There were plenty of subplots as the 3rd seeded Eastside Hawks traveled to Curtis High School in Tacoma to take on the regular season champion King County Jaguars. The Hawks not only wanted to win their first NWFL championship, but also wanted to avenge a last minute 18-15 loss to the Jags on August 16. The Jags played the game with heavy hearts as starting linebacker and team leader Tommy Thompson had been tragically killed earlier in the week. Jaguar defensive stars Dion Alexander and Milton Myers were motivated to play well against their former Jet coach and teammates as they were two of just a very few Jet players who chose not to follow coach Kenny Austin to the Hawks.

Lance Westendorf was able to get this handoff to Andre Edwards despite being simultaneously nailed by LB Dion Alexander. Edwards gained 19 yards on the play.

Edwards would have scored on the 4th play of the game had Alexander not made this touchdown saving tackle.

The Hawks opened the game at their own 25 after Terrance Ivory returned the opening kickoff 21 yards. Runs of 5 and 4 yards by Andre Edwards and Sidney Orange brought up 3 and 1. Jaguar LB Dion Alexander blitzed in and got to QB Lance Westendorf at the same time as Edwards. Somehow Westendorf managed to get the ball to Edwards with Alexander all over him. Edwards broke off left tackle for 19 yards. On the next play Edwards went off right tackle and then cut back across the field and got to the corner with nothing but turf between him and the endzone. Alexander was able to run him down after a 24 yard gain. The Jaguar defense stiffened and the Hawks were forced to settle for a Craig Hawley 35 yard field goal. Edwards had 5 carries for 53 yards on the 7 play-57 yard drive.

Milton Myers nearly returned the kickoff down the Hawk sideline for a score but was pushed out of bounds by Jakoba Squares. Delano Edgecomb and Malachi DeWalt combined for runs of 3 and 5 yards to bring up 3rd and 2. QB Leo Dickerson rolled out to his right and hit WR Hakeem McAllister for 9 yards and a first down. The Jags missed a big opportunity when Dickerson overthrew a wide open Rico Brown at the Hawk 30 and the Jags were forced to punt. All-League gunner Carlos Clark tripped up return man Mike Rigell long enough for Landon Bishop and Vandez Madison to stop him for no gain at the 18.

Timmy Triplett sacked Westendorf for a 9 yard loss on the Hawks 2nd possession.

Aaron Rambo blocked this Jaguar punt to set up another field goal.

Runs of 5 and 7 yards by Orange and Edwards, both stopped by DT Tony Bates, were nullified by a sack and 5 yard penalty. Craig Hawley boomed a 49 yard punt that Myers was barely able to catch up to. Joel Robnett stopped Myers after a short 6 yard return. The Jags went 3 and out, unable to overcome a fumbled snap and 5 yard penalty. Dickerson's 10 yard scramble on 2nd down gave them hope for Hawk LB Eric Bellamy pressured him into an incompletion on 3rd down. A high punt snap gave Josh Kidd time to get in perfect position for the block. Punter Andre Zahnjko pulled the ball down and took of to his right to avoid Kidd. He punted the ball while on the run and Aaron Rambo was there for the block. The ball rolled out of bounds at the Jaguar 28 with 2:36 left in the first quarter. The Hawks could only muster one first down and settled for a Craig Hawley 43 yard field goal 12 seconds into the 2nd quarter.

The teams combined for just one first down (Jags) on the next 4 possessions. It would have been 5 in a row had the Hawks not committed a personal foul with the Jags punting on 4th and 7. The penalty moved the ball down to the Hawk 25. Two incompletions and a sack (Wanis Nadir/Sam Blanche) forced the Jags to settle for a 46 yard Andre Zahnjko field goal.

Sidney Orange would have scored had DE Jackie Triplett not made this diving tackle.

Center Rod Willson occupies 2 defenders allowing Andre Edwards to score untouched from 5 yards out.

Taking over at their own 35 after the kickoff went out of bounds, the Hawks returned to the ground game that had been so successful on their first possession. Andre Edwards ripped of runs of 9 and 17 yards before being relieved by Orange, who immediately exploded up the middle for 25 yards. DE Jackie Triplett showed excellent hustle in running down Orange from behind at the 14 yard line to save the touchdown. Two more runs of 6 and 3 yards by Orange brought up a 3rd and 1 at the Jaguar 5 yard line. Edwards came back in to finish the drive. He went up the middle behind the block of center Rod Willson and went untouched into the endzone. As the left guard crushed the defensive tackle, Willson blocked the middle linebacker across Edwards path and into the left defensive end, neutralizing both defenders on the play. The drive only took 2:03 despite covering 65 yards in 6 plays, all on the ground. Craig Hawley's PAT gave the Hawks a 13-3 lead with 1:09 remaining in the first half.

A low shotgun snap and 2 incomplete passes ate up less than a minute and the Jaguars were forced to punt from their own 31 with :21 remaining. Zahnjko boomed a 42 yard punt that gave the Jaguar coverage ample time. Jimmy McCollum fielded the punt inside his own 30 and immediately struggled through the grip of one would be tackler. He took to the left and the entire Jaguar team followed. At the 40 another tackler spun him around and catapulted him in the other direction. With 8 Jaguars behind him, he made the corner and had an escort down the sideline. Zahnjko held him long enough for help to arrive and push him out of bounds at the Jaguar 35. Two runs by Edwards moved the ball down to the 24 and Craig Hawley came on to attempt a 42 yard field goal. The snap rolled back to holder Derrick Smith and was picked up by Jaguar DT Fred Hardwell. He rumbled 7 yards before being brought down by Hawley and TE Jeff Hudson as time expired.

Dickerson bought just enough time to flip the ball to #9 DeWalt for the first down.

Dickerson had plenty of time to connect with McAllister on this 52 yard scoring play.

Milton Myers fielded the 2nd half kickoff 5 yards deep in his own endzone and returned the ball out to the 15. Runs up the middle of 2 and 7 yards by DeWalt and Edgecomb set up 3 and 1. Dickerson dropped back and was immediately under intense pressure from MLB Aaron Wardrip and DT Leyland Johnston. He sidestepped Wardrip and stepped up in the pocket only to be wrapped up by DE Mitch Dillard. With Dillard hanging from his leg and just before getting hit from behind from by Wardrip, Dickerson was able to flip the ball to Malachi DeWalt. DeWalt eluded the Hawk linebackers and headed up field for a 24 yard gain before being cut down by safety Karl Wright. Dickerson had much better protection on the next play and was able to connect with McAllister running a crossing pattern inside the Hawks 35. McAllister had to slow down a bit to catch the ball. His change of speed caused the Hawks DBs to take poor pursuit angles. As soon as McAllister caught the ball he turned on the afterburners and his sudden burst caused both DBs to fall while attempting to change direction. He outran the other Hawk safety the final 30 yards to complete the 52 yard scoring play. The PAT went wide left and with 12:20 left in the 3rd quarter the Jags had closed to within 4 at 13-9.

WR Mike Rigell takes off on a 18 yard catch and run to convert a crucial 3rd down on the Hawks TD drive.

Westendorf evaded the rush and found a wide open Jimmy McCollum at the Jags 10 yard line.

The Hawks immediately answered the Jags with a touchdown drive of the own. The key play was Westendorf hitting Mike Rigell over the middle for an 18 yard catch and run on 3rd and 7. Three plays later Westendorf rolled to his left to evade a strong rush and saw the defender covering Jimmy McCollum slip. Westendorf pulled the trigger and McCollum caught the ball uncontested and sped into the endzone. Hawley's PAT extended Hawk lead to 20-9 with 8:06 left in the 3rd quarter.

Rico Brown's (bottom, center) solid hit caused Hawk punt returner Mike Rigell to do a complete flip and lose control or the ball.

Milton Myers fielded the ensuing kickoff in his own endzone and decided to bring it out in an attempt to make a play. Joel Robnett and Aaron Rambo stopped him at the 6 yard line. A fumbled option pitch moved them back to the 2 bringing up 4th and 14. The Hawk returner fielded Zahnjko's punt at the Jaguar 36 and took off for the right sideline. He made it inside the 20 with two blockers in front of him. Somehow both blockers missed Rico Brown who stuck his helmet on the ball jarring it loose. Sam Humble recovered for the Jags at the 17 yard line. A 14 yard scramble by Dickerson was nullified by a 15 yard penalty which brought up 1st and 25 at the 16 yard line. On 3rd and 15 MLB Aaron Wardrip hit DeWalt in the backfield and knocked the ball loose. Edgecomb recovered for the Jags avoiding a catastrophic turnover deep in their own terrirtory. Zahnjko came in to punt and boomed a 43 yarder that was downed at the Hawk 44.

McCollum couldn't quite reach this pass and Milton Myers interception gave the Jags momentum.

Landon Bishop broke 3 tackles in turning a short screen pass into a 30 yard score.

Two Andre Edward's runs netted just 5 yards and on 3rd down Westendorf dropped back and floated a pass down the middle. It went off the hands of the intended receiver right to safety Milton Myers, who returned it 35 yards down to the Hawks 30 yard line. Myers may have scored had he not stepped out of bounds while trying to get around OT Jeremy Adams.

On the Jags first play from scrimmage Dickerson hit TE Landon Bishop on a screen pass wiith linemen Jason Myles and Larry Fowler leading the way. Bishop cut back inside at the 20 to follow Myles, ducking under LB Sam Blanche's tackle attempt in the process. Myles took out DE Mitch Dillard and safety Karl Wright to clear Bishop's path to the endzone. MLB Aaron Wardrip caught Bishop at the 5 but he was inadvertantly knocked off by the CB Terrance Ivory's big hit, which allowed Bishop to spin out of their grasp and go in for the score.

Bishop stayed alive just long enough to find Kevin Roberson in the back of the endzone for 2 points.

Bishop mishandled the PAT snap so he picked up the ball and rolled left. He sidestepped Ivory's flying tackle attempt and then lofted a pass to Kevin Roberson in the back of the endzone just before being sandwiched by DE Jonathan King and safety Julian Williams. The Jags pulled to within 3 at 20-17 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter.

Jeremy Adams (left) and Jeff Hudson (right) cleared the way for Andre Edwards to give the Hawks a 10 point lead.

A holding penalty on the kickoff return pushed the Hawks back to their 12 yard line where they embarked on the mother of all momentum stealing drives. They pounded the ball into the heart of the Jaguar defense for 9 minutes and 17 seconds. 12 of their 13 plays on their time consuming drive were runs which totaled 73 yards and 5 first downs. They faced only one 3rd down on the drive, a 3rd and 3 situation at the Jaguar 6 yard line. Jaguar MLB Robert Brown stopped Orange a yard short, but Edwards went over the top for 2 yards on fourth down. On first and goal Edwards scored easily behind tackle Jeremy Adams and TE Jeff Hudson. With 7:13 left in the game the Hawks led 27-17.

DeWalt powered through the Hawk middle linebacker and then broke outside to move the ball deep into Hawk territory.

Hakeem McAllister's 34 yard kickoff return set up the Jaguar offense ot the 38 yard line. On first down Dickerson stepped up in the pocket to avoid the pass rush and hit Milton Myers for 15 yards down the middle. He scrambled away from the Hawk defensive line again on the next play before finally lateralling to Malachi DeWalt. DeWalt broke several tackles and moved the ball down to the Hawk 23. Two penalties on the Hawks set up the Jags with a 1st and goal at the 9. Dickerson was forced out of the pocket by DE Jonathan King and scrambled down the sideline before being knocked out at the 4 by LB Sam Blanche. A shuttle pass up the middle to DeWalt was stuffed by several defenders before finally being stopped on the Jaguar sideline by Julian Williams and Lenny Hayes. Pressure by Washington Mose and Mitch Dillard forced Dickerson to throw the ball away on 3rd down. Richard Black came in for a 20 yard field goal attempt with 4:06 remaining but pulled it to the left.

The Hawks took over at their own 20 and slugged out one first down after another to run out the clock. Even though the Jaguar defense knew the run was coming, the Hawk offense gained 58 yards on 8 straight running plays up the middle to clinch the 2003 NWFL Championship.

Rushing: attempts-yards-TDs (long)
Hawks: Andre Edwards 28-206-2 (27), Sidney Orange 14-86 (25), Lance Westendorf 2-13 (11), Timothy Buchanan 3-6 (4)
Jaguars: Malachi DeWalt 7-39 (19), Leo Dickerson 6-20 (14), Delano Edgecomb 8-20 (7)

Passing: completions-attempts-interceptions-yards-TDs
Hawks: Lance Westendorf 4-13-1-51-1
Jaguars: Leo Dickerson 9-19-0-143-2

Receiving: catches-yards-TDs (long)
Hawks: Jimmy McCollum 1-29-1, Mike Rigell 1-18, Jakoba Square 1-3, Sidney Orange 1-1
Jaguars: Hakeem McAllister 3-67-1 (52), Malachi DeWalt 3-24 (24), Landon Bishop 1-30-1, Milton Myers 1-15,
Delano Edgecomb 1-9