Eason passes Lake Stevens to playoff win

Published 11:23 pm Friday, November 7, 2014

LAKE STEVENS — Behind the remarkable right arm of quarterback Jacob Eason, Lake Stevens opened its 2014 postseason in emphatic fashion Friday night, crushing Timberline of the Narrows League 51-14 at Lake Stevens High School in a 4A Quad-District playoff game.

A 6-foot-5, 215-pound junior, Eason completed 23 of 28 passing attempts for 441 yards and five touchdowns as the Vikings, now 9-1, reached the round of 16 in the state 4A playoffs. Lake Stevens will host the winner of today’s Newport-Olympia game next weekend.

“He was prepared,” Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said of Eason. “He’s a great leader. He sees the field really well and he doesn’t give up on plays. He’s the real deal.”

Eason was 17-for-21 for 313 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as Lake Stevens built a commanding 34-6 lead. He played three series in the third quarter, adding six more completions and 128 more yards as the Vikings stretched their margin to 51-6.

As good as Eason was, he had plenty of help from an inspired group of Vikings. Lake Stevens dominated on both sides of the ball and turned the game into a running-clock rout by the late moments of the third quarter.

“We came out fired up and ready to play a playoff football game,” Tri said. “Our kids executed really well, so I was very pleased with the way we played.”

Lake Stevens quickly broke the game open with touchdown drives on its first three possessions of the game. The first two came on Eason passes of 35 and 47 yards, and the third was on a 2-yard burst over the left side by running back Andrew Grimes.

The Vikings’ next possession ended with an interception, the first by Eason since the season opener against Meadowdale, but the Lake Stevens defense held on three downs to force a punt. The Vikings then tacked on two more touchdowns before halftime, with Eason flinging scoring passes of 18 and 25 yards.

Timberline got its first touchdown late in the first half on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Gabriel Gutierrez to tight end Jarryn Bush. That came with 52 seconds to go before halftime, and the Vikings promptly answered with a 68-yard scoring drive in the closing seconds, with Eason finding wide receiver Brandon Otis wide open in the middle of the field for a TD with seven seconds remaining before halftime.

The Vikings promptly added to their large halftime lead with a two-play, 54-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter. The touchdown came on an Eason pass, his fifth aerial TD of the night, this one covering 13 yards to wide receiver Hunter Eckstrom.

Later in the period, Lake Stevens added a 21-yard field goal by placekicker Ignacio Ponce and an 8-yard TD carry by Grimes.

Vikings linebacker Kolby Jones finished with 11 tackles, including two sacks.

“I thought our defense played really well,” Tri said. “We stopped their run game, forced them to throw and put them in some predictable down-and-distance situations. And that allowed our defense to become a little more aggressive and get after their passing game and their quarterback.”

Three Lake Stevens wide receivers had over 100 receiving yards apiece. Otis had six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, Riley Krenz had seven receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Eckstrom had five receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown.

Grimes finished with 108 yards on 16 carries with two TDs.

At Lake Stevens Stadium

Timberline 0 6 0 8 —14

Lake Stevens 14 20 17 0 —51

LS—Brandon Otis 35 pass from Jacob Eason (Ignacio Ponce kick)

LS—Riley Krenz 47 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS—Andrew Grimes 2 run (Ponce kick)

LS—Krenz 18 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

T—Jarryn Bush 7 pass from Gabriel Gutierrez (kick blocked)

LS—Otis 25 pass from Eason (kick failed)

LS—Hunter Eckstrom 13 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS—Ponce 21 field goal

LS—Grimes 8 run (Ponce kick)

T—Gutierrez 2 run (Gutierrez pass)

Records—Timberline 5-5 overall. Lake Stevens 8-2.