SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Lakewood’s defense simply had no answer for bruising running back Codey Pittis.
And the typically high-powered Cougars couldn’t muster anything on offense.
Pittis rumbled for 202 yards and three touchdowns as Sedro-Woolley rolled to a 41-0 win over 10th-ranked Lakewood in a Northwest Conference showdown Friday night at Sedro-Woolley High School.
The blowout loss spoiled a chance for the Cougars to clinch the Northwest Conference’s top seed.
The loss dropped Lakewood (6-2 overall, 4-1 NWC) into a three-way tie atop the conference standings with Sedro-Woolley and Burlington-Edison. The three teams have each gone 1-1 against the other two, meaning there is no head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Cougars can still secure a share of the NWC title by beating Bellingham in next week’s regular-season finale. It would be Lakewood’s first league title since winning the Cascade Conference in 2013.
“We’ll learn from this one,” Cougars coach Dan Teeter said. “We’ve got to rally up and get ready for Bellingham next week. We’ve still got a chance to hang a banner if we take care of business.
“These ones hurt,” he added. “They’re no fun for you. But we were in good enough position coming in that we still have an opportunity to win a share of a league title.”
Sedro-Woolley (5-3, 4-1) scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions to build a 27-0 second-quarter lead.
Pittis, a junior, averaged 8.8 yards per carry behind the Cubs’ powerful offensive line. Speedy senior Davis Mihelich added 159 total yards and two long touchdowns, scoring on a 72-yard reception and a 53-yard run.
“They just beat us up front,” Teeter said. “They got movement up front. We were conscious of (Mihelich) — he’s a good player. And (Pittis) was the guy tonight for them. They’ve got a few guys. They spread it around pretty well.”
Lakewood entered the game averaging 34.3 points per contest, but the Cougars’ high-powered offense mustered just 175 total yards against Sedro-Woolley.
Lakewood senior quarterback Austin Lane, who entered the night as Snohomish County’s leading passer, had thrown 25 touchdown passes and just three interceptions heading into the contest.
But Sedro-Woolley picked off Lane three times, with each interception coming on a long downfield pass. Lakewood committed four turnovers, including three in the first half.
Lane was sacked four times in the first half.
“They got pressure with not sending blitzers,” Teeter said. “They rushed three and they were better up front than we were, so they were dropping eight.
“And we didn’t take what was there all the time, which normally we’ve been doing that really well this year. We tried to force some things, and it caused some turnovers.”
After intercepting Lane on the game’s second play from scrimmage, Sedro-Woolley marched downfield with a heavy dose of Pittis.
Pittis rushed eight times for 60 yards on the Cubs’ opening drive, with most of his carries going up the middle into the teeth of Lakewood’s defense. Pittis capped the 13-play, 72-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead.
On the Cubs’ next possession, Mihelich burst around the left edge and sprinted for a 53-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Pittis highlighted Sedro-Woolley’s third drive with a tackle-breaking 29-yard run, carrying several Lakewood defenders for the final 10 to 15 yards. Two plays later, Pittis powered into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown that stretched the Cubs’ lead to 20-0 midway through the second quarter.
Sedro-Woolley then got the ball right back after intercepting another deep pass from Lane. On the ensuing play, Mihelich hauled in a short pass and sprinted for a 72-yard score that extended the margin to 27-0.
Pittis added a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and junior Andrew Sager rushed for a 4-yard score in the fourth to make it 41-0 and put the running clock into effect.
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