Wolverines capture fifth state title in a row and 10th in 12 years with 35-3 dismantling of previously unbeaten Eastside Catholic.
A pair of touchdowns and an interception from junior playmaker Bishard "Budda" Baker helped Bellevue capture its 10th state title in 12 years.
File photo by Jeff Napier
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Bellevue continued Washington's greatest gridiron dynasty Friday night with a 35-3 win over
Eastside Catholic (Sammamish) in the Class 3A state championship at the Tacoma Dome, capturing its fifth Class 3A state title in a row and 10th in 12 years.
The victory extended one of the nation's longest winning streaks to 40 games and improved the suburban Seattle superpower's championship game record under mastermind head coach Butch Goncharoff to 10-0.
Junior playmaker
Bishard Baker got the Wolverines – ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps – on the board less than three minutes into the game with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown following Eastside Catholic's first possession. Baker would later score on a 61-yard run and recorded an interception.
Including Friday night's triumph, Bellevue has outscored its last three opponents in the 3A title game 108-19. Eastside Catholic, led by rising star second-year head coach Jeremy Thielbahr, entered the contest with a 13-0 record and piled up scoring efforts of 69, 65 and 42 in the last three weeks of tournament action.
Sean Constantine
File photo by Jeff Napier
The 2012 team will go down as one of Bellevue's best under Goncharoff and one of the most dominant in state history. The Wolverines rolled out their second-best offense since 2000 (averaging 45.3 points per game) while countering with their best defense (allowing 5.1 points per game points per game with six shutouts). Led by Pac-12 recruits
Myles Jack (UCLA) and
Sean Constantine (Washington), Bellevue surrendered just 72 points all season.
Bellevue's dominance against in-state competition has been significant, winning the last 31 contests against Washington teams by 10 points or more and 61 of the last 62 overall dating back to 2008.
The Wolverines have notched several notable out-of-state victories, including Texas powerhouse
Trinity (Euless) in September and storied California programs
De La Salle (Concord) (ending the Spartans' national record 151-game win streak),
Long Beach Poly and
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village). Bellevue has also crushed top teams from British Columbia and Oregon under Goncharoff.
Before the Wolverines began their run of dominance in 2001, 12 different schools won 3A state titles in the 20 previous seasons from 1981 to 2000.
Prosser,
O'Dea (Seattle) and
Tumwater won three apiece during that span, but no team in state history has approached Bellevue's string of five in a row.
When Bellevue beat O'Dea for the 2003 crown, it became the first big-school program in state history to win three in a row.
Bellevue under Butch Goncharoff2012 – 14-0 *
2011 – 14-0 *
2010 – 13-1 *
2009 – 12-2 *
2008 – 13-0 *
2007 – 11-2
2006 – 14-0 *
2005 – 9-2
2004 – 13-0 *
2003 – 13-1 *
2002 – 12-1 *
2001 – 13-0 *
2000 – 6-3
Total – 156-12
* Class 3A state champions
Bellevue in Class 3A state championship games under Goncharoff2012 – Def. Eastside Catholic 35-3
2011 – Def. O'Dea 35-16
2010 – Def. Kamiakin 38-0
2009 – Def. Liberty 23-17
2008 – Def. Union 35-6
2006 – Def. Kennedy Catholic 21-14 (OT)
2004 – Def. Ferndale 31-28
2003 – Def. O'Dea 21-7
2002 – Def. Lynden 28-10
2001 – Def. Lynden 42-15
