A 26-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Encinas to Rodrick Rumble and a

16-yard dash to pay dirt by Chris Valencia brought Oak Harbor back

from a 10-7 third quarter deficit and gave the Wildcats a 20-10 win

over Bellarmine Prep in the opening round of the class 4A state

football playoffs Saturday night.

In front of a packed house at Wildcat Memorial Stadium, the Lions

from Tacoma stunned Oak Harbor, pulling off a reverse on the opening

kickoff with senior Patrick Shine taking the ball down to the

Wildcats 6-yard line.

However, the Oak Harbor defense stood up and Bellarmine had to settle

for a 25-yard field goal by Robert Guernsey and a 3-0 lead.

The Wildcats drove the football 78 yards for a touchdown on their

first possession with Encinas hooking up with Michael Bell from 4

yards out.

Mike Johnston added the extra point and the fans were breathing

easier with a 7-3 lead.

Late in the second quarter, the Lions mounted a 65-yard drive capped

by a 2-yard Beau Baldassin run and took a 10-7 advantage into the

halftime break.

The Wildcats made some adjustments during the break and began

mounting a comeback beginning with the second half kickoff.

Starting at their own 28-yard line, Encinas engineered the drive down

the field and hit Rumble with a pass in the right corner of the end

zone. The senior wide receiver out-jumped Bellarmine’s Dan Durkin to

pull in the touchdown strike and put the Wildcats in the lead to

stay at the 7:15 mark.

Leading 14-10 after Johnston’s extra point kick, the Wildcats’

defense shut the Lions down and Valencia put the final points on the

board with 12 seconds remaining in the third period.

The final 12 minutes of the game belonged to the defense and the

Wildcats sacked Bellarmine Prep’s quarterback Lucas Schindele four

times in the final period, and eventually forced the Lions to turn

the ball over on downs at their own 38-yard line with 23 seconds

remaining in the game.