The Bothell High football team came back for second helpings and more last Friday night at a packed Pop Keeney Stadium in their annual matchup against rival Inglemoor, with the Cougars prevailing 27-3.

Although there was no spaghetti feed after the game this year as is the usual tradition, the Cougars were happy to settle for a win against a tough league opponent in front of thousands of screaming fans.

“This is why this stadium was built, for nights like tonight,” said Bothell head coach Tom Bainter. “Wall-to-wall people, both sides full, a loud crowd, it was fun to play tonight. It makes it easy to be intense and play at a high energy level.”

FULL SPEED AHEAD

After the Vikings took advantage of a short field on their first possession and kicked a 30-yard field goal to take the early lead, the Cougars struggled to get anything going offensively until one of the final plays of the period – a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Braden Foley to receiver Trent Sewell that put the Cougars on the board, and ahead for good.

Since their opening drive, the Vikings were unable to convert a first down until the third quarter.

In the second quarter, the explosive quickness of running back Luke Proulx for Bothell was on full display, as he broke away for a 42-yard score, and a mammoth 62-yard carry into the end zone during the final Cougar drive of the first half, putting the Blue Train up 20-3 at the break.

“We came up with some key plays on long runs,” Bainter noted, adding that he thought the Cougar defense played its best game of the season. “We didn’t execute very well offensively the whole night, really. We had breakdowns, penalties and mistakes, but that’s what Luke Proulx can do. He will find a seam and pop it.”

Proulx finished the night with 189 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, with Foley completing 9 of 18 passes for 156 yards and two scores.

“Proulx’s very special,” said Inglemoor coach Frank Naish. “You have to do so much defensively to control him, you give other things away, and they’re good at exploiting that kind of stuff.”

The senior speedster himself credited his offensive line and the depth of his team.

“We have an O-line that gives great pass (protection), some deep receivers and a quarterback with an arm which really complements the run,” Proulx explained. “We came out with a lot of intensity, and I like how we performed tonight.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Bainter acknowledged that his team had a “fantastic” week of practice and that his team’s work ethic quite literally translated onto the scoreboard.

“I’m such a big believer that you will play on Friday like you practice during the week,” he said.

“We took that to heart… kids watched film, we had great film sessions. It was a great week, and when you have weeks like that, this is usually the result.”

The Cougars needed every bit of that drive, as the Vikings’ starting quarterback, Mitchell Gunsolus, was no slouch.

Particularly in the second half, the all-Kingco athlete ran the ball up the outside with success and had a decent passing night at 12-for-19 for 118 yards.

Unfortunately, Gunsolus was also intercepted twice in key situations, including at the tail end of a 14-play drive by Bothell safety Austen Dahl, as all night the Cougar defense was on the Viking receivers like sleeping bags.

“You can’t turn the ball over against Bothell, or any good team, really,” lamented Naish. “(Bothell) did a nice job… but our kids still played hard.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 2-0 (4-1 overall) while the Vikings dropped to 1-1 (2-3 overall).