Football: Lindbergh moves past Bainbridge easily; Ferndale next

By Adam McFadden • November 10, 2009 5:38 pm
Lindbergh's defense dominated Bainbridge after the Spartans' first drive.
Lindbergh's defense dominated Bainbridge after the Spartans' first drive.

While Bainbridge couldn’t find any answers, Lindbergh had nearly every one.

The Eagles dominated the Spartans 44-6 to advance to the 3A state tournament and improve to 9-1 on the season.

“That was a free-for-all,” said Lindbergh coach Pat O’Grady. “We had moments where we looked great. We had moments where we looked horrible. It’s high school football and you never know series to series what you’re going to get.”

Bainbridge moved the ball well on its first drive. The key play was a 37-yard reception by Alex Johnson after an Isiah Corwin sack pushed the Spartans into a third-and-15 situation. Johnson would score on a four-yard rush to end the drive and give Bainbridge a 6-0 lead.

It didn’t take Lindbergh long to respond. On the second play of the Eagles’ drive Matt Stuart found Frank Cange for a reception. Cange broke a number of tackles, sprinted across the field and scored from 55 yards out to tie the game.

Later in the quarter, Bainbridge was driving until Diondre Toms returned an interception 51 yards for a score.

After another sack and partially blocked punt by Derek Herley, Lindbergh had great field position. The Eagles marched and Stuart hit Herley for a seven-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cange recovered a squib kick. Stuart found Herley behind the coverage for a 27-yard score a few moments later, giving Lindbergh a 25-6 lead.

While the Spartans gained a total of -22 yards on the next two drives, Stuart hit Cange on a wide receiver screen on third and 24. Cange spun out the grasp of an immediate tackler then ran 76 yards for a score.

The Eagles led 32-6 at the half.

In the second half, the Spartans either turned the ball over on downs or lost a fumble on every single drive.

O’Grady said the defense didn’t change much after the first drive, despite the big turnaround in results.

“There weren’t really any adjustments to make,” he said. “Our kids just played harder and played better from the second series on.”

Lindbergh added two late scores with a Stuart-to-Cange connection for 40 yards and a Bakari Davis 18-yard run.

Stuart finished the game with 217 yards and five scores. Cange caught four passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

The Eagles play Ferndale in the round of 16 in the 3A state tournament Friday at 7:30 at Renton Stadium.