EVERETT — One week after getting stung in their season opener, the Cascade Bruins were ready to inflict some hurt of their own.
Cascade rolled out a powerful ground game against crosstown rival Everett on Friday night, cashing in five first-half rushing touchdowns on the way to a 38-16 football victory over the Seagulls in the Battle for Broadway at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Bruins led 38-0 in the fourth quarter before Everett pushed across two late touchdowns and tacked on two two-point PATs for the final score.
Leading the way for Cascade was senior running back Kejuan Coleman, who had 201 rushing yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns. Coleman, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior, had 176 yards on 13 attempts in the first half, with TD rushes of 1 and 2 yards. He also had non-scoring runs of 49 and 58 yards, both times getting knocked down at or inside the Everett 10-yard line.
Cascade had 279 rushing yards in the first half, with junior running back Andrew Sibley contributing 79 of his 83 yards in the opening two quarters.
“That’s what we’re capable of when we execute and move our feet, and that’s what we need to do up front,” Cascade interim head coach Eric Dinwiddie said. “I think we run the ball very hard, we’ve got some physical runners and hopefully we’re a physical football team up front.”
The win was a nice turnabout for the Bruins, who suffered a 41-27 loss to Arlington in last week’s season opener.
“Maybe these guys were thinking they were probably a little better than they were, and they didn’t have to work as hard during the week (of practice before the opener),” Dinwiddie said. The loss to Arlington “definitely changed their focus during the week,” he added.
“You don’t just show up on Friday night and win football games. You win football games in the process of (practicing on) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then coming out on Friday and playing with emotion. … We had a great week of practice and hopefully we maintain that throughout the year, but it was also nice to come out here and execute what we practice.”
The Bruins opened the game with touchdown marches of 80 and 86 yards, and they needed just nine plays combined for the two scores. Coleman and Sibley carried for all but 23 yards on the two possessions, with Coleman scoring on a 1-yard run and Sibley breaking free for a 53-yard TD scamper.
After the next two drives ended with a punt and a turnover, Cascade scored three touchdowns in quick succession for a 35-0 halftime lead.
Kicker Spencer Bowlden added a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to cap Cascade’s scoring.
Everett was not without chances. The Seagulls either started in or reached Bruins territory on their first five drives, and on six of nine in the first half. But Cascade’s defense was too stout, allowing Everett to get no closer to the goal before halftime than the 10-yard line, and that after the Seagulls fell on a fumble at the Bruins 17.
The Seagulls, who dropped to 0-2 following last week’s 30-14 loss against Shorewood, finally got on the board with two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Cascade 14 21 0 3— 38
Everett 0 0 0 16— 16
C—Kejuan Coleman 1 run (Spencer Bowlden kick)
C—Andrew Sibley 53 run (Bowlden kick)
C—Hamilton Kendrick 10 run (Bowlden kick)
C—Coleman 2 run (Bowlden kick)
C—Malik Rackliff 16 run (Bowlden kick)
C—FG Bowlden 27
E—Jacob Leonard 16 run (Griffey Lytle run)
E—Murdock Rutledge 5 run (Leonard run)
Records—Cascade 1-1 overall. Everett 0-2.
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