that got Union into the WIAA 3A Finals!
The Union Titans will play for the WIAA 3A Football State Championship Saturday in Tacoma vs Bellevue.
The Titans have made so many good plays in their 4 playoff wins it was hard to narrow it down to a top 10, well 10-2, #1 was kind of easy. So. here you go.
Top 10 playoff plays that got Union into the WIAA 3A Finals![youtube:http://www.youtube.com?v=TfqpGSwYRpw 500 411]
- December 1, 2008
#4 Union Titans vs. #1 Bellevue Wolverines Football 4 pm Saturday At The Tacoma Dome WIAA 3A State Championship Game
#4 Union Titans vs. #1 Bellevue Wolverines Football 4 p.m. Saturday At The Tacoma Dome WIAA 3A State Championship Game. Photo by Wade Malwitz - www.bigcedarphoto.com
Following their 28-7 WIAA State Semifinals win over #3 Lakes, the #4 Union Titans (13-0) will face the #1 Bellevue Wolverines (13-0) at The Tacoma Dome for the state title.
Bellevue advanced to the title game following their 28-6 win over #10 Capital tonight.
Union’s game will be at 4 pm Saturday night at The Tacoma Dome in Tacoma.
Union is only the 3rd team from Clark County ever to play in the state championship game. Evergreen in 2004 and Ridgefield in 1995. Both schools won, so go cheer on the Titans and help them become the 3rd Clark County team to bring home the WIAA title.
The Union Titans Football booster club is planning another tailgate party for the game. We will let you know the details as soon as they have been worked out.
Tickets can be purchased now at Union High School. Read More
Admission prices cover the whole day and will be*:
- $14 Adults
- $10 Student
- $10 Senior Citizen
If for some reason you can’t make it to the game, you will have two ways to follow along with the action:
- FOX SPORTS Ch. 34 will be airing the game live. You may want to TIVO this either way.
- Our site will once again provide LIVE Twitter updates from the game. You can watch the home page for updated action starting at 4 pm, or go to www.twitter.com/gshlfootball and sign up to follow our tweets.
*Seniors 62 and over admitted at the student rate. Student rates are for children under the age of 12 and for students 12 and over with a high school or middle school ASB card. Children under the age of 5 are admitted free.
Union Football Championship Pre-sale Tickets Available Now At Union High School
UHS has been allotted 500 adult and 500 student tickets to sell out of our ASB Office. Get 'em early and avoid the lines in Tacoma.
Would you like to avoid long lines in Tacoma and have part of your ticket cost go back to Union High School?
Well now you can do just that.
The WIAA has allotted 500 adult and 500 student tickets to be sold out of the Union High School ASB Office for Saturday’s 4 pm WIAA 3A Football State Championship game between Union and the winner of tonight’s Bellevue/Capital game.
Union High School is located at 6201 NW Friberg-Strunk St, Camas, WA
Game is on Saturday, 12/6 @ 4:00 pm in the Tacoma Dome.
Ticket prices:
- $14.00 Adults
- $10.00 Students w/ID and Senior Citizens
- Children under 5 admitted free
Tickets are available to purchase at the UHS ASB office from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm on Monday, 12/1 – Friday, 12/5.
5% of revenue from tickets sold at UHS will be rebated back to the school.
No personal checks accepted for pre-sale tickets. Cash only.
I would strongly recomend purchasing your tickets at Union rather than waiting to get them in Tacoma. The lines do get quite long and that is never fun. Also, not only will 5% go back to the school, the message you will send to the players and coaches will be huge.
Loading ...
