Cashmere triumphs over Cascade in Pear Bowl

The Pear Bowl of 2016 saw Cashmere win against the Cascade Kodiaks 35-34 in a very close, intense game.
This year's Pear Bowl on Friday, October 13 was an equally great game with two very good teams pitted up against each other.
Being the 22nd year that Coach Phil Zukowski has taken part in the annual Pear Bowl, this also happens to be Zukowski's last year as Cashmere's head coach.
"Rivalry games are just amazing," Zukowski said. "They make it so much fun. That's probably another one of the reasons that I kept coaching so long, because I love the big games. I love the rivalry games. You can see the difference in intensity everywhere."
The exciting game saw Shane McCormick make three touchdowns and Kross Knoll have a kickoff return for a touchdown just after Cascade scored.
"That changed the momentum of the game," Zukowski said.
At the end of the game, the Bulldogs ran off the field with the winning score of 29-6.
When the Bulldogs won and held up the trophy, it was a huge relief for Zukowski.
"Knowing it was my last Pear Bowl, it was a relief to know my boys did it."
The most memorable part of the game is, and has always been, seeing the smiles on his players' faces as they crowd together to hold up the Pear Bowl trophy.
According to Zukowski, it never matters what the opposing teams' scores were for their season. When they met each other on the field they were facing off as equals.
"It never mattered what our records were," Zukowski said. "It was always going to be a good game."
The hardest part about Pear Bowl, to Zukowski, is knowing that both teams always bring forth their best effort to the game and that anything can happen on the field.
"That's the beauty of a rivalry game," Zukowski said.
All of the players on the offensive line were crucial to the evening's win Zukowski stated.
"I don't want to name them all as they play as a unit," Zukowski said. "They did a great job, and our defensive ends were incredible."
There are many memories that Zukowski has of past Pear Bowl games, including one year when the game was played while the temperature was in the teens and decreased down to the single digits.
"It was as cold as it gets," Zukowski said.
That was during the time Jack McMillan was the head coach for the boys.
"He was a great coach- a fantastic coach," Zukowski said.
Shane McCormick was selected for this year's 'Pear of the Game' at the end of the night.
"He (McCormick) was doing the things that I had him do at the right times," Zukowski said.
Zukowski joined his boys in rejoicing after the big, epic win on Friday, October 13, ending his Pear Bowl days on a very happy note.
"It's a big win," Zukowski said. "It's a big rivalry and a hard hitting game with two good football teams playing each other. It was fun."
Zukowski is very pleased with his boys and their hard work that night.
"As quoting Dale Jones (an assistant coach), this game is not about bragging rights, it's about living rights," Zukowski said. "Living in this valley, it is about living rights."