Bears’ big lead crumbles

OLYMPIA – Just about everything wasn’t in favor of the Rogers Rams prior to their Class 4A state preliminary round game against the Olympia Bears on Friday night.

A 21/2-hour bus ride to go a mere 28 miles meant the Rams would have limited time on the field before the game.

The Bears couldn’t have asked for a better start, jumping out to a 20-0 lead by scoring on their first three possessions to open the game.

But the Rams’ offense got going in the second quarter and had fewer turnovers in a 29-26 come-from-behind upset victory over Olympia at Ingersoll Stadium.

The loss ended Olympia’s season at 8-2 and snapped the Bears’ four-year streak of advancing to at least the first round of the state playoffs.

Rogers (7-3) advances to play No. 1-ranked Bothell next week in a first-round game.

The start of Friday’s game was delayed 20 minutes because of a traffic jam on Interstate 5 from earlier in the day. Rogers’ team buses took 21/2 hours to drive from Puyallup and were stalled near the Nisqually Bridge. The team didn’t arrive at Ingersoll Stadium until 7:05 p.m.

The long bus ride seemed to have an effect on Rogers right from the start. The Rams fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and the ball was recovered by Olympia’s Brandon Stringer.

Four plays later, Jared Mercer found Numia Magalei for a 8-yard touchdown pass to give Olympia a quick 6-0 lead.

Olympia also scored on its next two possessions and had its lead grow to 20-0 after Jordan Pine’s 3-yard TD with 10 minutes, 2 seconds left in the second quarter.

Pine finished with 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

A steady rain fell all game, which seemed to have an effect on each teams’ offense.

Olympia had 12 fumbles (five lost), including three that led to touchdowns by Rogers.

Rogers’ Bennett Bontemps had a team-high 148 yards, and the second of his two touchdowns – a 24-yard score – cut the Rams’ deficit to 20-14.

Prior to the Rams’ touchdowns on back-to-back offensive series, Olympia had forced Rogers to punt four times, and the Rams didn’t get past their 26-yard line until the second quarter.

Olympia’s first punt gave Rogers its best field position of the half, at the Bears’ 43, and set up the visitors’ opening touchdown.

Magalei intercepted Rogers quarterback Dalton Gervais and ran it back 59 yards to the 21-yard line to set up Olympia’s final touchdown. On the next play, Pine ran for 21 yards to give Olympia a 26-21 lead. Veteran linebacker Sam Gauksheim had a team-best seven tackles and got to Gervais four times.

Rogers’ go-ahead touchdown – a 1-yard score – came from Dalton Mendenhall with 1:06 left in the third quarter. Rogers used four plays and went 90 yards for the score, including a 57-yard run by Bontemps.

Olympia was forced to punt, lost a fumble and threw an interception on its final three drives.