SNOHOMISH — The eighth-ranked Glacier Peak football team saw its season come to a brutal end with 28-0 loss to Curtis Friday night at Veterans Stadium.
The Grizzlies (8-2) went into the Round of 32 playoff game riding high after finishing in a three-way tie atop the Wesco 4A standings along with Arlington and Lake Stevens. Curtis (6-4), the South Puget Sound League South’s fourth-place team, brought Glacier Peak down quickly by sandwiching two touchdowns around an interception for an early 14-0 lead.
“They’re a very good football team — very athletic, big and physical,” Grizzlies coach Shane Keck said. “We just didn’t get it done. There’s no secret sauce. We turned the ball over, and we didn’t play our best football.”
Though Curtis came into the game with four losses, three of them were by a total 13 points. They used a pair of Montana State recruits against the Grizzlies on both offense and defense. Xavier Ahrens, a 6-foot-3 receiver, used his size advantage for a 39-yard TD, and slot receiver-cornerback Parker Mady terrorized Glacier Peak with three interceptions, including a 37-yard pick-6 for the game’s final TD to go along with multiple first-down catches on offense.
“He’s something special,” said Curtis head coach Darren McKay, whose team will play in a Class 4A state playoff game on Nov. 15 or 16. “He’s led our league in catches, he’s led our league in all-purpose yards, and he’ll be an MVP candidate for our league.”
Keck said the Grizzlies needed to play up to the Vikings’ level, but made crucial mistakes at the worst times, including four turnovers. A penalty wiped out a Grizzlies interception, and another took away a third-down stop. They allowed a fake punt on Curtis’ first drive that led to a 7-0 edge late in the first quarter.
Senior quarterback Lucas Entler, playing in what he said is his last-ever football game, held back tears after hugs with his coaches and teammates long after the game-ending horn sounded.
“It’s tough,” Entler said. “It’s the last game with my guys. “We’re proud that we became the first 4A league champion in school history, but this hurt.”
Curtis used its size advantage on the lines and speed on the outside to quiet GP’s offense in the first half. Of the Grizzlies’ 11 running plays, nine of them went for negative or zero yards.
“We really pride ourselves on our ability to run the football, and we just couldn’t find the creases,” Keck said. “We didn’t block some things correctly, and then you fumble it when you get a couple of chances.
“We got beat up front. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
Leading 21-0 at half, the Vikings took control with their ground game to kill six minutes of clock to begin the third third quarter. The Grizzlies forced a punt to finally end the drive, but a few plays later Mady was racing to the end zone with his third interception.
Though McKay came into the game confident, he was surprised by the lopsided final score.
“They’re a good football team, and they’ve been able to run the ball,” McKay said. “…They’re 8-1, and we had to come to their place. I didn’t anticipate this at all.”
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