Ailing Lake Stevens takes on Marysville Pilchuck tonight

The Lake Stevens football team had a tough opening night, losing to Glacier Peak 42-31 for its first regular-season loss in nearly two years.

This past week of practice wasn’t much easier on the Vikings.

Two of Lake Stevens key players and leaders, Andrew Elgaen and Conner Coleman, either suffered an injury or reaggravated an injury in practice this week. Elgaen hurt his thumb and elbow during Friday’s game and reaggravated the injury in practice and Coleman hurt his shoulder on Wednesday.

“We’re pretty banged up,” said Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri. “I think they’ll both play but I’m not sure how they’ll be affected.”

For a look at this week’s picks by Herald staff, KRKO’s Tom Lafferty and GameTime Video Production’s Tony Soper, click here

It’s not a good week to be short-handed as Marysville Pilchuck, which knocked around Arlington 42-14 in its season opener, comes to town. The game is The Herald’s Game of the Week.

After watching tape of the Tomahawks’ win, Tri said he was impressed.

“Their offensive line is really strong and looks like it’s in (midseason) form,” Tri said. “They really get off the ball well and keep their pad level low. They’re really impressive.”

Lake Stevens quarterback Gavin O’Neil struggled in his first game as Vikings signal-caller, going 9-for-24 for 97 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Jacob Eason, who stands 6-foot-2, relieved O’Neil late in the game and threw for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns. But Tri said there isn’t a quarterback controversy in Lake Stevens.

“Gavin will start the game, but they’ll both play,” Tri said.

If Lake Stevens wants to win its first game of the season it’ll have to stop MP’s sophomore sensation Austin Joyner, who totaled 202 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s win.

Here’s a breakdown of tonight’s games:

MARYSVILLE PILCHUCK vs. LAKE STEVENS

Where: LSHS Football Field

When: 7 p.m.

Records: Marysville Pilchuck (1-0 overall); Lake Stevens (0-1)

Key players: Marysville Pilchuck—Jake Luton, Jr., QB; Kyle Nobach, Sr., WR/DB; Austin Joyner, So., RB; Jordan Hoorn, Sr., LB; Iggy Gabov, Sr., OL/DL. Lake Stevens—Andrew Elgaen, Sr., TE/LB; Conner Coleman, Sr., WR/DB; Gavin O’Neil, Jr., QB; Brandon Johnson, Sr., G/DT; Carey Campbell, Sr., TE/DE.

Twitter: @aaronlommers

Webcast: gametimenorthwest.com

The pick: Marysville Pilchuck 31, Lake Stevens 21

SNOHOMISH vs. GLACIER PEAK

Where: Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium

When: 7 p.m.

Records: Glacier Peak (1-0 overall); Snohomish (0-1)

Breakdown: Glacier Peak came out on fire on Friday behind the play of quarterback Chris Becerra, who was named The Herald’s football player of the week. Snohomish hung early with Oak Harbor but couldn’t keep up late, losing to the Wildcats 27-3. Panthers senior RB Peter St. Marie remains sidelined with a broken tibia.

Key players: Glacier Peak—Sean Elledge, Sr., WR/DB; Quinton Dunbar, Sr., RB/WR/LB; Chris Becerra, Sr., QB; Nate Sandstrom, Sr., OT. Snohomish—Russell Crippen, Sr., RB/WR/DB; Kyle Gionet, Sr., QB; Kyle Yeoman, Sr., TE/LB; Dustin Wiseman, Sr., OL/DL; Ty Carlson, Jr., TE/DL.

Twitter: @heraldnetpreps

Radio: KXA (1520 AM)

Webcast: soundsportsnet.com

The pick: Glacier Peak 28, Snohomish 26

Help us give the Snohomish-Glacier Peak rivalry a name. Click here to vote for a name for the budding rivalry.

EDMONDS-WOODWAY vs. MOUNTLAKE TERRACE

Where: Edmonds Stadium

When: 5 p.m.

Records: Mountlake Terrace (0-1 overall); Edmonds-Woodway (1-0)

Breakdown: Edmonds-Woodway beat Everett in its season opener but lost running back Desmond Young to injury. The senior back didn’t practice much this week but wrote on Twitter that he’ll play tonight. Mountlake Terrace had trouble offensively against Stanwood, but hopes the homecoming of Edmonds Stadium remedies that.

Key players:Mountlake Terrace—Devante Downs, Jr., RB; Mason Stone, Sr., WR/DB; Beau Kennedy, Sr., QB; Quintin Barnard, Sr., WR/DB. Edmonds-Woodway—Desmond Young, Sr., RB/DB; Davis Giles, Jr., QB; Matt Cuzzetto, Sr., WR/DB; Travis Bakken, Jr., TE/DL; Theo Lebesis, Jr., TE/LB.

Twitter: @heraldnetpreps

Webcast: myedmondsnews.com/warrior-radio

Webcast: mltnews.com

The pick: Mountlake Terrace 30, Edmonds-Woodway 28

ARCHBISHOP MURPHY vs. UNIVERSITY CITY

Where: Vista Murrieta H.S., San Diego

When: 8:30 p.m.

Records: Archbishop Murphy (1-0 overall); University City (0-1)

Breakdown: First-year Archbishop Murphy head coach Bill Marsh helped schedule this game in southern California soon after he was hired. University City is the equivlant of a 4A school in Washington, but Marsh said the two football teams have approximately the same amount of players. The Wildcats moved up to No. 2 in the latest Tacoma News Tribune 2A coaches poll.

Key players: Archbishop Murphy—Alex Galgano, Sr., RB/SS; Frank Medlicott, Sr., FB/LB; Hans VanderWel, Sr., QB. University City—Marcus Avelino, Jr., RB; Alexander Simpson, Sr., RB; Dominic Lewis, So., QB; Kyle LeBlanc, Jr., WR.

The pick: University City 40, Archbishop Murphy 33

MERIDIAN vs. LAKEWOOD

Where: Lakewood H.S.

When: 7 p.m.

Records: Meridian (0-1 overall); Lakewood (1-0)

Breakdown: These two teams haven’t met since 2003 and Meridian is 10-1 all-time against Lakewood. The Trojans were in the top-10 in 1A in the TNT’s preseason poll, but fell out after losing to Burlington-Edison 42-8 in Week 1. Lakewood, meanwhile, trounced former 10th-ranked Washington and finds itself No. 5 in the latest 2A poll.

Key players:Lakewood—Justin Peterson, Sr., QB/WR/DB; Donovan Evans, Sr., RB; Brandon Stott, Sr., WR; Dylan Donahue, So., T/DE. Meridian—Relijah McMillan, Sr., WR; Max McGuinn, Sr., QB; Neal Tilbury, Sr., OL/DL.

Twitter: @ebenner83

The pick: Lakewood 47, Meridian 10

MOUNT VERNON vs. STANWOOD

Where: Stanwood H.S.

When: 7 p.m.

Records: Mount Vernon (1-0 overall); Stanwood (1-0)

Breakdown: Both of these teams are coming off of victories in their respective openers. Stanwood’s defense did a nice job shutting down Mountlake Terrace’s Devante Downs and holding the Hawks to one fourth-quarter touchdown. Mount Vernon was led by quarterback Bennett Gibson, who threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns Friday.

Key players: Stanwood—Kyle O’Donnell, Sr., OL/DL; Brian O’Donnell, Sr., TE/LB; Jake Campbell, Sr., WR; Kyle Strachan, Sr., RB. Mount Vernon—Bennett Gibson, Sr., QB; Zach Bamba, Sr., WR/DB; Ruben Fortuna, Sr., WR/DB; Micah Scott, Jr., F/LB.

Radio: KAPS (660 AM)

Webcast: kapsradio.com

The pick: Stanwood 16, Mt. Vernon 10

CASCADE vs. SHORECREST

Where: Shoreline H.S.

When: 7 p.m.

Records: Cascade (1-0 overall); Shorecrest (0-1)

Breakdown: Cascade won its first game in more than two years Friday, beating Shorewood 20-12 in first-year head coach Joe Cronin’s debut as Bruins coach. Shorecrest had a tough time against Lynnwood in its opener.

Key players: Cascade—Ryan Lukas, Sr., QB/DB; KJ Brady, Jr., WR/DB; Steven Gallardo, SR., TE/DL; Randin Crecelius, Jr., OL/DL. Shorecrest—Keegan Lockler, Sr., RB/DB; Keegan Small, Sr., RB/LB; Nick Levy, Sr., OL/DL.

The pick: Cascade 21, Shorecrest 13

OTHER GAMES

Darrington at Bridgeport, 6 p.m.; Sultan at Mount Baker, 7 p.m.; Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) at South Whidbey, 7 p.m.; King’s at Port Angeles, 7 p.m.; Woodinville vs. Mariner at Goddard Stadium, 7 p.m.; Oak Harbor at Arlington, 7 p.m.; Juanita at Monroe, 7 p.m.; Port Townsend at Coupeville, 7 p.m.; Kamiak vs. Marysville Getchell at Marysville Pilchuck H.S., 7 p.m.; Lakeside vs. Granite Falls at Hi Jewel Stadium, 7 p.m.; Jackson vs. Everett at Everett Memorial Stadium (Radio: KRKO, 1380 AM), 7 p.m.; Cedarcrest at Lake Washington, 7 p.m.; Shorewood vs. Lynnwood at Edmonds Stadium, 8 p.m.