SNOHOMISH — Once again the Glacier Peak Grizzlies and Jackson Timberwolves played a high school football game for the ages. And once again the Grizzlies left euphoric and the T-wolves left deflated.
Glacier Peak scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, then outlasted Jackson in two overtimes as the Grizzlies won a Wesco 4A thriller Friday night, prevailing 48-41 at Snohomish High School.
In a game that featured well over 1,000 yards of combined offense, it was Glacier Peak quarterback Ayden Ziomas who amassed more than anyone as he was the hero with both his arm and legs. The junior was 37-for-49 for 481 yards and five touchdowns, and he also ran for 82 yards on 24 carries and two more scores. He even scored the crucial two-point conversion that forced overtime with just 1 minute, 26 seconds remaining in regulation.
Bo Burns added eight catches for 111 yards and three touchdowns, Tyson Holt had 10 catches for 134 yards, and Evan Mannes and David Castro also caught TDs for Glacier Peak (2-0 league, 3-1 overall), which mounted a similar late rally last year when the Grizzlies came from behind to beat Jackson 37-31 in stunning fashion.
Jackson quarterback Ben Olesen was nearly Ziomas’ match as the junior was 17-for-29 for 387 yards and four scores, and he also scored a TD on the ground. Daniel Arias caught five passes for 189 yards and two scores, Garrett Holden had four catches for 94 yards and two TDs, and Jonathan Navarro added a rushing touchdown to his huge defensive game for Jackson (1-1, 1-2).
Jackson seemed to have the game in hand when, after trailing 26-22, the T-wolves scored twice in the fourth quarter. Arias scored on a 51-yard pass from Olesen on the play immediately after the T-wolves held the Grizzlies on fourth down, and Navarro powered in from 3 yards out with 4:14 remaining, However, Jackson decided to go for two on the second TD when leading by eight and failed, leaving Glacier Peak a a glimmer of hope of tying it with a single score.
And score the Grizzlies did. Ziomas moved Glacier Peak down the field, and he found Burns in the back of the end zone from 5 yards out with 1:26 remaining. The Grizzlies called timeout to set up the two-point conversion, and Ziomas raced to the right pylon and dived in to knot it at 34-34.
Jackson had one last chance to win it in regulation, driving to to Glacier Peak 28-yard line. But an interception at the goal line on the final play of regulation sent the game to OT.
In the first overtime Jackson faced 4th-and 7 at the 22 when Olesen found Holden in the left corner of the end zone to make it 48-41. But on the very next play Glacier Peak, despite being penalized five yards for running into the kicker, tied it as Ziomas hit Burns for 30 yards deep across the middle, making it 41-41 and sending it to a second OT.
Just one play later the Grizzlies were up again as Ziomas found an open Castro in the right corner for a 25-yard TD and a 48-41 lead. After that the Glacier Peak defense dug in, sacking Olesen twice during the final possession to clinch the victory.
Just like last year’s meeting, Friday’s game was a back-and-forth affair, particularly in the first half as the teams traded touchdowns, but in differing manners — Glacier Peak with methodical sustained drives and Jackson with quick strikes.
Glacier Peak struck first midway through the first quarter when Ziomas hit Burns on a 9-yard slant pass to stake the Grizzlies to a 7-0 lead.
Jackson answered three plays later when Olesen scrambled left, cut back right and scored on a 36-yard scamper to knot it at 7-7.
Glacier Peak regained the lead on the following drive as Ziomas had a scramble of his own, this time 2 yards up the middle to Give the Grizzlies a 13-7 lead.
After Jackson turned the ball over on downs, Glacier Peak drove again and seemed set to take control of the game. But an interception by Navarro deep in T-wolves territory stopped the momentum, and on the next play Jackson swung it 180 degrees as Olesen hit Arias in stride for an 81-yard touchdown as the T-wolves went ahead 14-13.
Glacier Peak responded with another long drive, with this one capped off by Ziomas’ 1-yard touchdown run on a bootleg play to make it 19-14 Grizzlies.
But Jackson had yet another answer, sustaining a drive for the first time in the game and scoring when Olesen dropped a perfect 22-yard pass into the left corner to Holden with just 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and the T-wolves went into halftime leading 22-19.
In the second half it was yet another long drive that gave Glacier Peak the lead, finishing off with Ziomas’ 7-yard TD pass to Mannes that gave the Grizzlies a 26-22 lead and set up the wild fourth quarter and overtime periods.
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