Unblemished records among the biggest stories of the year gone by

Perfection, as defined by Webster’s New World College Dictionary, means “the quality or condition of being perfect; extreme degree of excellence according to a given standard.”

And since 2009 will soon go final, as they say, perfection played a major role in the most compelling local sports stories over the last year of this century’s first decade.

Voted No. 1 by the Herald-Republic’s sports staff was Eisenhower’s 10-0 regular-season run and a victory in a first-round Class 4A state playoff game.

The Cadets’ postseason push reached the quarterfinals and was as unexpected as it was flawless. Preseason favorites a year earlier, Ike finished 5-5.

This time, the Cadets won an 11th game for the first time in school history and returned to the state playoffs for the first time in 17 years.

Yakima Herald-Republic file photos

Senior defensive end Ryan Watson, senior linebacker Seth Kline and junior offensive lineman Abel Soto were named first-team All-State by The Associated Press for coach Dan Eyman.

Ike wasn’t the only local team to post perfection, though.

Central Washington, thought to be rebuilding after the loss of All-American quarterback Mike Reilly, rode a dominant defense to an 11-0 regular season and No. 1 national ranking among NCAA Division II teams.

Led by senior linebacker Buddy Wood, the Wildcats held opponents to a national-low 11.9 points per game, smothered Tarleton State 27-6 in a second-round playoff game for a school-record 12th win, and lost to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri in the quarterfinals 21-20 on a blocked extra point with six seconds left.

The season left coach Blaine Bennett’s two-year record at 22-3, and CWU’s unexpectedly bold run at No. 2 on the year’s top 10 list.

CWU, however, wasn’t Kittitas County’s lone source of football fever. Ellensburg rode the passing connection of Ethan Sterkel to Kramer Ferrell to a 12-0 record, CWAC championship, No. 1 state ranking and a berth in the Class 2A semifinals.

The Bulldogs of coach Randy Affholter were voted the No. 3 local story of 2009.

No. 4 was a tale of yet more perfection, with Eisenhower’s boys basketball team accomplishing the unlikely feat of going 20-0.

Despite trips to the typically-hostile venues of Richland, Pasco, Walla Walla and Moses Lake, coach Pat Fitterer’s Cadets negotiated the entire schedule without a loss, and won their first 22 before falling. Ike made it to state, but didn’t place.

Story No. 5 took us back to football and back to perfection — at least from a won-lost standpoint.

Boise State, which has become a perennial thorn in the BCS’s side, rolled to a 13-0 mark with Prosser’s Kellen Moore at quarterback. A redshirt sophomore, Moore led the nation in passing efficiency (167.3) and his 39 TD throws ranked second.

Two scoring strikes went to his brother, true freshman Kirby Moore. And they had father Tom, who had stepped aside after 23 years (and four state championships) as Prosser’s head coach, to watch them.

The next story wasn’t at all about perfection, but it was about guts.

Naches Valley’s baseball team, having suffered excruciating losses in final four action the previous two seasons — once with one out left in the title game and once in a semifinal — brought many of the same players to Yakima County Stadium last May. And this time, they came away champions.

Unfazed by four second-inning errors, the Rangers of coach Bill Walker beat Kalama 8-6 to claim the school’s first state baseball title since 1991 and provide an oh-so-sweet triumph for five seniors who formed the core of NV’s squad.

Months earlier, Yakima Valley Community College’s first women’s wrestling team traveled to Hampton, Va. for the National Collegiate Wrestling Association championships.

And when the final points were tallied, the Yaks had compiled more than any of the 18 colleges or universities listed in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association women’s division — including four-year schools such as the University of Colorado and Auburn University.

Co-coached by Mike Schmitt and Tito Pimentel with the help of longtime YVCC mentor Bob Spain, Yakima Valley boasted three individual champions and four others who were second or third and thus earned All-American status. Their story was voted No. 7.

Next was Reilly, who started every Central game for four years and became the most celebrated quarterback in school history. Though disappointed at not being drafted last April, he signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh before being released in the Steelers’ final round of cuts.

Last month, Reilly joined the Green Bay Packers practice squad, and earlier this month was signed off that list and onto the regular roster of the St. Louis Rams, with whom he is signed through the 2010 season.

No. 9 saw Yakima snowmobiler Joe Parsons win two Winter X Games gold medals at Aspen, Colo., and 10th was West Valley High School’s move from Class 3A to Class 2A for the 2010-12 athletic cycle after 22 other schools in the state opted to go the other direction. WV’s school board chose not to move back to 3A.

So that’s it for 2009 — an exceptional local sports year which featured an extraordinary amount of perfection.

The best part? A new year and new decade await.

So stay tuned.