Ryan Bergman proved to be the spoiler at Redmond High’s Homecoming Night at Walter L. Seabloom Stadium as the Issaquah High quarterback put together a passing performance for the ages during a blowout 40-7 win over the Mustangs (1-2, 1-5) last Friday.

Bergman completed 26 of his 35 passes for 494 yards and six touchdowns, four of which came in the second half of the 4A Kingco Crest Division contest.

“He was spot-on, he threw the deep ball well and their kids just ran under the ball for an easy trip to the goal line,” said Redmond head coach Mike Pluschke. “Our kids were trying to do the best they can, and tonight they just became unlucky in a lot of important situations. We’d have them in third and long and they’d get bailed out by going deep and being able to score. “

A PROMISING START

The game got off as well as it could have for the Mustangs as quarterback Michael Conforto orchestrated a nice opening drive and capped it with a one-yard run for a 7-0 lead.

On Issaquah’s first drive, linebacker Clemente Signoretty recovered a fumbled snap as the Mustangs led 7-0 after the first quarter.

“We had some great momentum early with that nice drive to start the game, it was a good first half,” Pluschke said.

But in the end, the game became the “Bergman and Co.” show.

The Eagles ended up not needing star running back Grant Gellatly, who played briefly in the first half before getting a chance to rest a nagging hamstring injury.

Wide receiver Evan Peterson caught 11 of Bergman’s passes for 229 yards, including touchdowns of 30, 54 and 79 yards, the latter coming on a third-and-8 desperation pass midway through the third quarter.

“They were bringing a lot of people and playing single coverage, and we had some guys that could get open one-on-one,” explained Issaquah coach Chris Bennett. “(Redmond) did a good job of putting pressure on him early, but we changed up some pass protection stuff in the second half and gave him a lot of time to throw.”

PASSIVE AGGRESSION

Pluschke, during a pre-game interview, told the Reporter that his team would have to play a physical game against the defending Class 4A state runnerups, but the Eagles’ decision to focus on the passing game made it difficult for the Mustangs to display their newfound tenacity.

“In spots, we were aggressive,” Pluschke said. “They didn’t run the ball until the very end of the game, we had a situation where we had a lot of our young kids in the game and they were running the ball fairly successfully. With the speed of the game, some of our young kids aren’t as ready for it as others.”

A bright spot for the Mustangs was the fact they forced three turnovers. In addition to Signoretty’s fumble recovery in the first quarter, T.J. Long hit Bergman hard for a sack in the second quarter at midfield, knocking the ball loose for a Redmond recovery, and in the third quarter, Signoretty again recovered the ball for the Mustangs on a fumble after a tackle.

“We’re our own worst enemy sometimes with turnovers and everything… we gotta clean that up,” Bennett admitted. “We know what good playoff football is about, having made that run last year, and we know the type of team we want to be. If we clean some things up, we can be a pretty good team at times.”

Although the final score didn’t indicate how competitive the the Mustangs were against the Eagles, Pluschke acknowledged that the Mustangs could not stop Bergman and Co.

“They did a lot of great things offensively that we couldn’t control, and we didn’t have an answer for it tonight,” he said.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

Coming off back-to-back losses to Newport and Issaquah, one would think that the Mustangs would get a bit of a break going into Thursday’s matchup against the Garfield Bulldogs, who are a combined 1-17 over the previous two football seasons, and 0-3 in league play this year.

But Pluschke knows better than to take a hungry team for granted, especially on their home turf.

“There’s no break at all. They throw the ball really well, and obviously with our deficiency in the passing game tonight, it’s something we’re going to have to go to work on,” Pluschke noted. “They’re looking to get a fresh win off of an Eastside team. They’re hungry, they want to feel what it’s like to win again, so I’m expecting their very best game. I’m preparing for them just as I would any other team, because they’re just as dangerous with the athletes they have on the field.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. this Thursday night at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.