EDMONDS — Many football fans may be doing a double take after taking a look at this week’s Western Conference 4A South Division standings.
Mountlake Terrace, a team that has won only a total of five games the last three years, has grabbed sole possession of first place with a 2-0 record, following its 35-14 victory over district rival Meadowdale Sept. 20 at Edmonds Stadium.
Eight teams are tied for second place with 1-1 marks.
The Hawks went to the air early and often, overwhelming the Meadowdale defense with their multiple sets and speedy receivers.
Junior quarterback Brian Ellersick, who was pulled out of the game with about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, completed 22 of 31 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for 340 yards in the first half.
Ellersick’s favorite target was wide receiver Brian Hoffman, who caught six passes for 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Mavericks had no answer for the Hawks’ aerial assault.
“If they double team one guy, the other guy is open,” Ellersick said. “We just kept our heads up and just kept on pushing down the field.”
The Mountlake Terrace offense executed its game plan to near perfection, according to coach Alex Barashkoff.
“Our quarterback and receivers just did an excellent job,” he said. “We’re going to make people stop the pass. They (Mavericks) are not used to open sets. This is a pretty aggressive offense … we’ve got five receivers across and which one are they going to cover? We’re going to make people have to work really hard.”
Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart admitted that his team wasn’t ready for the Hawks’ passing game.
“We didn’t get our kids ready. That’s my fault,” Stewart said. “Their kids were coming out and making plays and we were just misaligned and they took advantage of us. We’ve got to do a better job of getting our kids ready.
“They caught us a little bit off guard.”
As impressive as the Mountlake Terrace offense was, Barashkoff also praised his defense’s effort, especially in shutting down the Mavericks’ running game. The Hawks’ plan going in was to contain Meadowdale running back Kyle Duffy.
In last year’s encounter, Duffy scotched Mountlake Terrace for 242 yards and five touchdowns. This time the Hawks were able to keep Duffy out of the end zone and limited him to 20 yards on 14 carries.
“We made sure we keyed on him,” Barashkoff said. “We know, though, that if we stop (the run) they’re going to have to throw the ball and they’re not a throwing a team, so we stopped Duffy. That was our goal.”
Stewart felt his offensive unit was flat throughout the game.
“We just didn’t go out and get after them like we should have,” he said. “We just didn’t come off the ball like I expected us to.”
Mountlake Terrace’s Ronald Stiell-Williams scored on a 1-yard run and Ellersick found wide receiver Brian Hoffman on a 35-yard touchdown pass to give the Hawks a 14-0 first quarter lead. Ellersick then found Hoffman on a 80-yard scoring strike in early in the second quarter.
Meadowdale’s Nate Pirak broke free on a 46-yard touchdown run with 5:46 to go in the first half. The Hawks responded with another scoring drive, culminated by a 5-yard run by Stiell-Williams as Mountlake Terrace went into halftime with a 28-7 advantage.
Mountlake Terrace’s Preston Dohney scored on a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give the Hawks a 35-7 lead. Meadowdale quarterback Eric Marty found Pirak on a 18-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring.
The Hawks’ opening week victory over Lynnwood gave the players added motivation and a second victory will only pump up the players more, according to Ellersick.
“We worked a little bit harder this week just to prep (for) this game,” he said. “Now we’ve got a good thing going. We’ve got to work extra hard … and prepare for Mariner. Our opponents just get better and better as we go out, so we’ve got to work a little bit harder.”
At Edmonds Stadium
Meadowdale 0 7 7 0 — 14
Mtl. Terrace14 14 0 7 — 35
MLT—Stiell-Williams 1 run (Bang kick)
MLT—Hoffman 35 pass from Ellersick (Bang kick)
MLT—Hoffman 80 pass from Ellersick (Bang kick)
M—Pirak 46 run (Baker kick)
MLT—Stiell-Williams 5 run (Bang kick)
MLT—Doheney 2 run (Bang kick)
M—Pirak 18 pass from Marty (Baker kick)
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