EDMONDS — It wasn’t pretty, but in the end Edmonds-Woodway’s offense lived up to the potential it showed during its opening drive and its defense played solid all night, shutting out Mountlake Terrace in a 35-0 nonleage win.
The Warriors opened with three first downs in their first four plays on the way to a quick touchdown and it looked like they might win in a runaway, but the Hawks defense tightened.
“We had a little momentum early,” said Edmonds-Woodway head coach John Gradwohl. “They got it back. They just get after it up front, they make it difficult. Kids don’t stay blocked very long.”
After Junior Opoku-Mensah’s 22-yard touchdown things slowed way down. The Warriors still seemed to be playing better offensively, putting together another long drive in the first quarter, but a turnover on the Hawks’ 1-yard line kept it 7-0.
Mountlake Terrace fought its way out, but couldn’t score either and eventually pinned the Warriors with a punt that went out of bounds at their own 1-yard line. Then Edmonds-Woodway began a long, ugly drive, fraught with penalties that took most of the second quarter just to reach Hawks territory.
“I feel like we should have played at a little higher level and taken advantage of some things we didn’t,” said Gradwohl, calling Mountlake Terrace the sort of team that is always one or two plays away from jumping right back into the game.
Just when it looked like the half would end where it started, at 7-0, Davis Giles was able to find Scott Myricks for a 41-yard touchdown and all the frustration was worth it for the Warriors.
The second half was all Edmonds-Woodway, and the Hawks didn’t do themselves any favors by giving up three interceptions. The turnovers cost them as the Warriors added three more touchdowns. Two of them were Opoku-Mensah runs, bringing his total to three. He finished the night with 21 carries for 161 yards.
“(Junior) runs low, reads the holes really well and runs hard,” Gradwohl said. “He’s just solid. If the guys block, you can count on him getting the job done.”
The Hawks made a final push to avoid the shutout, including a 33-yard run by Chance Ragsdale, who had 19 carries for 91 yards, but nothing materialized.
With the win, Edmonds-Woodway has shut out Everett and Mountlake Terrace in consecutive weeks to begin the season.
At Edmonds District Stadium
M. Terrace0000—0
Edmonds-Woodway77147—35
EW—Opoku-Mensah 22 run (Ebrima kick)
EW—Myricks 41 pass from Giles (Ebrima kick) EW—Opoku-Mensah 6 run (Ebrima kick)
EW—Opoku-Mensah 6 run (Ebrima kick)
EW—Rheinford 32 interception return (Ebrima kick)
Records—Mountlake Terrace 0-2 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 2-0.
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