Leopards’ first-round defeat comes down to a matter of seconds

ZILLAH, Wash. — They say football is a game of inches. The sudden end of Zillah’s football season Saturday in its stunning 26-14 Class 1A playoff loss to Omak instead came down to a matter of seconds. Two at most. Maybe even one.

That was about how much time Leopards tight end Kane Koerner needed to get free of the defensive traffic blocking his way on a little crossing pattern deep in Omak territory midway through the final period.

But Zillah quarterback Joe Burns didn’t have that extra second. With defenders closing in, he passed the ball. Maybe Koerner would get free in time and make the play, maybe not. Worst case scenario, the fourth-down pass would fall incomplete and the Leopards would still have a 14-12 lead with seven minutes remaining.

As it turned out, the result was far worse than that for Zillah.

Pioneer defensive back C.J. Lockwood, whose 137 first-half rushing yards had helped Omak build a 12-0 halftime advantage, stepped in front of the pass, picked it off and raced 80 yards to the Zillah 15. That set up the go-ahead touchdown, a 10-yard end-around by Joseph LaGrou, who had scored both of Omak’s first-half TDs on passes from Brenden Aguilar, and put Omak (6-4) back in control of a game the Leopards had thoroughly dominated throughout the second half.

“The tight end was coming straight up the field,” Lockwood said of the play. “They’re a 90-percent run team, but when their tight end came out, I took a couple of steps back expecting pass and then came up on the ball. The tight end never even looked over, and the ball came right to me.”

Koerner didn’t look over because that’s the way the play’s supposed to happen — the ball is thrown to him when he gets open, and not before, said Leopards coach Rock Winters.

“It’s supposed to be just a little dump to him when it opens up,” Winters said. “We figure Kane’s got good hands, and whenever he opens up, whether he gets the first down or not, at least we have the chance to make the play. Joe threw it early because he was getting some pressure. I don’t think Kane even looked for the ball.”

Even down 20-14 with seven minutes remaining, the Leopards still had time to get the lead back. After struggling in the first half to contain Lockwood — who had runs of 54, 28 and 21 yards — Zillah (9-2) had shut the Pioneers down after intermission. Even after LaGrou’s TD run, Omak had a net of just one second-half yard, while Zillah had driven 45 yards for one touchdown — a 5-yard run by Cameron Bounds — and gotten another TD run by Chris Castillo after Trevor Oswalt’s sack forced a fumble inside the Omak 10. A third potential long scoring drive ended when the Leopards failed to convert a fourth-and-one.

But that fate awaited Zillah once more. After marching from its own 24 to the Omak 30 with 2:22 remaining, Castillo was stacked up a yard short on a fourth-and-three run, and Omak took over. With the Leopards’ defense playing up to stop the run and get the ball back, Lockwood — whose six second-half runs had netted minus-six yards — slipped out of the backfield just past the line of scrimmage. Aguilar’s pass found him with virtually nobody between him and the end zone, and he ran 78 yards for the clinching touchdown.

“It just makes you sick as a coach,” Winters said. “We got stopped on fourth down three or four times. And penalties. We just did not execute. A lot of that was Omak — they’re a good team — but I think we’re a better team.”

Except, as it turned out, for just a couple of seconds.