GSL football: Andrew Yarno scores on special teams, records late interception, Gonzaga Prep withstands Mead 31-23 to secure third straight GSL title

Gonzaga Prep hadn’t been tested this season very much, leading by margins big enough in each game that its starting defense hadn’t played meaningful snaps in the fourth quarter.

That changed Friday night.

The Bullpups finally needed to put in four quarters of work, but Andrew Yarno’s interception at the Mead 27 with 2:02 left on the clock sealed a hard-fought 31-23 victory – securing the GSL championship trophy for the third consecutive year and keeping their undefeated record intact.

Sam Kincaid connected with Isaiah Docken for two TD passes, Jimmy Grainger had a touchdown run, and Yarno recovered a fumbled punt snap in the end zone for a score.

“(Yarno) is a kid that probably could play just about any position on the field. A real student of the game,” Gonzaga Prep coach Nate Graham said. “I love the kid. So proud of him. And to be able to finish like that, that’s awesome.”

“Our defense stepped up,” Yarno said. “Our offense still put up 31 points. And that’s, you know, that’s a great day for the O. But we’ve got to be a little bit better, and holding them and stopping the run, and the offense will pick us up.”

Gonzaga Prep (8-0) committed 11 penalties for 119 yards, including four personal foul infractions, and Kincaid threw an interception in the end zone.

“We definitely weren’t perfect today again, and this defense stepped up,” Graham said. “We put them in some bad spots, too. We had some chances to kind of run away from (Mead), and we made mistakes that if we want to get to where we want to go, we can’t make those mistakes.”

“We never faced this type of adversity this year, so I’m really proud of my boys,” defensive back Jacobe McClelland said. “We were able to stick together, even if we were down, we were kind of getting mad at each other and stuff. When we came back, we stuck together and we finished the game.”

Mead (5-3) was led by Max Faagau, who carried 22 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Junior Evan Drew, making his first varsity start at QB for the injured Landon Thomas, went 15 of 25 for 103 yards but threw three interceptions.

“Really proud of our kids. They responded in a way that we hadn’t shown yet,” Mead coach Kyle Snell said. “And that was a really good football game, and two really good teams, and I think this is the proudest I’ve been of our team at any point this year.”

“(Mead) punched us in the mouth, but our kids aren’t afraid to punch right back either,” Graham said. “I knew Mead was a good football team. I don’t think their record is evident of who they are. I could see them making a run in the playoffs.”

Gonzaga Prep raced out to a 14-0 lead on the strength of Yarno’s fumble recovery and Docken’s first TD of the game from the 13. McClelland came up with the Bullpups’ second interception of the game on Mead’s next possession, but G-Prep had to settle for Paul Davidow’s 32-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead.

Mead closed the second quarter with a Hayden Koohns 5-yard TD run and Donovan Damiano’s 41-yard field goal and the Panthers trailed 17-10 at the half.

G-Prep went on a 12-play drive to open the third quarter, but Davidow’s attempt from 37 yards was wide left. Mead was forced to punt, though, and Nikko Alexander took a reverse 42 yards for a TD and G-Prep led 24-10 after three.

Mead’s Tyce Tuggle scored on a 20-yard jet sweep, but the Panthers missed the extra point. The Bullpups countered with Docken’s second TD reception of the game when he wrestled the ball from a defender from 18 yards out.

Mead put together a 14-play scoring drive, with Faagau plunging in from the 6 to make it a one-score game, then the Panthers forced G-Prep’s only punt of the night to get the ball back with 2:02 left. But Yarno collected an overthrown pass from Drew at the Mead 27 and the Bullpups kneeled down for the victory.

“It was right there for me,” Yarno said.