Prep football notebook: Week 6 analysis and top players
Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 6, 2018
Week 6 of the high school football season produced a handful of surprises, but none bigger than Arlington’s 48-42 overtime win over Oak Harbor.
And not just because the loss dropped the eighth-ranked Wildcats from the ranks of the unbeaten and significantly tightened the race for the Wesco 3A North title.
No, the big surprise was the creative strategy Eagles coach Greg Dailer and his team employed to win the game. They not only let the Wildcats score in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, they actually helped them score.
Here’s what happened.
With less than two minutes remaining, Oak Harbor led 35-34 and had the ball inside the Arlington 10-yard line. The Eagles tried to let the Wildcats score so they could get the ball back, but the Oak Harbor ball carrier went down before the goal line in an effort to try to run out the clock.
However, on the next play, the Arlington defense held up Oak Harbor running back Aaron Martinez and pushed him into the end zone for a touchdown. That gave the Eagles (4-2 overall, 3-2 Wesco 3A North) the ball trailing by eight points with 1:09 remaining. They proceeded to march 80 yards for a TD and the game-tying 2-point conversion.
The Eagles went on to win in overtime with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Whitis to Griffin Gardoski that sent Arlington’s sideline into a frenzy.
Arlington coach Greg Dailer from Everett Herald on Vimeo.
Whitis, who was sidelined with a possible concussion in last week’s loss to Marysville Getchell, threw for 367 yards and six touchdowns — five of them to Gardoski. The Eagles totaled 48 points against an Oak Harbor team that entered the night having allowed just 46 points combined in its first five games.
The loss dropped the Wildcats (5-1, 3-1) into a three-way tie atop the Wesco 3A North with Squalicum and Marysville Pilchuck.
Here’s a look at some other highlights from Friday night:
LAKE STEVENS EDGES GLACIER PEAK IN SHOWDOWN OF UNBEATENS
Not often in recent years have the Vikings found themselves in a four-quarter battle against league competition.
Glacier Peak gave the five-time defending conference champions a rare wire-to-wire league test Friday night, but it wasn’t quite enough to shift the balance of power in Wesco 4A.
Tyler Hilton made a pivotal end-zone interception in the opening quarter and third-ranked Lake Stevens prevailed for a 24-21 win over the visiting Grizzlies in a Wesco 4A showdown of unbeatens.
“They’re the best team we’ve played all year, and they came out swinging,” Vikings senior quarterback Tre Long said. “We just had to do what we do and keep making adjustments.
“When we get punched in the mouth, we gotta come back swinging,” he added. “And that’s what we did. We got a little adversity, (and) we came back.”
The victory extended Lake Stevens’ conference win streak to 35 games, dating back to October 2013. It was the Vikings’ first conference game decided by single digits since a three-point win over Kamiak in 2014.
With the victory, Lake Stevens gained the inside track to a sixth consecutive Wesco 4A crown. The Vikings (6-0 overall, 4-0 Wesco 4A) now own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Glacier Peak and should be heavy favorites in their remaining three conference games against Cascade, Jackson and Mariner.
“We still have three more league games left and there’s a lot left to be played, but this was a big one for sure,” Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said. “… For all intents and purposes, this was as big (of) a league game that you could have.”
For the Grizzlies, this marked a massive improvement from the previous two seasons, when they lost by a combined 117-17 margin in their two matchups against Lake Stevens. Despite falling just shy of seizing control in the Wesco 4A title race, Glacier Peak (5-1, 3-1) showed it can compete with the best.
“I think our kids did a really good job of rising to the challenge,” Grizzlies coach Nick Bender said. “They left it all out there on the field. … Our dream is still there. It’s just a little bit more difficult to get to.”
PANTHERS WIN SECOND CONSECUTIVE OT THRILLER
For the second consecutive week, Tyler Massena scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to lift Snohomish to a comeback victory.
Massena rushed for five touchdowns, including a walk-off eight-yard score, as the Panthers remained unbeaten in Wesco 3A South play with a 41-35 overtime win over visiting Edmonds-Woodway.
Snohomish (4-2 overall, 4-0 Wesco 3A South) trailed by 14 points early in the third quarter, but Panthers coach Joey Hammer said his team’s offensive and defensive lines keyed the comeback.
“Our guys up front were enforcing their will,” he said. “We kept grinding and we were committed to pounding the rock, no matter what.”
Snohomish overcame a massive performance by Edmonds-Woodway standout senior Capassio Cherry, who rushed for 329 yards and four touchdowns for the upset-minded Warriors (1-5, 1-3).
Edmonds-Woodway had the ball first in overtime and didn’t threaten to score, running a trick play that was snuffed out by the Panthers’ defense. Massena, a senior, then scored the game-winner on Snohomish’s ensuing overtime possession.
Tyler Larson led the Panthers with 192 yards rushing and one touchdown on 26 carries, and Massena added 188 yards on 25 attempts.
TERRACE EYEING 2A LAKE DIVISION TITLE
Mountlake Terrace already is seeing the benefits of moving to an all-Class 2A conference for football.
The former Wesco 3A South member routed Blaine 40-0 Friday night at Edmonds Stadium behind multi-touchdown performances from seniors Jesse James Martineau and Dominique Latham, and sophomore Jordan Sims.
The win set up Mountlake Terrace (4-2 overall, 3-0 Northwest 2A Lake Division) with a de facto division championship game next Friday when the Hawks play host to Bellingham (4-2, 3-0).
“We’re not getting overpowered by the opponents’ depth,” Hawks coach Kelly Dougan said of the effect of moving to a conference of similar-sized schools. “Everybody comes to play and all these teams are well-coached, but really it’s a numbers game. If you have 30 guys going against 60 or 70, it’s just simple math.”
Mountlake Terrace stumbled to an 0-2 start but has since rolled off four straight victories. Dougan credited the team’s turnaround to many underclassmen and a few transfer students becoming comfortable with their roles.
“They’re just getting better,” Dougan said. “They’re understanding our team and trusting their teammates and not trying to do too much and just do their job.”
Dougan added: “Our success is due to our kids caring about each other and playing for each other and supporting each other. … It’s all about the bond and all about the togetherness and caring for each other more than you care about yourself.”
Another key contributor to Terrace’s four-game surge has been its stingy defense. After allowing 60 points in their first two games, the Hawks have surrendered an average of just eight points per game.
Dougan said the team has settled on an eight-man rotation on its defensive line that has helped contribute to the defense’s recent stout performances.
Another strong showing by the Hawks’ defensive front and Mountlake Terrace could be calling itself league champion after winning just three conference games over the past two years as a member of the Wesco 3A South.
“We know it’s going to be a meaningful game,” Dougan said “… We wanna keep the train rolling and win our fifth game in a row and take the Lake Division.”
MURPHY RALLIES TO TOP LAKEWOOD
Lakewood threw everything at former Cascade Conference foe Archbishop Murphy at Terry Ennis Stadium, but the 10th-ranked Wildcats rallied for a touchdown in the final minute and punched in a two-point-conversion to escape with a wild Northwest 2A Sky victory over the Cougars.
Archbishop Murphy quarterback Victor Gabalis capped the Wildcats’ 90-yard game-winning drive with a touchdown pass to Tyrell Waverly and bulled his way in for the game-winning two-point conversion.
“We had to work our way downfield through some adversity,” Archbishop Murphy coach Jerry Jensen said. “We had a touchdown called back for a crack-back block and had a big holding call go against us, but Victor Gabalis did a great job leading the team and the kids fought through the adversity.”
Lakewood (3-3 overall, 0-3 league) led the Wildcats 21-7 at halftime and 28-20 after three quarters, powered by quarterback Jared Taylor’s playmaking.
Taylor completed 22 of 42 passes for 355 yards and threw four touchdown passes, including three to Michai Harris, who Jensen referred to as “a difference-maker.”
Harris set a Lakewood single-game record with 236 yards receiving on 12 receptions.
“Jared and Michai both made plays all over the field,” Lakewood coach Dan Teeter said. “I was real proud of the way the guys competed tonight. It definitely hurts, but you can take so much more from a loss than you can from a win. There wasn’t one play that determined this game, but we had opportunities to win it. Hopefully that gives our guys an attitude for next week that if we do certain things a little bit better, we’ll be playing our best when the playoffs hit.”
Jensen said his young team grew in front of his eyes during the second-half comeback.
“We challenged them at halftime,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t play as well as we could have in the first half and we made a lot of errors that a young team makes, but in the second half we executed. They showed that they wanted to play Wildcat football, and it might have been the first time this year that’s happened. Hopefully we can build on that.”
TOMAHAWKS RETAIN BERRY BOWL
There’s no debating which football program owns the Strawberry City.
Marysville Pilchuck has claimed the Berry Bowl, a 75-year-old wooden strawberry crate, each time it’s met Marysville Getchell. Not one game has been close. And Friday was no different.
Pilchuck raced out to a two-touchdown lead, physically dominated up front and earned a 33-3 Wesco 3A North rivalry win over Getchell at Quil Ceda Stadium.
“Our offensive line was the difference,” MP coach Brandon Carson said. “They were pretty dominant up front most of the night. We got a lot of different guys who can touch the ball, and tonight we did a really good job of establishing the run.”
WEEK 6 STARS
Capassio Cherry, sr., Edmonds-Woodway
Cherry ran all over Snohomish’s defense, rushing for 329 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries in the Warriors’ overtime loss to Snohomish.
Michai Harris, sr., Lakewood
Harris, in his first year playing organized football, set a single-game school record with 236 yards receiving and three touchdowns on 12 receptions in the Cougars’ loss to Archbishop Murphy.
Griffin Gardoski, sr., Arlington
Gardoski hauled in 12 receptions for 152 yards and five touchdowns — including the game-winner — in the Eagles’ 48-42 overtime victory over Oak Harbor. The 6-foot-3 receiver also caught two 2-point conversions, giving him seven total end-zone grabs.
Anthony Whitis, sr., Arlington
After missing the previous game with a possible concussion, Whitis returned to action and continued his string of clutch late-game performances, rallying the Eagles to an overtime win over Oak Harbor. The senior quarterback went 22-of-43 passing for 367 yards and six touchdowns, and added 79 yards and another score on the ground.
Joey Stretch, sr., Arlington
Stretch caught five passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and also hauled in the game-tying 2-point conversion to force overtime in the Eagles’ win over Oak Harbor.
Tyler Massena, sr., Snohomish
Massena scored a game-winning touchdown in overtime for the second consecutive week, lifting the Panthers to a 41-35 comeback victory over Edmonds-Woodway. Massena finished with 188 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 25 carries.
Tyler Larson, jr., Snohomish
Larson ran for 192 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in the Panthers’ overtime win over Edmonds-Woodway.
Blake Rybar, jr., Monroe
Rybar rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries, and added 70 yards and a touchdown on three receptions in the Bearcats’ 56-14 win over Jackson.
Gio Fregoso, jr., Monroe
Fregoso completed 17 of 20 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Bearcats’ rout of Jackson.
Efton Chism III, jr., Monroe
Chism III caught six passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the Bearcats’ rout of Jackson.
Dorian Hardin, sr., Oak Harbor
The speedy senior rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in the Wildcats’ overtime loss to Arlington. Hardin also had four catches for 33 yards.
David Snell, sr., Shorewood
Snell completed 15 of 23 passes for 257 yards and six touchdowns in the Thunderbirds’ 42-21 win over Lynnwood.
Trenton Hurst, sr., Marysville Pilchuck
Hurst rumbled his way to 195 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in the Tomahawks’ 33-3 win over crosstown rival Marysville Getchell.
Lukas Sepulveda, sr., Stanwood
Sepulveda ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and added a 38-yard touchdown reception in the Spartans’ 31-23 win over Shorecrest.
Nate Hebert, sr., Meadowdale
Hebert rushed for two touchdowns, totaled 103 yards from scrimmage and intercepted two passes on defense in the Mavericks’ 48-14 rout of Everett.
Jared Taylor, jr., Lakewood
Taylor threw for 355 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on 22-of-42 passing in the Cougars’ loss to Archbishop Murphy.
Victor Gabalis, jr., Archbishop Murphy
Gabalis completed 16 of 21 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns and ran in the game-winning 2-point conversion with less than a minute to play in the Wildcats’ 36-35 comeback victory over Lakewood.
Tyrell Waverly, jr., Archbishop Murphy
Waverly caught five passes for 111 yards and three second-half touchdowns in the Wildcats’ comeback win over Lakewood.
Jordan Sims, soph., Mountlake Terrace
Sims ran for two scores and added a touchdown reception, finishing with 77 yards from scrimmage in the Hawks’ 40-0 rout of Blaine.
Jensen Webster, sr. Sultan
Webster tossed a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for 134 yards and two scores on 18 carries in the Turks’ 38-6 win over Coupeville.
Zach Wilkins, soph., Cedar Park Christian
Wilkins ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in the Eagles’ 35-20 win over South Whidbey.
Brayden Counsellor, sr., Granite Falls
Counsellor scored on a 65-yard touchdown run and a 35-yard touchdown reception in the Tigers’ 13-12 loss to King’s. He finished with 135 yards rushing on 13 carries.
