TACOMA — For the second game in a row, Neah Bay fell behind 14-0.
For the second game in a row, the Red Devils overcame the deficit — and then some.
Now Neah Bay will play in its third consecutive state championship game after beating Lummi 46-14 in the 1B semifinal at the Tacoma Dome.
“Physical play,” Neah Bay coach Tony McCaulley said was the key to Friday’s win.
“We finally wore them down a little bit.”
The Red Devils (11-0) will return to the Tacoma Dome this Friday to play the winner between Rosalia and Touchet.
More impressive than the 46 straight points the Red Devils scored were the zero points they held Lummi to over the final 42 minutes of the game.
“We just kind of had another slow start like last week,” linebacker Tyler McCaulley said, referencing Neah Bay’s 80-28 win over Cusick in the quarterfinals.
“[Lummi] got up on us, we kind of got mad, and just came out at them.”
The Blackhawks offense, which came into the game averaging over 55 points per game, only gained 136 yards after its two scoring drives.
For the game, Lummi quarterback Logan Toby was held to 128 yards passing for the game, in large part due to the play of Neah Bay freshmen defensive backs Cole Svec and Cameron Buzzell.
“They played outstanding,” Tyler McCaulley said.
“I’m really proud of them; they came to play.”
After allowing a few passes over the top on the touchdown drives, Svec and Buzzell kept Lummi’s receivers in front of them so they could either swat the pass or tackle the receiver as soon as he caught the ball.
“We played more off so they wouldn’t score,” Svec said.
“We watched for the big plays mostly. We didn’t really care about getting pick-6s.”
Svec had four pass breakups and five tackles. Buzzell finished with two breakups and five tackles, including one tack for a loss.
After Lummi’s two scores, the Red Devils forced a punt and six straight turnovers on downs.
The biggest stand came in the closing seconds of the first half when the Blackhawks had a first down-and-goal from the Neah Bay 2-yard line. Lummi was unable to reach the end zone in four tries, and the Red Devils held onto a 16-14 lead at halftime.
Neah Bay used a healthy does of Cody Cummins to get back in the game. The senior running back gained 75 yards on 11 first-half carries and scored both of the Red Devils’ touchdowns before the intermission. He finished the game with 115 yards.
Josiah Greene only threw one pass in the first half, but opened the third quarter completing a 32-yard pass to Ezekiel Greene, a 25-yarder to Tyler McCaulley and a 23-yard touchdown pass to John Reamer.
Josiah Greene didn’t throw an incomplete pass until the fourth quarter. He completed 8 of 10 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 89 yards and another score.
Ezekiel Greene caught four passes for 76 yards. Tyler McCaulley caught two for 58 yards and a score, and both of Reamer’s catches went for touchdowns.
The top-ranked Red Devils slowly pulled away from No. 4 Lummi in the second half with a pair of touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters.
Neah Bay ended up winning by 34 points, but Friday’s semifinal was nothing like the Red Devils’ 76-32 blowout win over the Blackhawks in October.
“I’ve got to give it up to Lummi,” Tony McCaulley said.
“They played us extremely well. I mean, they played their hearts out, man. They played us the best any team has played us this year.
“They had a good game plan, as I figured. They didn’t surprise us with much, because I knew they were going to give us something good.”
The last team to make three straight 1B title game appearances was LaCrosse-Washtucna, which won four state titles from 2002 through 2005. In the seven seasons since that run ended, there have been seven different 1B champions, including Neah Bay in 2011.
The Red Devils, who fell short in their repeat bid on last-second touchdown by Liberty Christian in the 2012 title game, will be going for their second state title in three years.
“It feels awesome [to be back in the championship game], we just can’t come up short this year. Last year, really hurt,” Tyler McCaulley, a senior, said.
“We’re going to be pumped and ready to play. We want to go out with a win.”
Neah Bay 46, Lummi 14
Neah Bay 8 8 14 16— 46
Lummi 14 0 0 0— 14
First Quarter
L—Kavarez Lane 27 pass from Logan Toby (run failed)
L—Dean Williams 11 pass from Logan Toby (Williams pass from Toby)
NB—Cody Cummins 25 run (Josiah Greene run)
Second Quarter
NB—Cummins 4 run (Ezekiel Greene pass from Josiah Greene)
Third Quarter
NB—John Reamer 23 pass from Josiah Greene (Cummins run)
NB—Josiah Greene 1 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
NB—McCaulley 33 pass from Josiah Greene (Ezekiel Greene pass from Josiah Greene)
NB—John Reamer 22 pass from Josiah Greene (Collin Haupt run)
Individual Stats
Rushing— NB: Cody Cummins 15-115; Josiah Greene 18-83; Collin Haupt 14-65; Ezekiel Greene 2-1. L: Devin Cooper 16-86; Logan Toby 3-14; Hank Hoskins 2-14; Jacob Joe 1-4; Kavarez Lane 1-1; Deion Hoskins 1-minus 5.
Passing—NB: Josiah Greene 8-10-0, 179. L: Logan Toby 13-28-0, 128; Hank Hoskins 0-2-0.
Receiving—NB: Ezekiel Greene 4-76; Tyler McCaulley 2-58; John Reamer 2-45. L: Dean Williams 7-50; Kavarez Lane 3-43; Austin Brockie 2-10; Devin Cooper 1-25.
