Kamiak passes early test vs. Edmonds-Woodway

By Chris Trujillo

Herald Writer

EDMONDS – Early season tests don’t come any tougher than the one the Kamiak Knights were dealt on Friday in their Western Conference South Division showdown with the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors.

With the makings of a gritty rivalry beginning to emerge, the two powers exchanged blows for three quarters before Kamiak unleashed its dominance, winning 31-13.

“We knew they would play us hard,” said Kamiak running back Justin Washington, who rushed for two touchdowns and 126 yards. “We didn’t come in here with big heads. They’re the second-best team in the league and they played that way.”

Behind 13-7, the Knights, who were getting a rare taste of their own brutish style of football, scored 24 unanswered second-half points to improve to 2-0. E-W, which defeated Everett last week 41-13, dropped to 1-1.

Washington scored the go-ahead touchdown after returning a kickoff to the Warriors’ 50. Five plays later, he plowed in from the 1-yard line to give the Knights a 14-13 lead. A shanked punt set up the Knights’ next score following a 36-yard run by Washington, who on the next play scored from the 2-yard line with time running out in the third quarter.

“As excited as I am about this win,” Kamiak coach Dan Mack said, “Our hearts and minds are with our fellow citizens in New York and Washington, D.C.”

Kamiak quarterback John Mack threw a 9-yard touchdown to Derrick Bradley in the second quarter and completed nine of 14 passes for 120 yards.

E-W took the lead in the third quarter when quarterback Chris Maine found Matt Heinle for 65 yards to give the Warriors a 13-7 lead.

A clutch interception by Kamiak’s David Eneberg set up the game’s first touchdown. Kamiak began its second possession of the night on E-W’s 37-yard line when Mack went to work. The 6-foot-1 passer found Eneberg for 16 yards and then hit Derrick Bradley on a swing pass to score Kamiak’s first touchdown.

The Warriors answered the Kamiak five-play scoring drive with a well-balanced attack of their own. Maine returned the ensuing kickoff to the Kamiak 43-yard line, setting up an eventual four-play scoring drive. On the third play of the series running back Kyle Trew rumbled for 18 yards to the Knights’ 15. Maine took over from there, rolling right and finding 6-foot-6 tight-end Casey Tyler at the 1-yard line. The husky receiver did the rest, crushing through a trio of Kamiak players to tie the score at 7 with eight minutes remaining in the half.