EDMONDS – Lake Stevens quarterback Jacob Eason wasn’t the sharpest he’s ever been, but even Eason not as his best is still better than most anyone else.
The senior completed 12 of his 24 first-half passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns to lead Lake Stevens to a 49-21 non-league football win over Meadowdale.
“You could tell it was the first game,” Lake Stevens head coach Tom Tri said. “There was lots of mental mistakes on both sides of the ball, but I thought our guys played hard tonight. That’s half the battle right there.”
Eason missed on his first two pass attempts, but his first completion resulted in an 8-yard touchdown pass to senior Brandon Otis.
The touchdown pass seemed to get the Vikings in a rhythm on both sides of the ball. The defense forced the Mavericks into an interception and a punt and marched down the field both times to score touchdowns, both on runs by senior running back Andrew Grimes. Grimes had touchdown runs of 2 and 23 yards and finished the first half with three carries for 34 yards.
Tri said Grimes was “a little banged up” after the second touchdown run and Tri held him out for the remainder of the game, which Tri said was largely precautionary.
The Vikings appeared poised to run away with the game, but first-year head coach Matt Leonard and the Mavericks proved they’re a resilient bunch. Meadowdale got on the scoreboard with a fake punt touchdown pass from senior punter Julio Abad to senior wide receiver Nate Navlet.
Lake Stevens scored again on the following possession, this time on a 29-yard pass from Eason to Krenz, to go up 28-7, which is how the first quarter ended.
Krenz had six catches for 145 yards and one touchdown, all of which came in the first half.
Meadowdale maintained the momentum it gained with the fake-punt touchdown pass by scoring again on its next possession. Senior wide receiver Nicholas Chavez caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Drew Tingstad to cut the deficit to 14 at 28-14.
Meadowdale wouldn’t score again until late in the second half.
Eason found senior wide receiver Ian Schneider for a 5-yard touchdown – his third of the game – late in the second quarter to give the Vikings a 35-14 lead at halftime.
Eason had just 27 yards passing in the second half, finishing the game 15-for-29 with 247 yards.
“He’s played much better in the past,” Tri said. “You don’t want to say it was a bad game, because he played great. The good news is that if he plays even marginally better than he did tonight, which he is more than capable of, that’s just one more weapon that we can add to our arsenal.
Senior Asi Tupua helped the Vikings add to that lead on their first drive of the third quarter. His 28-yard touchdown run gave Lake Stevens a 42-14 lead.
Tupua rushed for 220 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns in the absence of Grimes.
“You just never know when it’s your opportunity and when it is your opportunity you make the most of it,” Tri said. “He came in tonight as a second-string running back and he was our backup defensive end. He plays the same spots that Andrew Grimes plays. When Andrew went out, Asi stepped up on both sides (of the ball).”
Tingstad found senior wide receiver Harrison White for an 86-yard touchdown pass with 5:24 to play in the game. White’s touchdown made it 42-21.
Meadowdale offensive lineman Bailey Walsh, who is one of the team’s captains, was injured on the Mavericks’ final touchdown pass. He stayed on on the field for more than 20 minutes before being taken out of the stadium on a stretcher. Walsh raised both hands as he was wheeled to an ambulance, which the crowd responded to with applause.
Tupua added his second touchdown with 46 seconds to play in the game to put the Vikings up 49-21.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Edmonds Stadium
Lake Stevens 28 7 7 7 — 49
Meadowdale 7 7 0 7 — 21
LS–Brandon Otis 8 pass from from Jacob Eason (Karsten Knutson kick)
LS–Andrew Grimes 2 run (Karsten Knutson kick)
LS–Andrew Grimes 23 run (Karsten Knutson kick)
M–Nate Navlet 66 pass from Julio Abad (Julio Abad kick)
LS–Riley Krenz 29 pass from Jacob Eason (Karsten Knutson kick)
M–Nicholas Chavez 2 pass from Drew Tingstad (Julio Abad kick)
LS–Ian Schneider 5 pass from Jacob Eason (Karsten Knutson kick)
LS–Asi Tupua 28 run (Karsten Knutson kick)
M–Harrison White 86 pass from Drew Tingstad (Julio Abad kick)
LS–Asi Tupua 1 run (Karsten Knutson kick)
Records – Lake Stevens 1-0, Meadowdale 0-1.
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