YAKIMA -- This is the ticket William "Bill" Zero wanted, the perfect Father's Day weekend present. The Yakima Mavericks and his son, offensive lineman Ian Zero, are one win away from playing for the Evergreen Football League championship.

A chain-crew fixture since his
28-year-old son played at West Valley in the late 1990s, Bill Zero loved watching his look-a-like boy play ball. Ian Zero recalls him missing two games in his career -- both early-season Maverick contests because he won a work contest to attend the Seattle Mariners' spring training.

The day before he died of a heart attack a year ago he was at Kennewick's Lampson Stadium watching Ian Zero make his fourth semipro all-star appearance. They drove home together, talking about the game and what the center could've done better.

This was the usual routine for away games. A relationship Ian Zero described as, "not a father-and-son kind of thing, but a father-and-best friend kind of thing," ending on the cruelest of days, June 17, 2007.

Bill Zero died on Father's Day. He was 51.

"The next day I had all three of my boys and we were heading out for breakfast," Ian Zero said. "When we showed up, there was the ambulance."

Dad won't be in Zaepfel Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday to watch the Mavericks (7-1 in league, 9-1 overall) play the Okanogan County Commandos (8-1 in league) in the EFL playoff semifinals. The only visible remembrance of him this season are the stickers bearing the letters "BZ" on the back of each Maverick helmet.

But he'll have his invite. Ian Zero visited his dad's grave site in Yakima's Calvary Cemetery before every home game this season with a season ticket in hand. He uses a hole punch on the paper like the people at the gate and thinks about his dad.

"Taking the ticket helps me feel better," said Ian Zero, who once spent two years on the Washington State scout team. "It's my way of inviting him to the game."

Before this season even started, Ian Zero dedicated it to his father and the team hasn't disappointed. The Mavericks haven't been within one win of the Evergreen Bowl since their inaugural year in 2005 and almost went undefeated through the regular season.

The Blue Mountain Stars ended the winning streak at nine -- tied with the 2005 season for the best start -- as the defending EFL champs defeated Yakima 38-21 for the top seed. The Stars play host to the Tri-City Knights in the other Saturday semifinal.

Yakima will need its
6-foot-4, 310-pound center to be his usual bruising self against the league's top-ranked defense. Okanogan County benefited from a weak schedule -- not one opponent made the EFL playoffs last year -- but showed its strength with a 21-15 win against the South Sound Shockers in the first round.

South Sound was the only team to beat the Commandos during the regular season, and Yakima rallied from a 21-0 deficit for a 28-21 victory against South Sound earlier this year. Okanogan County allowed a league-low 1,166 total yards (816 against the pass, 350 against the run) against a schedule that didn't include Yakima or any of the remaining playoff teams.

"They're a good team, and the record they have says they are a good team," Yakima general manager Nathan Soptich said. "They probably have the weakest schedule, but that's the way the season was put in front of them."

The Commandos' Shawn Townsend, who was the 2006 EFL defensive MVP, led the league with 66 1/2 tackles this season. Keeping him from disrupting Yakima quarterback James Phillips will be the key Saturday.

Phillips put together one of his best seasons in three years with the Mavericks and is a finalist for the league's Offensive MVP award. EFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Ryan Wright is responsible for 714 of Phillips' 2,286 yards passing and caught 11 of his 24 touchdown passes.

Defensive backs also can't key on one receiver with Alex Mahre averaging 15.9 yards per catch with six TDs. If Yakima has one weakness, the running game hasn't gotten going in the pass-first offense -- Jesse Cardenas is the top rusher with only 257 yards.

What the Mavericks did benefit from was a first-round bye. Soptich said every starter is healthy except linebacker Ryan Evers, whose season is done because of a knee injury.

Ian Zero likes his team's chances, especially coming off the Blue Mountain loss. He said the only way this experience would improve would be the sight of his father working the chains on the sideline Saturday.

"I can't picture it any better," he said.