E-W, Heard trample Kamiak

EVERETT — Tony Heard carried the ball 16 times before reaching the end zone Friday — an unusual drought for a running back who scored 16 touchdowns in his first five games this season.

It took Heard longer than usual to score, but he’s not the kind of player a coach gives up on.

“If you keep rolling the dice, you’ll roll sevens eventually,” said Edmonds-Woodway High School football coach John Gradwohl, whose decision to keep giving the ball to Heard, a powerful 225-pound junior, paid off nicely for the Warriors.

On his 17th rushing attempt of the game, Heard blew past the Kamiak Knights defense for a game-changing 60-yard TD run. The play broke a 7-7 tie and ignited a binge of 28 consecutive points in the Warriors’ 35-7 triumph over Kamiak.

Heard, who came into the game leading the Western Conference with 999 yards, finished with 211 yards and two scores on 24 carries. He also made some punishing tackles for an E-W defense that tightened in the second half to boost the Warriors to a key South Division victory at Goddard Stadium.

“I just had to stay patient. I knew that after a while the holes would open up,” said Heard, whose first TD gave E-W a 14-7 lead with 3 minutes, 55 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Tyler Lange tallied 96 rushing yards and a TD for unbeaten E-W (6-0 in division and overall). Quarterback Kyle McCartney passed for 133 yards and a TD, and also ran for a score for the Warriors, who are ranked No. 4 in the WashingtonPreps.com Class 4A poll.

E-W’s defense struggled at times in the first half, but the Warriors intercepted two passes in the final two quarters and forced back-to-back three-and-out possessions when Kamiak (4-1, 5-1) tried to rally.

“We didn’t do a great job, but we did a better job in the second half. I’d say we did a great job when it mattered,” said Gradwohl, whose team gained more than 450 yards against sixth-ranked Kamiak and is alone in first place in the Wesco South.

Kamiak had a third-and-goal from the E-W 5-yard line early in the third quarter, but an intentional-grounding penalty and a missed field goal left the Knights with a giant missed opportunity. About two minutes later, Heard exploded for his big TD.

The sequence definitely swayed the momentum, Kamiak coach Dan Mack said.

“They’re a fine football team. We’ve got to do a better job of coming up and tackling,” said Mack.

Backs Kaniala Manzano (67 rushing yards) and Justin Glenn (47 yards on 16 attempts) led Kamiak’s offense, which gained 160 total yards.

E-W took the opening drive 68 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. Heard carried three times for 31 yards and Antoinne Wafer capped the possession with a 27-yard TD reception. McCartney lofted a high pass to the end zone and Wafer (three catches, 54 yards) hauled it in after Kamiak’s Glenn jumped and tipped the ball in the air.

Kamiak tied the score at 7-7 with 7:20 to go in the first half. After recovering a fumble at their own 10-yard line, the Knights plowed 90 yards in 13 plays. Glenn, who came into the game with 635 yards rushing but had minus-4 after his first six carries Friday, finished the drive with a 4-yard plunge.

Both teams had several impressive drives in the first half that didn’t result in points because of turnovers and timely defense.

Heard’s lead-changing run up the right sideline in the third quarter gave E-W the only other points it needed.

“That was huge,” McCartney said. “We wanted to come out with a bang in the second half.”

At Goddard Stadium

E-W70721—35

Kamiak0700—7

Edmonds-Woodway—Wafer 27 pass from McCartney (Milone kick)

Kamiak—Glenn 4 run (Gaddy kick)

Edmonds-Woodway——Heard 60 run (Milone kick)

Edmonds-Woodway——McCartney 3 run (Milone kick)

Edmonds-Woodway—Heard 3 run (Milone kick)

Edmonds-Woodway—Lange 1 run (Milone kick)

Records-Edmonds-Woodway 6-0 in division and overall. Kamiak 4-1, 5-1.

Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.