Newport Knights offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton was beaming with pride following his team’s 37-19 loss to the Bothell Cougars in the Class 4A semifinals on Nov 29 at the Tacoma Dome.

Throckmorton, who will play football for the University of Oregon next fall, admitted his team was disappointed with the defeat, but was proud of what they accomplished before walking off the field to shake hands with Newport fans following the final game of his high school career. The Knights finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 10-3. Bothell (13-0) snapped Newport’s nine game winning streak.

“When I look back on this season, I’m not going to remember that we lost, I’m going to remember the guys that I played with. It was an incredible season and it feels good to have gotten this far,” Throckmorton said. “I’m happy knowing that I played with all of these guys for years and have a lot of great memories with them.”

Bothell bolted out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter but Newport wouldn’t go away quietly. Nick Keithley scored on a 1-yard plunge up the middle cutting Bothell’s lead to 13-7 with 8:26 left in the second quarter. The Knights tied the game at 13-13 on Thomas Day’s 6-yard touchdown run with 7:31 remaining in the second quarter. Bothell wide receiver Jackson Keming hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ross Bowers with 1:26 left in the first half, giving the Cougars a 20-13 lead at halftime. Newport responded when Day scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, cutting Bothell’s lead to 20-19 on its first offensive drive of the third quarter. The Knights never scored again. Bothell outscored Newport 17-0 in the final 19 minutes of the game to seal the victory.

Newport had five turnovers (four lost fumbles, one interception) in the game, which Bothell turned into 24 points.

Keithley said turnovers were undoubtedly the difference in the game.

“We gave Bothell a run for their money,” Keithley said. “We shot ourselves in the foot with the four turnovers or whatever it was, but never once in the game were we hanging our heads. We just kept fighting to the end. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. We didn’t get to the state championship or win tonight but we made it to the Tacoma Dome.”

The Knights potent rushing attack had 280 rushing yards in the loss to Bothell. Paul Wells had 23 carries for a team-high 130 yards on the ground. Newport head coach Drew Oliver said he was extremely proud of his football team for their effort against the undefeated Cougars.

“Our guys have got nothing to hang their heads about. Going into the game, we talked about the pain of regret and that we didn’t want to feel any regret. There is absolutely none from tonight. Our guys left everything they had out on that field,” Oliver said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com