EVERETT — Glacier Peak the past two seasons against Jackson has had to sweat out the fourth quarter, and last year two overtimes, before finally claiming a win.
GP and Jackson for three quarters looked to be adding a trilogy before Ayden Ziomas and the Grizzlies’ defense put the Timberwolves away.
Ziomas, who finished with two passing and two rushing TDs, accounted for two fourth-quarter scores, and Glacier Peak blanked Jackson’s offense the final 12 minutes to earn a 39-23 Wesco 4A win Friday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The win improved GP’s unblemished record to 3-0 and gave Jackson its first loss.
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“I think anytime you play in these rivalry-type games you never know what is going to happen with all the emotion and little parts that go with it,” Glacier Peak coach Nick Bender said. “Props to Jackson and props to our kids to keep battling throughout, and I loved that it wasn’t as close as it was in years past.”
Ziomas completed 23-of-36 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also ran for 59 yards and two scores.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Jackson played well considering what they had to overcome, which included a botched special teams play that resulted in a pick-six and the loss of starting quarterback Ben Olesen, who left in the first quarter with a head injury.
Sophomore backup quarterback Nathan Clark filled in admirable, throwing for 226 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
IMPACT
The win was another emotional one for Glacier Peak, which once again showcased a potent offensive attack. GP heads home the next two weeks to face Kamiak and Cascade before a big showdown at Lake Stevens in Week 6. Jackson will hope to have Olesen back when it tries to rebound in a matchup with Cascade next Friday.
TOP PERFORMERS
Ayden Ziomas, Glacier Peak — The senior quarterback continues to tear apart secondaries, and padded to what’s becoming an impressive season stat total. He entered Week 3 leading the area in passing yards and TDs and added to those numbers with 319 more total yards and four scores.
Caelan Briggs, Glacier Peak — For as much as Glacier Peak likes to spread the football around, Briggs offered the Grizzlies some nice consistency in the backfield. The senior back ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Nick Walsh, Jackson — The Timberwolves senior was awfully impressive. With Oleson going down early, Walsh kept Jackson in the game with big-time runs. He finished with 242 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 12 yards.
Garrett Holden, Jackson — Clark needed a go-to target when he replaced Oleson, and Holden answered the call. He came down with a couple impressive catches and finished with 137 yards and a score. He made catches of 25, 36 and 56 yards.
QUOTABLES
“Playing two rival schools back-to-back, it gets kind of crazy sometimes. The crowd, the smack talk. It’s easy to let your emotions get the best of you, but for our team I think we did a really good job. We kept our emotions under control, we stayed together as a team and we came out with the win both weeks, so I’m happy and thankful for my team.” — Glacier Peak quarterback Ayden Ziomas
“In our opinion the only thing that stops us is us. So we went into halftime, talked about it, cleaned up some things and simplified some stuff. We came out in the second half and kept rolling.” — Glacier Peak coach Nick Bender
“We got it to two points twice, and it was like a heavyweight slugfest. I’m sure from a fan’s perspective in was fun to watch, and to do that with our sophomore quarterback. Our offense revolves around Ben (Olesen). Anybody who watches us, scouts us, they know that, and to lose Ben was huge, but man I’m super proud of our kid that came in.” — Jackson coach Joel Vincent
BIG PLAY T-WOLVES
Jackson received a couple special performances from running back Nick Walsh and receiver Garrett Holden.
Walsh ran for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. His TDs runs came on two tremendous 80-yard runs.
Holden finished with six catches for 137 yards, and on his 36-yard touchdown catch the junior impressive high-pointed the ball and snatched it away from a Glacier Peak defender.