A few too many mistakes were too much to overcome as Montesano’s season ended with a 35-14 loss to Seton Catholic in a 1A State semifinal game on Saturday at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs (9-4 overall) came within a touchdown twice in the second half, but two key interceptions spoiled Monte’s hopes of an upset and an appearance in next week’s state-title game.

Both defenses held firm until late in the first quarter when the second-seeded Cougars (12-0) drove inside the Montesano red zone but stalled out at the Bulldogs’ 12-yard line.

On a 29-yard field-goal attempt by Seton Catholic kicker Dalton Woods, Montesano senior Marcus Hale burst around the edge to block the attempt and keep the game a scoreless tie at the end of the first 12 minutes of play.

But the second quarter was a different story as Montesano’s offense shot itself in the proverbial foot by stunting drives with penalties, and the Cougars would eventually break the goose egg.

Early in the frame, Seton Catholic embarked on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that included a 3rd-and-21 conversion and culminated with a 2-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Joe Callarame.

After Montesano was forced to punt after another drive was hampered by a 5-yard penalty, Seton Catholic drove 60 yards and scored when senior running back Jacob Williams punched in a 2-yard run to go up 14-0 with 2:44 left in the first half.

Montesano drove to midfield on its subsequent drive, but a pass by junior quarterback Tyson Perry was intercepted by Cougars junior Xavier Crank with under a minute to play, leading to Monte entering the half trailing 14-0.

After Monte’s defense held the Cougars to three-and-out to start the third quarter, the Bulldogs offense broke through.

On a 69-yard drive that included a clutch fourth-down conversion run by Perry, Montesano would cut the Cougars’ lead in half when Perry hit running back Zach Timmons with a swing pass out of the backfield. Timmons raced 11 yards to the pylon to make it a 14-7 game early in the third quarter.

Later in the period, Monte’s defense made a key play when linebacker Felix Romero, defensive end Mason Fry and lineman Kyle Caton combined to stuff Williams on a 4th-and-short run, giving the ball back to the Monte offense at the Bulldogs 23-yard line with just over two minutes to play in the quarter.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano defenders Felix Romero (15), Mason Fry (8) and Kyle Caton stop Seton Catholic running back Jacob Williams short of a first down during the Bulldogs’ 35-14 loss in a 1A State semifinal game on Saturday in Vancouver.

But disaster struck a few plays later when a Perry pass was picked off by Williams, who ran 29 yards into the end zone for a pick-6 that put Monte behind by two touchdowns.

On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs faced another fourth-down play at midfield early in the fourth quarter.

Perry dropped back to pass and threw deep to Hale down the sideline. The Bulldogs tight end was wide open after Seton Catholic defender Callarame fell on the play, leading to a 46-yard touchdown as Monte once again trailed by just one score.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano receiver Marcus Hale (23) celebrates with lineman Kyle Caton after catching a touchdown pass in the second half of a 35-14 loss to Seton Catholic in the 1A State semifinals on Saturday in Vancouver.

But the final 10 minutes of the game would belong to the Cougars.

Seton Catholic immediately drove downfield and stretched the lead back to 14 points when quarterback Kolten Gesser pinpointed a deep pass down the seam to receiver Ryker Ruelas, who split two Monte defenders for a 44-yard touchdown.

On Monte’s next play from scrimmage, Perry was flushed from the pocket and was picked off for the second time in the game by Williams.

Three plays later, Williams would put the finishing touches on the Cougars victory, breaking tackles en route to a 13-yard touchdown run that put Monte in a 35-14 hole with 5:45 left in the game.

Monte would never get closer as time ran out on the game, and Montesano’s season.

“They’ve got a lot of speed and when they needed a big play of offense, they seemed to get it,” Montesano head coach Terry Jensen said of Seton Catholic. “It’s just their execution. They out-executed us tonight and it showed on the field.”

Led by Williams’ 157 rushing yards on 23 carries, Seton Catholic totalled 431 yards of offense to Montesano’s 285.

The Cougars had 242 rushing yards to 139 for the Bulldogs.

The game was marred by plenty of yellow laundry, with Montesano totalling nine penalties for 50 yards – most of those coming in the first half – while the Cougars were dinged 12 times for 116 yards.

But three Montesano turnovers proved to be too much of a cost for the Bulldogs to square.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Jensen said. “You can’t survive a playoff where you have a chance to go play for a state championship with that many mistakes. That falls back on us. We’ve got to do a better job of preparing our guys.”

The loss ends a five-game winning streak for the Bulldogs – one that included wins over the No. 3 and No. 5 seeded teams in the state – and a chance to return to the state-championship game for the first time since Jensen and company won it all in 2012.

After the game, Jensen reflected on how the 2024 version of the Bulldogs persevered this season.

“We don’t have guys that quit,” he said. “I’m really proud of how hard we played. … Our guys battled and that’s kind of been their story all season. We’re going to make mistakes, but you’re going to have to beat us. We’re not going to quit and that’s what you saw tonight.”

A loss in the state semifinals is a hard pill for any team to swallow, and the Bulldogs are no different in that regard.

“Before the season started, if you’d say we’d finish third place in the state, we’d be pretty proud of ourselves,” Jensen said. “But right now, it hurts.”

Montesano 0 0 7 7 – 14

Seton Catholic 0 14 7 14 – 35

Scoring

First quarter

None

Second quarter

Seton Catholic – Callarame 2 run (Woods kick), 7:47

SC – Williams 2 run (Woods kick), 2:44

Third quarter

Montesano – Timmons 11 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 5:17

SC – Williams 29 interception return (Woods kick), 0:26

Fourth quarter

M – Hale 46 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 10:23

SC – Ruelas 44 pass from Gesser (Woods kick), 7:30

SC – Williams 12 run (Woods kick), 5:45

Passing: M – Perry 14-28-3-146. SC – Gesser 12-18-0-189.

Rushing: M – Timmons 12-61, Perry 6-42, Gunter 4-15, Hale 2-15, Crites 5-6. SC – Williams 23-157, Callarame 9-66, Ruelas 3-19.

Receiving: M – Crites 6-42, Rasmussen 4-34, Hale 2-55, Timmons 2-15. SC – Wieczorek 5-72, Callarame 3-25, Ruelas 2-70, Crank 2-20, Williams 1-2.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Zach Timmons (4) scores a touchdown against Seton Catholic in a 35-14 loss in a 1A State semifinal game on Saturday at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver.