Lakewood football team tramples B-E Tigers 55-0

Published 11:44 pm Friday, November 4, 2011

MARYSVILLE — Bend don’t break.

Some people mock the defensive strategy that allows a team to gain yards in small chunks and drive down the field before the defense stiffens with its back to the goal line to keep the opponent off the scoreboard. They say it’s too conservative.

Tell that to the Lakewood football team’s defense, which started the game that way in its 2A playoff tilt with Burlington-Edison Friday night at Dick Cardinal Stadium. The Cougars ended up winning in a 55-0 romp.

The Tigers took the opening kick and ran the ball down the Cougars’ throats, driving 59 yards on 10 running plays, but the drive stalled on fourth-and-2 from the 3-yard line and the Tigers never so much as sniffed the end zone again.

“It took us a little bit to get up to their speed,” Lakewood coach Dan Teeter said. “Once we did, the kids read their keys and came up and played physical defense. I couldn’t be more proud. (Defensive coordinator Mitch) Robbins has done a phenomenal job with the defense.”

For Burlington-Edison, stalling on the opening drive was essentially the end of the game. “That just mentally took us out of it when we got held there,” B-E coach Bruce Shearer said.

On the other side of the ball, the B-E defense stopped Lakewood just once before the subs took over in the fourth quarter. Lakewood led 41-0 midway through the third quarter when the game went to a running clock.

Lakewood running back Donovan Evans carried the ball 25 times for a school-record 299 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Justin Petersen broke the school record for touchdowns in a season (previously 22), scoring three times on the ground to give him 23 TDs. He also threw for a score. The junior quarterback racked up 150 yards on the ground, but didn’t get much chance to throw with just four attempts.

“I wasn’t sad that we ran,” Petersen said with a smile. “We were having success running.”

The result was a far cry from a year ago when the Tigers destroyed Lakewood 43-12 in the same location in the same round of the playoffs.

“Last year they came in here and put it to us, like we were hurting, but this year I think we did the opposite to them,” Petersen said.

The difference was on the line of scrimmage and Evans said he didn’t see such a rout coming.

“No, I honestly didn’t,” the junior running back said. “The line completely stepped up tonight and were dominating up front.”

The Cougars played without their Oregon State-bound tight end, Dustin Stanton, the team’s leading receiver, but his presence wouldn’t have affected this outcome. Lakewood completed only one pass — a 31-yard TD throw by Peterson to Brandon Stott. Before the game Stanton saw the end result coming.

“I love these guys,” Stanton said wearing his game jersey over sweats. “They are such a good team they can be fine without me.”

Stanton suffered a partial tear of a ligament in his left foot in the Cedarcrest game Oct. 21 and said he expects to miss four weeks. The way the Cougars played Friday gave him hope that his high school football career isn’t over. He certainly will miss next week’s state playoff game against Lindbergh, but thinks he might be ready for the state quarterfinals the following week. “I’ll get back out there for sure,” he said.

That said, the Cougars aren’t looking past any opponents.

“We don’t underestimate any teams anymore,” Evans said. “We just go and try to work hard all week. Earlier this season we underestimated King’s (Lakewood’s only loss). They showed us that you can’t.”