Watching high school athletes lose a game of such high stakes that they have put so much of their heart and soul into is never easy.
Talking to them after such a loss can be even harder. That is why I was dreading talking to the Archbishop Murphy football players after their devastating 17-16 loss to Lynden in the Class 2A state championship game on Saturday. The heartbreaking fashion in which the Wildcats loss made it hard to come up with the words to comfort the players and to ask them the questions necessary to write a game story, not to mention all of the other content that will appear in Sunday’s Herald.
The Wildcats held a 14-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, when the Lions were faced with a fourth and 16 from their own 3-yard-line. The conventional play would have been to punt the ball, but with just over four minutes to play in the game and only one timeout in their pocket all Archbishop Murphy would have needed to do was gain one first down and they probably could have ran out the clock. That wisdom wasn’t lost on Lynden head coach Curt Kramme, who along with a little help from his coaching staff, made the decision to have his quarterback Josh Kraght take a safety so that the Lions could attempt an onside kick. It was a gutsy call, but it worked. The Lions recovered the onside kick and drove the field for the game-winning touchdown. What a way for the Wildcats to lose.
“Unfortunately someone has got to lose and they both played so well,” Archbishop Murphy coach Dave Ward said after the game.
Over the past week I have written two advance stories about the Archbishop Murphy team in lead up to the championship. I have gotten to know Ward and some of his players. I have found that the Archbishop Murphy players are not only well spoken, but they are also quality human beings. I talked to senior wide receiver and defensive back Austin Broadwell, junior running back and defensive back Ricky Gordon, senior offensive lineman and linebacker Sam Shober and senior quarterback and linebacker Conner Kruse in the days leading up to the game. All of the players were gracious, respectful of their opponent that they faced on Saturday and excited to play.
After the Wildcats loss I talked to Ward, Shober and Kruse, who showed the same class in defeat that they had shown in the buildup to the big game.
As I approached the players, I began thinking to myself, “where do I begin, what do I ask them?”, knowing full well that they were in a great deal of pain. As a former athlete myself I had my own flashbacks to being a member of the Wapato Wolves varsity basketball team in 2000 when we lost the state championship game to Blaine High School 60-56 in overtime. We had a 10-point lead with three minutes to play in regulation, but couldn’t close the door, so I related to what the Wildcat players feelings that a golden opportunity to win it all had just gotten away.
Outside the locker room after the game after talking to Ward, Shober was the first player that I talked to. He extended his hand and shook mine and just said, “Man……” It was only one word, but I’m pretty sure I knew what he meant by it. The Wildcats had come oh-so-close and it had just gotten away. But Shober talked to me for nearly four minutes and he broke down the game, expressed his respect for the way Lynden played and complimented his teammates and coaches while reflecting on his Murphy career.
After talking to Shober I talked to Kruse. Again, it was hard to find the right questions to ask, but he did the best he could to answer them as a few tears rolled down his face. I have great respect for those two players for taking a few moments at a very tough time to talk. And they weren’t alone, my fellow Herald Writer David Krueger interviewed Hans VanderWel and Eneliko Tevaga. Again both players were kind enough to take a few moments to talk without hesitation.
As I talked to an emotional Kruse, I couldn’t help but feel his pain. I had talked to him enough this week to know just how bad he wanted to win the game and I couldn’t help but thinking that this was a group of kids that deserved to get the win if there ever was one. But there has to be a winner and a loser as Ward said. It was a lesson that I learned 11 years ago and it was a lesson that the Wildcat players learned on Saturday.
Kruse had done his part on the field, he completed four of his six passes for 54 yards and rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries, including one touchdown. There was no questioning how much Kruse wanted it, on his 8-yard touchdown run he carried nearly the entire Lynden defense the final 5 yards into the end zone.
“Conner as a senior went out at the top of his game and played a great championship football game,” Ward said. “He should have a lot to be proud of and remember good things.”
If any of the players at Archbishop Murphy read this blog post. I want you all to know that I have a great deal of respect for you and what you accomplished. It may take some time, but someday I think you will be able to look back on the things that you accomplished and smile. You may not have won it, but you did play like champions. I hope you all keep your heads held high and are proud of everything that you have done this season and for you seniors in your careers.
Sometimes in this job we get caught up in our own responsibilities to meet deadlines and get the story done as quickly and accurately as possible that we forget that these players and coaches put everything they have into this for several months out of the year. In this case I think it is very appropriate to take a step back and congratulate these young men not just on a championship effort on the field, but for being class acts off of it. Well done gentlemen.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
