Two schools, one district, one Berry Bowl trophy … that’s been the storyline between the Marysville Getchell High School Chargers and Marysville Pilchuck High School Tomahawks for more than a decade. And since 2022, the Tomahawks have outplayed their cross-town rivals 87-33.
But this was a new year, and both squads entered the game on Friday, Sept. 26 at Quil Ceda Stadium with 0-3 records. So, if there was one game either team won all season, it was this matchup.
After interceptions, failed extra-point attempts and several lead changes, Pilchuck was victorious for another consecutive year, narrowly escaping with a 34-27 win.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We fought adversity coming into it,” said Tomahawks senior fullback Logan Gardner, who tallied three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving), including the game-winning score. “We were down by second half, and we went into that locker room, talked through it (and) made that step up.”
Pilchuck received the ball first, and on the opening series, Getchell senior defensive back Levi Rooks intercepted Tomahawks junior quarterback Zxavier Rodriguez’s pass, eventually leading to Chargers junior running back Connor Conant’s 1-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Pilchuck junior fullback Nicolas Hill followed with a 3-yard touchdown toward the beginning of the second quarter, but Getchell stopped the Tomahawks on a bad snap during the extra-point attempt to maintain the 7-6 lead.
The Chargers then went on offense, but what comes around goes around in the Berry Bowl, and Pilchuck junior defensive end James Fischer intercepted Getchell junior quarterback Brody Olsen’s pass on third down. But that didn’t prove to be too costly since the Tomahawks punted and gave the Chargers the ball back with less than five minutes remaining in the half. After a series of plays, Olsen drove in a 1-yard score on fourth down to make it 14-6 entering halftime.
Getchell received the ball to start the third quarter but eventually turned it over after not converting on fourth down. Rodriguez later connected with Gardner on a 13-yard pass for a touchdown, and Hill pushed through the pile to secure the two-point conversion, tying the game 14-14 with less than 1:30 remaining in the third quarter.
The Chargers later punted, and Pilchuck tallied its first lead of the night after Gardner’s 40-yard run and a successful extra point for a 21-14 advantage. But not more than two minutes later, Olsen rushed for 21 yards to tie it once again, 21-21, with 9:46 remaining.
Hill followed by bulldozing his way for a 9-yard score on fourth down to put the Tomahawks up 27-21 with 4:18 remaining, but a failed extra point put Getchell a touchdown and an extra point away from handing Pilchuck its first Berry-Bowl loss.
The Chargers received the kickoff and marched down the field with a series of plays. With 1:08 remaining, Olsen connected with senior wide receiver Kaleb Christy on an 18-yard pass to even the score 27-27. But after the ball was hiked on special teams, Gardner and Tomahawks junior defensive back Adrian Baker broke through the line and blocked the extra point, making the home crowd explode in cheers and leaving the Getchell sideline stunned.
After Pilchuck received the ball and completed a few plays, Gardner took the handoff from the Tomahawks’ 34-yard line, and as he found the hole in the Chargers’ defense, he took the pigskin all the way to the end zone for a 34-27 lead.
Getchell had 27 seconds to tie the game. Senior Samuel Trofimchik returned the kickoff into Pilchuck territory. After two plays, an incomplete pass followed by a short completion, there was one second remaining for one final play from the 30-yard line. Olsen took the ball, turned to his left, and threw a lofted pass, but Baker called game by batting the ball down for an incompletion.
To watch the full livestream, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVqLuL3WvAk.
In addition to an exciting 2025 Berry Bowl, our very own Landyn Olson has served as the wide receiver coach for the Chargers this season, so we were happy to watch him in his element away from the office!
Getchell travels to Oak Harbor and Pilchuck is at home against Archbishop Murphy on Friday, Oct. 3. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
