BELLINGHAM The 10th and final game of the year for the M-P Tomahawks football team had nothing on the line but pride.
One week after an emotional Homecoming victory over 3A rival Arlington,
M-P faced the 3A Squalicum Storm at Bellinghams Civic Stadium Friday, Nov. 3.
Both teams battled not only each other in the non-league contest, but also Mother Nature in a torrential downpour that never let up and even came down sideways at times.
In the end M-P was unable to weather the Storm and fell 27-23 to end their season.
The Tommies finished 2-6 in league play and 2-8 overall.
Squalicum got on the scoreboard first 30 seconds into the second quarter, but senior defensive back Clayton West blocked the extra point to keep it 6-0.
The Tommies rallied with a time-consuming drive that resulted in a touchdown run by senior running back Aaron Posey.
Posey entered the game with 873 yards on the season and was hoping for the elusive 1,000-yard capper to his senior year.
Senior place kicker Kaleb Kuehn converted on the extra point to give the visitors a 7-6 advantage with 5:53 until halftime.
After a defensive stand, senior defensive back Duane Lapeyri found pay dirt on a successful end around that fooled the Squalicum defense and gave M-P a 14-6 advantage.
With only 50 ticks left on the clock Kuehn kicked an onside kick that his teammates recovered on the Squalicum 32-yard line.
Senior quarterback Stephen Atterson and the Tomahawk offense was unable to find the end zone, but Kuehn came through with a 32-yard field goal and M-P led 17-6 at halftime.
Come on defense we need a stop here, the M-P coaches yelled as the Storm faced a fourth down at the M-P 12-yard line.
It appeared they got their wish, but unfortunately there was a quick emotional swing as the referees called a defensive pass interference.
Instead of M-P taking over on downs, the Storm was given a first down a mere six feet from the end zone.
One play later Squalicum scored and converted on a two-point conversion to make it a 17-14 game with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter.
Using their frustration over the pass interference as motivation, the Tommies proceeded to march down the field in determined fashion.
Facing a fourth-and-one from the Storm 5-yard line, Posey burst through his offensive line for another touchdown.
Kuehns point after touchdown was blocked and M-Ps lead stood at 23-14 with 10:30 remaining in the contest.
While Posey had a successful night running the ball in the less than ideal weather conditions he fell a mere 5-yards short of 1,000 with his game total of 122.
Sophomore defensive end Tannon Hillis recorded a big quarterback sack on Squalicums next drive, but it was for naught as M-P was called for another defensive pass interference.
The penalty gave Squalicum a first down at the M-P 10-yard line, and once again the Storm capitalized to make it a 23-20 game.
The point after touchdown was no good, and M-Ps 11-point halftime lead had shrunk to three points with 3:43 remaining.
The Tommies were unable to run the clock out and Kuehn had to punt with 2:23 left in the game.
A botched snap to Kuehn was received by the Storm, and the navy blue clad home team seemed to regain the roller coaster momentum.
A handful of plays later found Chad Clark in the end zone and the diehard fans came alive with a 27-23 lead and minimal time for the M-P offense.
Atterson and crew were unsuccessful in their final pass attempts and after a futile fourth and long play were forced to watch as Squalicum took a knee to end the game.
Although disappointed with the final result, Atterson seemed to take his final M-P football game in stride.
I think personally I played alright and in the end I played as hard as I could, Atterson said with his parents by his side.
Coach Rudy Grandois said the coaching staff and squad felt like we couldve handled it but it just didnt work out.
We wanted to improve on our record from last year and a 3-7 record feels better than a 2-8 one, he said.
On a rainy night like this anything can happen. We did a pretty good job of holding onto the football. The kids came out and played hard .It was kind of a weird situation having a 10th game and trying to get the kids motivated. Basically, it doesnt have a whole lot of meaning besides its your last football game.

At Civic Stadium

M-P 7 10 0 6 23
Squalicum 6 0 8 13 27