GAME 3
Bothell Comes Back to Beat Coeur d'Alene 44-43 at ECKC

BOX SCORE

The Bothell Cougars mounted an impressive second half comeback to stun the Coeur d'Alene Vikings 44-43 in the third game of the 2013 Emerald City Kickoff Classic presented by Farmers Insurance.  Down 30-14 at the half, Bothell capped its second half surge with a 39-yard touchdown pass with just under two minutes to play on what would ultimately prove to be the game-winning score.

The Cougars made an early statement when junior Sam Mcpherson took the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown.  After that, the first half belonged to the Vikings, who scored the next three touchdowns and three-straight two-point conversions to go up 24-7.  Of the three scores, the Vikings' Chase Blakely caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Gunnar Amos.  Both teams would tack on one more touchdown each before they headed to the locker room for halftime.

Bothell started the second half on the offensive, scoring twice in the third quarter to tie up the game 30-30.  Their momentum was quickly halted as Coeur d'Alene scored once before the end of the quarter, and then again at the start of the fourth quarter on a Drew Berger six-yard run.  Berger finished with 54 yards on eight carries, and two rushing touchdowns.

Down 43-30 with six minutes to play, the Cougars started their comeback by recovering a Coeur d'Alene fumble and driving 88 yards down the field, eventually scoring on a one-yard run by Damani St. Johns.  After a Coeur d'Alene punt, Bothell scored on its first play from scrimmage with the 39-yard touchdown pass from Ross Bowers to Colton Sather to take the lead 44-43.  Bowers finished the game 20-41 for 274 yards and four touchdowns, with Sather on the receiving end of two Bowers touchdown passes.

Bothell put the exclamation on its comeback with an interception and then a fumble recovery, both by McPherson, on Coeur d' Alene's last two posessions.  McPherson finished the game with 73 rushing yards on 13 carries, an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and two crucial takeaways down the stretch.

Coeur d'Alene plays the Skyline Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on September 13th in its third game of the season, while Bothell will take on the Bellevue Wolverines, also at 7:00 p.m. on the 13th, in a tough week two test.