Eason leads Lake Stevens’ rout of Monroe

LAKE STEVENS — Lake Stevens led Monroe by a mere seven points at the end of the first quarter Friday night in a Wesco 4A showdown between the two rivals.

By the end of the second quarter, it was a completely different story.

Vikings quarterback Jacob Eason threw five touchdown passes and had 201 yards passing in the second quarter alone and Lake Stevens scored 63 consecutive points to pull away in a 63-14 win over the Bearcats.

“I could tell that (Eason) was in the zone tonight,” Lake Stevens head coach Tom Tri said. “He was seeing the field really well. He was seeing the blitz and the coverage and was able to get the ball out.”

Eason, who finished 18-for-30 for 316 yards and six touchdowns, threw scoring passes to four different receivers. Hunter Eckstrom (three), Riley Krenz (two), Andrew Grimes and Tevin Gray each caught touchdown passes from the junior quarterback who has verbally committed to the University of Georgia.

“Our quarterback is playing out of his mind,” Krenz said. “… You know the ball is going to be there so you know you better catch it.”

Lake Stevens, ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press 4A poll, found itself trailing early after a muffed punt gave Monroe the ball deep in Vikings territory. A 31-yard screen pass from Zach Zimmerman to JJ Jerome gave the Bearcats an early 7-0 lead.

The advantage was short-lived.

The Vikings immediately drove down the field, with Lake Stevens wide receiver Tevin Gray scoring on a 23-yard reverse to tie the score. After the Bearcats went three and out, the Vikings drove again, Eason throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass to Eckstrom on fourth-and-1 to give Lake Stevens the lead.

Monroe turned the ball over on its next possession. Lake Stevens linebacker Kolby Jones grabbed the first of his two interceptions, and the takeaway led to a 24-yard touchdown reception by Krenz as the Vikings took control of the game.

“Tonight was about proving what we can do. We’re not plateauing,” Eason said. “We want to keep going from here and get better and better.

Eckstrom had five catches for 113 yards and three touchdowns. Krenz added 116 yards and two scores on six receptions for Lake Stevens (4-0 league, 5-1 overall), all in the first half. The Vikings pulled their starters after the first drive of the second half, which had a running clock because of a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rule.

“On any given night, a different receiver is going to step up,” Tri said. “… We’ve got a lot of weapons and it showed tonight. It’s a lot of fun when you can spread the ball all over the field.”

It was the second-consecutive loss for Monroe (2-2, 4-2), which opened the season with four-straight victories. The Bearcats lost a close 27-23 contest to Kamiak last week which saw Monroe also lose its starting quarterback, senior Andrew Zimmerman, with a torn medial collateral ligament. Zimmerman’s younger brother, sophomore Zach Zimmerman, took over behind center for the Bearcats but struggled against the Vikings’ defensive pressure.

Zach Zimmerman did throw a 75-yard touchdown pass to freshman Isiah Lewis in the game’s final minutes, ensuring the Bearcats scored first and last in the contest.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of Zach Zimmerman,” Monroe head coach Brett Jay said. “He comes out and plays a team like Lake Stevens, a top 10 team in the state, and didn’t blink an eye. I just appreciate his character. He got better tonight and we’re going to keep taking steps forward with him.”

Monroe will look to bounce back with back-to-back home games against league rivals Cascade and Mariner.

Tri, for one, thinks the Bearcats will be fine.

“They’re a good football team,” Tri said. “You could tell not having Andrew Zimmerman tonight hurt them. They’ve only had a week to prepare and that’s hard to do. That’s pretty tough for a sophomore quarterback who’s only done it for a week. But they’ve got some guys and I expect them to rebound and they’ll be ready next week and probably back to their winning ways sooner rather than later.”

Lake Stevens, meanwhile, will host Mariner before taking on Kamiak in a game that could decide the Wesco 4A winner.

A league title was a big goal the Vikings had coming into the season.

“Being undefeated in league is exactly where we thought we’d be,” Krenz said. “Our goal was to come out, win league, get deep in the playoffs and see where it takes us.”

At Lake Stevens H.S.

Monroe 7 0 0 7 — 14

Lake Stevens 14 42 0 7 — 63

M–JJ Jerome 31 pass from Zach Zimmerman (Tanner Ohlsen kick)

LS–Tevin Gray 23 run (Ignacio Ponce kick)

LS–Andrew Grimes 49 pass from Jacob Eason (Ponce kick)

LS–Hunter Eckstrom 44 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS–Riley Krenz 24 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS–Grimes 16 run (Ponce kick)

LS–Eckstrom 24 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS–Krenz 9 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)

LS–Eckstrom 21 pass from Eason (Ponce kick)