E-W earns first trip to state playoffs

EDMONDS – After being so close so many times, the Edmonds-Woodway football team is finally there.

The Warriors are headed to the state playoffs for the first time in school history thanks to a 40-28 4A quad-district playoff victory over North Kitsap on Saturday night at Edmonds Stadium.

“This feels great,” said senior running back Travis Smith, who carried the ball 30 times for 220 yards and four of the Warriors’ five touchdowns. “I feel great for giving this to (E-W coach John Gradwohl) because this is his first time in the playoffs. I wanted this for coach Gradwohl.”

The Warriors withstood 331 passing yards from standout quarterback Jared Prince, who completed 17 of 28 passes and rushed for 28 yards despite losing 47 yards on Edmonds-Woodway’s seven sacks. Prince kept the Vikings in the game until the final minutes, when the Warriors’ defense finally took a stand.

“I felt like our defense did a good job in the second half,” said Gradwohl, whose 8-2 team will play an away game against Evergreen of Vancouver next weekend in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. “Especially when it mattered.”

Smith’s 2-yard TD plunge with 11:07 to go in the game put E-W up by a 33-28 score. After the first of two strong defensive displays by the Warriors, Smith spun off a tackler halfway through a 16-yard TD run that gave the Warriors a 40-28 lead with 4:10 remaining.

Matt Murphy and Brandon Huppert, who sacked Prince twice, each recorded a sack during the last two North Kitsap drives. Brandon Kees, one among a solid group of offensive lineman to block for Smith, had two sacks on defense.

North Kitsap displayed its softness against the run during the game’s first drive.

The Warriors needed only three plays to take a 7-0 lead 50 seconds into the game. Josh Heard, who helped free Smith all game long, rumbled 39 yards to set up Smith’s 11-yard TD run up the middle.

John Dawson’s first completion of the game went to Kellen Mackey, who hurdled a defender before being forced out just shy of the goal line. Smith finished the two-play TD drive by walking into the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 9:21 remaining in the half.

A couple of nifty moves by Vikings receiver Travis Tobin put North Kitsap on the scoreboard. He turned a 5-yard throw into a 23-yard gain, then burned the E-W secondary for a 47-yard TD reception with 5:59 remaining in the half.

Tobin and Prince struck again just before halftime on a play that could have continued through Portland if not for the fence at the south end of Edmonds Stadium. Using the same post pattern as the first TD, Tobin scored on a 67-yard reception to close the gap to 17-14 with 1:23 to go in the half. Prince set up the TD pass with a 27-yard pass to Jordan Henry on third-and-21.

The Vikings used a 10-play, 80-yard drive to take their first lead at the 8:07 mark of the third quarter. Prince, a three-year starter on offense and defense, hobbled to the sideline for one play – Jeff Ottele’s 6-yard TD strike to Andy Sturza in the back of the end zone for 21-20 score.

Runs of 27 and 14 yards from Smith set up John Dawson’s 13-yard TD pass to Heard. Smith came up just shy of the goal line on a two-point conversion run attempt as E-W settled for a 26-21 lead with 5:06 to play in the third.

Two minutes later, Prince found Sturza for an easy 28-yard TD pass as North Kitsap took a 28-26 lead.

Dawson completed 10 of 15 passes for 125 yards. Heard rushed for 68 yards on nine carries.

At Edmonds

North Kitsap014140-28

Edmonds-Woodway713614-40

E-W-Smith 11 run (Harmon kick)

E-W-Smith 1 run (Harmon kick)

N. Kitsap-Tobin 47 pass from Prince (Ottele kick)

E-W-FG Harmon 29

N. Kitsap-Tobin 67 pass from Prince (Ottele kick)

E-W-FG Harmon 39

N. Kitsap-Sturza 6 pass from Ottele (Ottele kick)