Basham’s block preserves Lynnwood victory over Mountlake Terrace

EDMONDS

He’d done it before, three times in fact.

Lynnwood coach Mike Don pulled lineman Andrew Basham aside and told him flat out: block the kick. It wasn’t a suggestion.

Trailing by one point, Mountlake Terrace was attempting an extra-point that would’ve tied the score with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

But Basham had his orders; he wasn’t about to let down his second-year coach. The 6-foot-4 lineman crashed through the offensive line and smothered the ball as it came off the foot of kicker Jalen Pahinui.

The play helped Lynnwood preserve a 21-20 victory over Mountlake Terrace Oct. 27 in a Western Conference 3A football game at Edmonds Stadium.

On the ensuing kickoff, Basham returned to the field with the Lynnwood crowd and his teammates chanting his name. Mission accomplished.

“I’ve told Andrew (Basham) to block the kick probably three times before, and he’s gone out and done it,” Don said. “In all, he’s probably blocked about eight kicks in the past two seasons. It was a great play. Anytime you can beat a rival team in a league game, it feels great.”

The Royals avenged last season’s 43-13 loss to Mountlake Terrace and finished the 2011 campaign, 2-6 in league and 2-7 overall. The Mountlake Terrace Hawks also finished 2-6 and 2-7.

“This was a tough loss for us,” Mountlake Terrace coach Tony Umayam said. “Our guys battled for four quarters, but we just came up short. We gave up a few easy scores in the first half and those came back to bite us.”

Trailing 21-14 with 4:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Hawks strung together a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, which included a third and fourth down conversion. Facing third-and-nine, Mountlake Terrace quarterback Beau Kennedy scurried 12 yards to extend the series.

On the next play, the Lynnwood defense sacked Kennedy for a loss of 10 yards, bringing up second-and-20. But he struck back by tossing a 13-yard pass to Shawn Evensen, which moved the ball to the Terrace 43-yard line. After an incomplete pass, the Hawks faced a potential game-ending fourth-and-7. However, Kennedy came through once again, rushing 13 yards for the first down.

The second key play of the drive came on a halfback pass. On first down from the Royals’ 41-yard line, Kennedy pitched the ball to Lucas Pope who threw a 39-yard pass to Pahinui, setting up the Hawks at the Lynnwood 2-yard line.

“We talked about going for two points, but our defense had been doing well the entire second half, so I had a lot of faith if we went into overtime. I had confidence and we had the momentum,” Umayam said.

With standout sophomore running back Devante Downs missing the game due to an ankle injury suffered the week before, Kennedy was the Hawks’ main running threat. He rushed for 74 yards on 18 carries.

“They (the Hawks) made a few big plays, especially the halfback pass,” Don said. “But our kids came out and made the biggest play of them all. They beat us pretty good last year, so it feels really good to go out and get this victory.”

The Royals scored on their initial series in the first quarter. Running back Corey Hoerner led the charge, rushing seven times for 44 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown run with 7:40 remaining. Mountlake Terrace answered in the second quarter on a Kennedy 31-yard touchdown pass to Evensen with 8:18 remaining.

However, junior Jesimon Smith would give Lynnwood the lead for good when he returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards to give the Royals a 14-7 lead. Hoerner followed with 50-yard touchdown run with 4:58 remaining in the second quarter to give Lynnwood a 21-7 lead. Hoerner finished 105 yards on 17 carries.

“Overall, we played pretty good, especially after that first drive of the game,” Don said. “I thought our offense did pretty well in the first half, but we kind of teetered off in the second half. We may have gotten a little too passive. Terrace fought real hard and we made mistakes.”

Mountlake Terrace scored two touchdowns in the second half and held Lynnwood to a meager 44 yards. The Hawks’ Chance Ragstad broke a 49-yard touchdown run to cap off a 60-yard drive with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter. He finished with 86 yards on 18 rushes. The Hawks gained 163 yards in the second quarter and finished with 318 total yards. The Royals ended with 192 total yards.