Gators go home after loss to Mount Tahoma

It was some uncharted territory for the Decatur Gators football team as they took on Mount Tahoma in the opening round of the state tournament for the first time in school history.

Decatur entered undefeated, first in school history. League champions, first time ever. Won their week 10 matchup, first time ever.

“All I can think about are the 35 broken spirits out here… It’s been awesome though. We set this goal way back when about giving ourselves a chance to be city and league champs. We checked all the boxes, but man it still hurts,” Head Coach Matt Vaeena said.

But the Gators’ historic season was cut short 23-21 in a loss to the Thunderbirds on Nov. 15 at Federal Way Memorial Field.

A senior class of Ben Ferrell, Niko Leoso, Maddox Heyliger, Taeron Clay, Nehemiah Washington and especially Spencer Holloway resurrected a program that had been dead in the ground for decades.

What hurts in the moment will turn to unforgettable memories down the road. This Decatur side had aspirations greater than the round of 16, but the foundation has been set.

“I’m proud. I can’t be more proud of these guys. We have put in so much work. It is only the beginning for this program and it’s only going to go up. We can say we are the ones to start it,” senior Nehemiah Washington said.

When it came down to the game on the field, these two sides were locked in a battle.

“I didn’t know what it would look like, but I knew we would have a chance. At the end of the day, that’s all we ask for is a chance,” Vaeena said.

Decatur’s defense showed up big time in the first half. It was clear Mount Tahoma wanted Holloway and the Decatur offense on the sidelines as much as possible.

Mount Tahoma let the Decatur offense on the field just one time in the first quarter. On a bad snap, T-Birds quarterback Mikkah Cordero scrambled in for the opening score. Decatur’s lone drive in the first quarter was a three and out.

The next time Holloway touched the field was the 8:30 mark, after a 19-play drive that resulted in a fumble inside the five yard line. It was a gift that kept Decatur in the game, but after going backward, a play that would be the difference happened on fourth down. A bad snap on a punt just rolled to NPSL first-team punter Omaha Lutu-Ili and he was tackled in the endzone for a safety.

It seemed like Decatur was just going to be down 9-0 at halftime, but with 3.5 seconds left in the half, Mount Tahoma found the endzone and took a 16-0 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

It felt like the week 10 game against Woodinville from last year. The Gators’ defense was playing well, but the offense could just not get anything going. Just one first down was all Decatur could muster.

“It was so far of who we have been all year long. It took a little reminder to tell them, ‘That’s not the team I’ve coached all year long. That’s not the team I’ve had the honor of coaching’… I had no doubt we were going to get back into it,” Vaeena said.

The team that came out of the locker room at halftime was a different Decatur team. The Gators took the opening kickoff 70 yards and sliced the Thunderbird lead in half on a Holloway QB sneak.

Decatur’s defense was called on time and time again, and in the second half, they kept making stops. It was difficult for Mount Tahoma to throw the ball, but they were able to run the ball with some effectiveness against Decatur.

With 11 minutes left, Decatur was inside the redzone, but on a fourth and long, Hollway threw an interception.

A Mount Tahoma punt later gave Decatur another shot. Devin Caoagdan rushed in from ten yards out and with just 5:13 remaining to get Decatur right back in the game. Holloway took the two-point conversion and tried to run it in himself, but was denied and immediately Decatur was put under the most pressure they have all season.

The Thunderbirds took the kickoff to the Decatur 23-yardline and threatened to put the game away just as fast as Decatur got back in it.

With 3:00 left, Cordero scrambled in for his second touchdown, this one from nine yards out.

When that score happened, it seemingly took the air out of the stadium. Washington took that moment to lead his Gators and they needed that jolt: “A lot of people look to you and if your head is down, their heads are going to be down … I always keep my head up no matter what the outcome is. That’s my mentality and I keep my head up so I can push them forward,” Washington said.

On three plays, Decatur responded much due in part to Holloway finding Heyliger over the middle, and he ran the ball all the way down to the one yard line. A false start moved Decatur to the six-yardline and Holloway proceeded to find freshman Scottie Dinwiddie in the back corner of the endzone for a huge score. The score was 23-21 and Decatur needed another stop, but had all three timeouts.

“Our conversation was we have to score in 90 seconds. That’s what we needed to do and that is what we did,” Vaeena said.

A tackle for loss, incomplete pass and another tackle forced a fourth and six for Mount Tahoma, who elected to punt. With 44.9 seconds left, Decatur was getting the ball back. Win or loss, Decatur proved that they can hang with the best in the state, something they have been looking to prove all season.

“This group is amazing. We fell short today, but that doesn’t take away the skill and the talent that this group has,” Washington said.

Holloway was able to get to the Mount Tahoma side of the field. But with 5.2 seconds left, Holloway threw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack, time expired, intentional grounding was called and the game was over, ending Decatur’s season.

Holloway will bear a lot of the blame for the way the game ended, but he exceeded expectations and was one of the main reasons this Decatur program got to where it is, his coach said.

“He’s going to kick himself over and over that’s who he is… He’s made so many plays for us even tonight. He’s made more right decisions than wrong ones, it’s just reminding him of that,” Vaeena said.

The Gators galvanized a city and a community that hadn’t seen a successful football season, really, ever. The school and city rallied behind the Gators, something that hasn’t happened for a very long time.

“They know they set history. It will set in after the season. We’re gonna realize after the season how much we meant to the city and community around us,” Washington said.