The way the Cougars’ defense played was more like croissants and caviar.
Cougars junior running back Kai Van Sickle gained 252 yards and scored three touchdowns. And on a cold night, Capital kept Hazen in a deep freeze, humbling the Highlanders, 47-0, and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Capital didn’t allow Hazen (7-3) to gain first down in the game.
“We just played with great resiliency and tenacity,” Cougars coach J.D. Johnson said.
Capital will take on a familiar rival in the quarterfinals – O’Dea – next weekend. The Irish defeated Capital in a non-league season opener, 28-14, in September.
This Cougar team looks little like that one. The victory was Capital’s eighth in a row.
Johnson said most eyes west of the Cascades will be trained on the 3A quarterfinal between Lakes and Bellevue.
“I think they should pay attention to our game, too,” Johnson said
Van Sickle didn’t carry every play on the Cougars’ game-opening drive – he had a shoe issue and missed one, and quarterback Derrick Becker contributed a 15-yard keeper.
But Van Sickle, who wears No. 11, packed it 11 times on the march for 69 yards, finishing with a 14-yard touchdown for the game’s first points.
After the Cougars defense held Hazen, a well-executed screen pass from Becker to Van Sickle gained 31 yards to set up a slashing 12-yard touchdown by the junior running back to make it 13-0 early in the second quarter.
On the next Capital series, Van Sickle carried five times for 37 yards to get the Cougars in position for Becker’s 24-yard strike to tight end Baylor Hahn.
Just before halftime, Van Sickle shrugged off a tweaked ankle for a 61-yard scoring dash behind the lead block of Darius Antalan.
“That’s just playing for each other,” Johnson said of the Antalan block.
By the half, Van Sickle had 194 yards on the ground, and Capital led, 27-0.
Van Sickle ripped off a 41-yard run just after halftime, then handed over the heavy duty to other capable Capital running backs, most notably Noah Anderson.
Anderson, a senior, cruised 28 yards late in the third quarter to get the ball to the Hazen 7, and he got the rest of the yardage to the end zone on the next play.
Freshman Conner Kennedy closed the night’s scoring with a 5-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter against the demoralized Hazen defense.
The zero on Hazen’s side of the scoreboard was no fluke. Heading into the fourth quarter, Hazen had 8 yards of offense. The Highlanders gained some yards in the fourth quarter, but never enough in any set of downs to move the chains.
It was a forgettable night for the Highlanders. They will remember a lot of cardinal-colored jerseys in their faces every time they ran a play. And they won’t forget the guy wearing No. 11.
