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Week 5 prep football notebook: Thrilling finishes, stars

Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 29, 2018

By Cameron Van Til Herald Writer and Herald Staff

Week 5 prep football notebook: Thrilling finishes, stars
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Week 5 prep football notebook: Thrilling finishes, stars
Mariner’s Prince Riley stretches before the game against Jackson on Friday in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Kasen Kinchen and five-time defending Wesco 4A champion Lake Stevens hosts Glacier Peak in a showdown of unbeatens Friday night. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Week 5 of the local prep football season was highlighted by several thrilling finishes that came down to the final play, including a pair of overtime contests.

Here’s a look back at Friday night’s riveting action, and a look ahead at what’s to come.

PANTHERS BEAT SHORECREST IN OT THRILLER

Snohomish watched its three-touchdown lead evaporate and was trailing late in the fourth quarter after its star running back suffered an ankle injury.

Still, the Panthers weren’t fazed.

Senior tailback Tyler Massena returned from injury to score the go-ahead and game-winning touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a thrilling 33-27 win over Shorecrest on Friday night at Shoreline Stadium.

“Sometimes you feel like the world is against you (and) the tide is against you,” Snohomish coach Joey Hammer said. “But you just got to believe and know that if you do your role, good things will come from it.

“Our boys never wavered, and things went wrong for a while. But we rallied together. It brought us together tighter, and it was absolutely beautiful.”

Shorecrest rallied from a 21-0 first-quarter deficit with 24 straight points to take a three-point lead with 4:20 to play. Then after Massena rushed for a go-ahead 5-yard touchdown to give Snohomish a 27-24 edge with 47 seconds left, the Scots sent the game to overtime with a 40-yard field goal by sophomore Gavin Dalziel as regulation expired.

Following a missed Shorecrest field goal on the first overtime possession, Massena plowed into the end zone for a game-winning 1-yard touchdown run. The 5-foot-7 standout finished with 172 yards rushing and five touchdown runs on 20 carries, and also caught four passes for 84 yards.

The victory left Snohomish (3-2 overall, 3-0 Wesco 3A South) in control of its own destiny in the league-title race. The Panthers are the only remaining unbeaten team in Wesco 3A South play.

It was the second consecutive loss for Shorecrest (3-2, 2-2), which opened the season 3-0 for the first time since 2005.

CHARGERS TOP ARLINGTON ON GAME-WINNING FIELD GOAL

Sophomore kicker Cameron Hazelwood drilled a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give Marysville Getchell a 17-14 victory over visiting Arlington.

Senior quarterback Caleb Koellmer led the Chargers downfield on a five-play, 76-yard drive to set up Hazelwood’s last-second field goal. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback carried the ball 30 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns, but was able to make plays with his arm on the final drive.

“We thought if Caleb could run the ball like that, we weren’t going to pass that much to start with,” Marysville Getchell coach Davis Lura said. “We saved some stuff in case we had to open it up at the end, and I think we caught them off guard a little bit with some stuff that we hadn’t shown yet.”

Starting in place of injured Arlington standout quarterback Anthony Whitis and facing an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit, sophomore backup Cole Cramer threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to senior Dylan Simmons with 1:25 to play. The Eagles then converted the ensuing two-point attempt to tie the game at 14-14 before Koellmer engineered the Chargers’ game-winning drive.

It was the second conference victory of the season for Marysville Getchell (2-3 overall, 2-2 Wesco 3A North), which went winless in league play each of the previous two years.

With the loss, Arlington (3-2, 2-2) fell into a tie with the Chargers in a crowded pack of teams in the Wesco 3A North standings.

MARAUDERS BEAT JACKSON ON LAST-MINUTE GAME-WINNER

Junior receiver Roman Savchuk hauled in a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining to lift Mariner to a 25-20 win over visiting Jackson on Friday night.

The game-winner came on a perfectly thrown fade pass from sophomore Jackson Cole, who started at quarterback for the Marauders (2-3 overall, 2-1 Wesco 4A) in place of injured junior Denis Biryuk.

“He’s a pretty cool cat for a sophomore and a guy that hasn’t played a lot of varsity football,” Mariner coach Mark Stewart said. “He’s got a good athletic sense, so he can learn quickly.”

Jackson (3-2, 1-2) drove downfield and lofted a desperation pass toward the end zone on the game’s final play. Timberwolves receiver Garrett Holden hauled in the pass, but was out of bounds to the right of the end zone when he made the catch.

“All I saw was the dude catch the ball and was praying he was out of bounds,” Savchuk said. “(I was) happy. I had to do a backflip after.”

SOUTH WHIDBEY EDGES SULTAN IN WILD OT FINISH

South Whidbey stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt to earn a thrilling 21-20 overtime win over host Sultan on Friday night in the North Sound Conference opener for both teams.

With the game tied 14-14 on the first overtime possession, the Falcons had the ball on the Turks’ 6-yard line when a crazy sequence took place.

In a near-disaster for South Whidbey (4-1 overall, 1-0 North Sound Conference), the ensuing snap went over quarterback Kody Newman’s head and all the way back to the 25-yard line. Unfazed, the senior picked up the ball, rolled to his right to avoid pressure and heaved a pass toward the end zone.

The ball bounced off a Sultan defender’s helmet and into the hands of Falcons sophomore receiver Kaidyn Brinks at the 1-yard line. Brinks then fought his way into the end zone for the score and South Whidbey converted the extra point for a 21-14 lead.

On the ensuing Sultan possession, the Turks (1-4, 0-1) scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior Jensen Webster to sophomore Riley Rudolfo. Sultan tried to win the game by going for a two-point conversion, but South Whidbey stopped Webster short of the goal line as he tried to escape pressure in the pocket.

It was the first conference victory for the Falcons since October 2014, ending a 13-game league losing streak dating back to its time in the since-disbanded Cascade Conference. South Whidbey played an independent schedule last year before rejoining Sultan and other former Cascade Conference foes this season in the brand-new North Sound Conference.

WEEK 5 STARS

Ayden Ziomas, sr., Glacier Peak

The dual-threat quarterback continued his stellar season by accounting for six touchdowns in the Grizzlies’ rout of Cascade. Ziomas completed 15 of 24 passes for 212 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 105 yards and two scores on six attempts.

Seth Tercero, sr., Mount Vernon

Tercero rushed for 236 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in the Bulldogs’ win over Monroe.

Landon Edwards, sr., Mount Vernon

Edwards ran for 144 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries in the Bulldogs’ win over Monroe.

Gio Fregoso, jr., Monroe

Fregoso completed 21 of 27 passes for 378 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the Bearcats’ loss to Mount Vernon.

Efton Chism III, jr., Monroe

Chism III had six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the Bearcats’ loss to Mount Vernon. The two-way standout also intercepted his fourth pass of the season on defense.

Trey Lane, soph., Monroe

Lane caught five passes for 170 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown and a 69-yard reception, in the Bearcats’ loss to Mount Vernon.

Josiah Pesterkoff, jr., Mariner

Pesterkoff rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and also had a 51-yard reception in the Marauders’ win over Jackson.

Roman Savchuk, jr. Mariner

Savchuk hauled in two touchdown receptions, including a 37-yard game-winner in the final minute, to help lift the Marauders over Jackson.

Capassio Cherry, sr., Edmonds-Woodway

Cherry rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries in the Warriors’ rout of Lynnwood.

Tyler Massena, sr., Snohomish

Massena returned from a third-quarter ankle injury and finished with 172 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 20 carries, including the go-ahead and game-winning scores to lift the Panthers to an overtime win over Shorecrest. He also had four catches for a team-high 84 yards.

Caleb Koellmer, sr., Marysville Getchell

Koellmer engineered a five-play, 76-yard drive to set up a game-winning field goal in the Chargers’ last-second win over Arlington. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries and completed 13 of 19 passes for 113 yards.

Caden Leckelt, soph., Oak Harbor

Leckelt rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries in the Wildcats’ win over Ferndale.

Trenton Hurst, sr., Marysville Pilchuck

Hurst rushed for 189 yards on 33 carries in the Tomahawks’ win over Stanwood.

Dillon Kuk, jr., Marysville Pilchuck

Kuk made the most of limited chances in the passing game, hauling in three catches for 83 yards and three touchdowns in the Tomahawks’ win over Stanwood.

Cedar Park Christian running backs

Zach Wilkins and Brandon Parrish both topped 100 yards rushing, combining for 248 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries in the Eagles’ win over Granite Falls.

Davis Campbell, jr., King’s

Campbell intercepted two passes and had 75 yards receiving on six catches in the Knights’ win over Coupeville.

Josiah Seirs, sr., King’s

Seirs rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in the Knights’ win over Coupeville.

NEXT WEEK’S BIG GAMES

Glacier Peak at Lake Stevens, 7 p.m. Friday: The Vikings and Grizzlies collide in a showdown of unbeatens that could potentially determine the Wesco 4A title. Five-time defending conference champion Lake Stevens outscored Glacier Peak by a combined 117-17 margin the past two seasons, but the senior-laden Grizzlies enter this year’s matchup having outscored their first five opponents by an average of 36.4 points per game.

Oak Harbor at Arlington, 7 p.m. Friday: The Wesco 3A North rivals have squared off in thrilling contests each of the past two seasons. Last year, Oak Harbor prevailed in a defensive slugfest for a 13-7 triple-overtime win. Two years ago, the Wildcats rallied for a 22-21 victory after blocking a punt in the final minute to set up a touchdown and game-winning two-point conversion.

Marysville Getchell at Marysville Pilchuck, 7 p.m. Friday: The Tomahawks have dominated this crosstown rivalry, winning all six editions of the Berry Bowl by 21 points or more. But with Marysville Getchell coming off a win over Arlington and sitting at 2-2 in league play, this year’s rivalry matchup carries plenty of intrigue and pits two teams in a crowded race for Wesco 3A North postseason spots.

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