COVID-related issues cause Lakewood’s Week 1 opponent to cancel

Published 1:30 am Monday, August 30, 2021

The Lakewood High School football team will now host North Creek Friday after COVID-related issues caused Steilacoom to cancel its trip to face the Cougars, Lakewood head coach Dan Teeter confirmed.

Lakewood, a Class 2A state quarterfinalist in 2019, was set to host 2019 2A state runner-up Steilacoom in a highly anticipated showdown between two of the classification’s top squads. Scorebook Live ranked Lakewood No. 2 and Steilacoom fifth in 2A in its preseason top-10 poll.

The Cougars went 5-0 while playing in Wesco during the spring season, outscoring opponents by a whopping 46.8 points per game.

North Creek went 6-3 and made the Week 10 playoffs in 2019. The Jaguars went 1-2 in the spring. Their two losses were against 4A powers Woodinville and Bothell. North Creek has quickly become a solid 4A football program since the high school opened in the fall of 2017, finishing above .500 in two of the team’s three full-length seasons.