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closePlayoff hopes dashed
The Pierce County Bengals blow a 18-point lead, falling against the Willamette Valley in their final home game of 2008 season
Shaun Scott
Bengals’ running back Steven Parley couldn’t believe what had just unfolded in the moments following a heartbreaking 26-25 loss to the Willamette Valley Raiders on Aug. 9 at Sunset Chev Stadium.
Parley, who rushed for a team-high 87 yards and touchdown, was one of the reasons why the Bengals held a 25-7 lead with a little more than 34 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Raiders (5-4 overall) scored 19 unanswered points in the final 31 minutes registering an unlikely 26-25 come from behind victory against the Bengals (3-6 overall). The loss knocked the Bengals out of NWFL playoff contention.
“In the second half they started closing up the running lanes, filling up the gaps and made us start throwing the ball. They clogged everything up and started to stop our offense,” Parley said. “This loss cuts deep. We had them. It was a must win game for us and we didn’t close it out.”
Despite letting the Raiders back into the ball game, the Bengals still had their chances to seal a victory.
What turned out to be their final opportunity to preserve the lead was perhaps the most excruciating play of the night for the Bengals. With the Bengals clutching to a 25-20 lead, the Raiders faced a fourth down and goal from the Bengals’ 10-yard line with 2:12 left in regulation. All the Bengals had to do was keep the Raiders out of the endzone.
They failed to do that.
Raiders’ quarterback David Littleton calmly fired a 10-yard strike between three Bengal defenders into the endzone, connecting with wide receiver Kahlil Littleton (David’s brother) for the go ahead touchdown, giving the Raiders a 26-25 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. Raiders’ left cornerback Tim Williams sealed the win, intercepting Bengals’ quarterback Anthony Rios on their ensuing offensive possession to kill any chances of a Bengals comeback.
“That last play was like a video game man,” Littleton said of the final touchdown pass of the game. “Once I saw that No. 2 (Bernard Blosser) wasn’t in the area I was throwing to I knew we were going to get the touchdown. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind when I let it go. I just put it up there and Kahlil came down with it.”
Littleton finished the game with four touchdown passes and two interceptions. The heady quarterback praised his offensive line for giving him time to make the proper decisions throughout the entire contest.
“All game long I got stronger and stronger and that is a credit to my teammates. My offensive line did a great job all night long,” Littleton said. “They allowed me to get the ball to the guys that make plays.”
Bengals coach Ron Baines was disappointed his team wasn’t able to grind out a victory after holding a gargantuan lead in the first half.
“When you go up early like that against any team there’s always going to be a let down,” Baines said. “They started to come back and it took the wind out of us. It was a combination of that and we couldn’t get anything going.”
Baines admitted the game was a tale of two halves. The Bengals outscored the Raiders 25-14 in the first half and the Raiders outscored the Bengals 12-0 in the second half.
“We played a flawless first half and they played a flawless second half,” Baines said. “Both teams played a good hard fought game. We just had some turnovers that really hurt us. That’s been one of our problems all season.”
Despite the loss, there were a host of Bengals who performed admirably in the final home game of the season.
Bengals wide receiver Bernard Blosser turned in another workmanlike performance hauling in five passes for 92 yards from his split end position. Fellow wide receiver Jesse Baines caught four passes for 47 yards and nabbed two touchdowns. Defensive lineman Andrew Bonner made two tackles for a loss and broke up two passes in the defensive backfield. Kenneth Humphrey stifled a Raiders drive with an interception in the endzone to end the third quarter. Corey Laday scored his first touchdown of the year, returning an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.