IT WASN’T JUST a strip.
It was The Strip. It was a play that will probably earn legendary status in the history of Neah Bay football.
With Liberty Christian about to take the lead away from the Red Devils yet again, senior John Reamer ripped the ball away from Patriots quarterback John Lesser and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown.
For the first time in Saturday’s state championship game, Neah Bay and Liberty Christian were separated by more than one score.
The Red Devils never let relinquished the lead, and went on to vanquish the Patriots 56-38 and claim their second consecutive Class 1B state championship.
“That was awesome,” fellow Neah Bay senior Elisha Winck said of Reamer’s strip and return.
Said sophomore Cole Svec, “That was a miracle. That gave us motivation right there.”
Earlier, Reamer noticed Lesser had a tendency to carry the ball away from his body, which left him vulnerable to being stripped.
Reamer saw it happen again and reached in a wrestled the ball away.
Once he had it, Reamer had a head start in the foot race to the end zone.
“I think I’m the fastest guy on the field all game. I know that’s not true, but I had to act that way when I was running it back,” he said.
His year-round speed conditioning paid off on the return, as he was never seriously challenged during his scamper to glory.
“It was a good momentum-changer,” Reamer said. “I don’t think anybody knew what was going on until they saw me 40 yards down the field.”
Count Neah Bay head coach Tony McCaulley as one who was surprised to see Reamer running with the ball.
“I saw him going the other way and I said, ‘What the heck’s going on?’ I really didn’t see the strip until he was gone,” McCaulley said.
“John, you know, some of the things he does . . . You know, seniors do that for us.
“Josiah Greene did it against them the last time we played [Liberty Christian], same kind of thing.”
Pretty much the same exact thing.
Greene, who graduated last year, stripped the ball near the same goal line late in the 2012 championship game on a similar play.
That stop and Greene’s long touchdown run a few plays later tied the score at 28-28 — Liberty Christian went on to win 34-28.
Reamer said Greene’s strip went through his mind as he was making his own play.
But Reamer out-did his friend.
“John took it to the next level and took it to the house,” McCaulley said.
Back on the sidelines
Speaking of Greene, he and Tyler McCaulley, also a 2014 Neah Bay graduate, joined the Red Devils on the sideline for Saturday’s state championship game.
Both flew in from Olathe, Kan., where they play football for MidAmerica Nazarene University, to watch their former team try to repeat the title they helped it win last season.
Greene was sporting the black No. 2 Neah Bay jersey he wore during his high school career.
“It was nice,” Tony McCaulley said of having Greene and Tyler McCaulley, his son, one the sidelines.
“You know, they helped us tonight. And I think it gave the other kids some motivation, show them how they can play now.
“It was good; it was a good thing.”
Neah Bay senior Chris Martinez was one who was motivated by seeing the former players.
“It’s so much inspiration. I played with these guys, I played backup for these guys,” Martinez said.
“Seeing how they played on the field, how happy they were after they won, it just make me want to feel that way, too.
Reamer said seeing Greene and Tyler McCaulley “meant the world to him.”
“They’re a couple of my best friends,” Reamer said.
“Right when I got here, I went and hugged Josiah and Ty and went and hung out with them for an hour before the game, caught up.
“Just knowing that they would fly all the way here to support me is just crazy. I love those guys.”
Tyler McCaulley also was at Neah Bay’s semifinal win over Lummi, and even helped coached from the headset upstairs.
Greene and McCaulley both redshirted for MidAmerica Nazarene this past season.
Thanks, Lummi
The Red Devils ran for 316 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Part of this came in their usual smash-mouth package, part of it came in a formation taken from a rival.
“We spread it a little more,” Tony McCaulley said.
“Actually, I’ve got to thank Lummi, because we actually ran Lummi’s run offense against [Liberty Christian].
“We run it in practice every day, and we were going through it this week and we were like, “Well, why not? We’ll run it. We’ll come out in the second half for a change,’ and threw basically Lummi’s run offense in there.”
After playing the Blackhawks three times this season, the new wrinkle was familiar to the Red Devils.
“We practice it every week against them, and it worked really well for us,” McCaulley said.
“Thank [Lummi coach] Jim [Sandusky] for that.”
More: Big plays lead Neah Bay to state championship repeat [ * With photo gallery * ] — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20141208/NEWS/312089987/prep-football-big-plays-lead-neah-bay-to-state-championship-repeat
________
Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
