Terrace beats Capital 14-7, advances to Class 3A state football playoffs
Published 6:54 pm Saturday, November 8, 2014
OLYMPIA — For the first time in school history, Mountlake Terrace is headed to the state football playoffs.
Ryan Lacasse scored two touchdowns as Mountlake Terrace defeated Capital 14-7 in a 3A Quad District playoff game at Ingersoll Stadium on Saturday.
The Hawks (8-2) play Marysville-Pilchuck (9-1) in a first-round state playoff game next weekend.
“We knew that this game was our chance — our first playoff win ever in school history,” Terrace quarterback Justin Hopkins said. “We all wanted it and knew we had to play the best game we could.”
Lacasse scored on touchdown runs of 6 yards in the first quarter and 36 yards in the third quarter.
Capital’s Sean Morris said the Cougars, seeking their sixth state playoff berth over the past eight seasons, didn’t play to their full potential on Saturday.
“It didn’t seem like we had the will and the want,” Morris said.
The Cougars’ season ends at 7-3 one game shy of state.
Morris, who had a pair of catches for 47 yards, couldn’t pinpoint a reason for the team’s lack of focus. Maybe it was a rare Saturday afternoon start, but Cougars’ coach J.D. Johnson said he could see “a strange look” in his players’ eyes.
“Sometimes,” Johnson said, “you can’t overcome that once the mood is set.”
It’s not as though the Cougars didn’t have chances — they had plenty, particularly two red-zone drives that failed to produce points, including turning the ball over on downs at the Terrace 13 in the fourth quarter.
Capital, which had allowed just 10.7 points per game entering Saturday’s game, couldn’t stop the Hawks in the fourth quarter when the Cougars needed the ball.
A 12-yard reception by Lacasse on a third-down play produced one first down.
“I think that deflated the defense a little bit,” Johnson said of the Hawks’ third-and-10 completion.
Lacasse ran four yards on a fourth-and-1 with 2:44 to play that sealed Mountlake Terrace’s win.
At Ingersoll Stadium
Mountlake Terrace 7 0 7 0 — 14
Capital 7 0 0 0 — 7
M—Ryan Lacasse 6 run (Melchor kick)
C—Cody Jenkins 4 run (Van Soderberg kick)
M—Lacasse 36 run (Melchor kick)
Records—Mountlake Terrace 8-2 overall. Capital 7-3.
