Lakewood football team advances to state quarterfinals

Published 11:31 pm Friday, November 11, 2011

MARYSVILLE — It was a night of overpowering offense and dominating defense for Lakewood on Friday night, and when it was over the Cougars had rolled to a 43-13 Class 2A playoff victory over Lindbergh to advance to the state football quarterfinals.

Led by the one-two punch of running backs Donovan Evans and Christian Melton, Lakewood pounded the visiting Eagles on the ground. Evans, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior, totaled 219 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, and Melton, a 5-9, 217-pound senior, tacked on 174 yards on 21 carries with another two touchdowns.

Defensively, Lakewood spotted the Eagles a touchdown on their opening possession, but from there the Cougars’ defense shut down the visitors the rest of the game. Lindbergh’s only other touchdown came on a 42-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” said Lakewood coach Dan Teeter, whose team improved its season mark to 10-1. “They’ve been working hard and every week they make me more proud. I couldn’t ask for a better team of guys.”

Evans ran for a 25-yard touchdown the first time he touched the ball, and he had 12 carries of double-digit yardage. His effort came one week after he ran for a school-record 332 yards in a victory over Burlington-Edison.

“If we’d been lining up in a Power-I all year, he’d probably be at 1,500 or 2,000 yards,” Teeter said of Evans. “But we’ve done some different things in the last couple of weeks and he’s gotten a lot of touches. … Boy, he’s stepped up.”

Melton has seen his carries drop in recent weeks because he is often the lead blocking back for Evans. “But (Melton) has been selfless,” Teeter said. “Donovan is doing a great job and the guys in front of him are playing selfless, team-first ball.”

Teeter was concerned before the game about Lindbergh’s athleticism, particularly the Eagles’ team speed. “They have some phenomenal athletes,” he said. “But we got to feel them out a little bit (on the first scoring drive) … and after that we kind of did ‘Bend, but don’t break.’ And eventually their drives broke down more often than not, so it was a great effort on the defense’s part.”

Lakewood started quickly, getting a 64-yard return on the opening kickoff from Brandon Stott and needing just two plays from scrimmage to score, with Evans scoring the first of his two touchdowns. The PAT failed.

Lindbergh responded with a 10-play, 59-yard march of its own (which included two Lakewood penalties) for the tying touchdown, with the extra point also failing.

But from there the Cougars took the game in hand. Lakewood scored another touchdown later in the first period on a 2-yard Evans run, and two more TDs in the second period for a 27-6 margin at halftime.

In the second half the Cougars got a 1-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Justin Peterson — he has now scored a TD in 21 straight games — and a 35-yard field goal by place-kicker Randy Anaya for a 37-6 margin.

The Eagles scored their final touchdown by returning a Lakewood fumble, and the Cougars closed the scoring in the late minutes with Melton’s second TD of the game.

Lakewood advances to play W.F. West of Chehalis, which defeated Sequim 52-21 on Friday. Lakewood will host that quarterfinal game, with the day, time and location still to be determined.

“Each week we set new goals and we just keep achieving them,” Peterson said. “We’re the first team with 10 wins in Lakewood history today, so that’s a good accomplishment. And now we have to set more goals on Monday.”

The Cougars are one win away from the state semifinals, which means a trip to the Tacoma Dome. They are two victories away from the title game and three away from a state championship.

“But they’re focusing one game at a time,” Teeter said, “and I think that’s what you have to do at this point. Obviously we’d love to play in the Tacoma Dome (in the semis), but you can’t do that unless you win the game in front of you.”

At Lakewood H.S.

Lindbergh6007—13

Lakewood141379—43

Lakewood—Evans 25 run (kick failed)

Lindbergh—Callen 13 pass from Stuart (pass failed)

Lakewood—Evans 2 run (Peterson run)

Lakewood—Stott 39 pass from Peterson (pass failed)

Lakewood—Melton 6 run (Anaya kick)

Lakewood—Peterson 1 run (Anaya kick)

Lakewood—FG Anaya 35

Lindbergh—Butler 42 fumble return (Holt kick)

Lakewood—Melton 3 run (kick failed)

Records—Lindbergh 6-5 overall. Lakewood 10-1