After West High clinched a spot in the state football playoffs Saturday night by holding visiting South to less than three yards per play and hanging a 37-0 shutout on the Wolverines, linebacker Gordon Tui furnished a simple explanation for his team's defensive excellence.
The No. 3-ranked Eagles face their explosive offense in practice all week.
"And they're pretty good,'' said Tui, who delivered an interception and several tackles for losses.
Tui's teammate Shanai Leon is also something of an authority on the subject – he's pretty good on both sides of the ball. At cornerback, Leon returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown. At receiver he caught five Sean Duffy passes for 141 yards.
West's defense permitted South, which upset East last week to pocket its first win all season and keep its playoff hopes alive, 138 yards total offense on 52 plays. The Eagles never allowed the Wolverines a snap inside the red zone and snuffed South's chance at the postseason.
"We wanted to make a statement,'' said West coach Tim Davis. "We knew this South team had momentum, and some believe in them, and our defense played great. (Defensive coordinator Josh) Garcia had them ready.''
That stingy defense combined with Julo Tagalu's 97 yards rushing and three touchdowns on eight carries, and Duffy's 190 yards passing, to send the Eagles soaring – and gliding. West also snuffed South's shot at the postseason.
West's Cook Inlet Conference victory on its home field, coupled with East's 32-7 win over Chugiak and Dimond's 28-21 victory over Service, means all five CIC berths to the state playoffs in two weeks time are secured.
Headed to the postseason are Bartlett, Chugiak, East, West and Dimond. The upcoming final week of the regular season will sort out the conference's postseason seeding.
South (1-6, 1-4 CIC) started well. West (5-2, 3-2 CIC) on its first possession enjoyed first-and-goal from the South 3. But the Wolverines stuffed West running back P.J. Seui, who returned from a two-week absence because of injury, inches shy of the goal line to turn over the ball on downs.
Yet Turek Taylor's bold 19-yard punt return to start West's next possession – he sprinted to catch the punt at full speed, even as Eagles coaches screamed to stay away from the ball – put West on South's 20-yard line in the opening minute of the second quarter. Tagalu bolted 20 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to open the scoring.
Later in the second quarter, Leon picked off Jack Hanson's pass at full speed near the right sideline and blazed 39 yards for a touchdown.
"I saw a lot of green grass,'' Leon said.
Grayson Adams' 36-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half provided West a 17-0 lead.
Leon's two long receptions – 53 yards and 28 yards – set up Tagalu's 1-yard run on the first possession of the second half to push West's cushion to 24-0. Duffy added a 1-yard touchdown run and Taylor caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Duffy to complete the onslaught and turn the fourth quarter into mercy time – a running clock.
"As soon as we walked into practice this week, coach put it on us – we were fighting for a playoff spot,'' Tui said. "All week we stayed focused. Coach talked about learning to play under pressure, and I thought we did a great job of that.''
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
South 0 0 0 0 -- 0
West 0 17 20 0 -- 37
Second Quarter
West – Tagalu 20 run (Adams kick), 11:42.
West – Leon 39 interception return (Adams kick), 5:57.
West – Adams 36 FG, 59.5.
Third Quarter
West – Tagalu 1 run (Adams kick), 11:11.
West – Duffy 1 run (kick failed), 7:12.
West – Taylor 3 pass from Duffy (Adams kick), 8.6
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – South: Benedict 18-61, Harjehausen 6-24, Ulofoshio 7-23, Kinnebrew 4-13, Sizemore 1-7, Stokes 1-3, Kirn 1-(-3), Stearns 1-(-3), Jarrell 3-(-5), Murray 1-(-5), Hanson 3-(-10). West: Tagalu 8-97, Seui 13-22, Duffy 5-(-2).
PASSING – South: Hanson 3-7-2--33. West: Duffy 12-24-0--190.
RECEIVING – South: Benedict 2-31, Stokes 1-2. West: Leon 5-141, Taylor 4-25, Joling 1-15, Strong 1-10, Tui 1-(-1).