LAKE STEVENS — Almost all the air left Tom Tri’s body.
Watching the Lake Stevens offense drive down the field at home against Sumner on Friday, the Vikings coach called the final timeout with 32.3 seconds left, facing fourth-and-one just inside the red zone, trailing 28-24.
With no more stoppages and the game on the line, Lake Stevens’ run-pass option (RPO) offense had just one option: a pass. So when quarterback Blake Moser handed the ball off to junior Jayvian Ferrell-Gilley up the middle for a short gain, Tri couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, can’t do that!” Tri said, recalling that he had to take a deep breath. “Because we gotta call a play.”
The clock ticked down as the Vikings scrambled to get back into position. 25 seconds rolled off the clock by the time Moser snapped the ball again. This was for the game. Amid all the commotion, senior Seth Price kept his mind blank, running a shallow post, attacking the leverage on his defensive back to create space.
He saw Moser scrambling right, so he rolled back towards the side of the end zone and saw the ball coming his way. He made the grab, stuck his feet and fell off to the side with one second left on the clock. The Lake Stevens cheerleaders and students mobbed him. The bleachers shook as fans celebrated.
Lake Stevens’ Seth Price jumps out of bound after making the game winning touchdown catch in the final seconds of the game against Sumner on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
With a successful extra point and a downed squib kick to kill off the final second, Lake Stevens secured a 31-28 victory against the defending 4A state champions.
“I was honestly turning up on the sidelines. I was so happy,” Price said. “With my guys, everybody was jumping around. The fans (were) going crazy. It was an amazing moment, man. … I just go out and play. And then give the glory to God after I make the play. That’s it.”
What could have been a disaster for the Vikings turned into an instant classic. Despite nearly running the clock out with an ill-advised run, it turned out to be just enough to get the win.
“With a lot of young bucks, we’re not always going to make the right decisions,” Tri said. “And that’s part of the growing process. But I tell you what, I mean, (Moser) stepped up and bought time on the next play and threw a game-winning touchdown pass. So you win some, you lose some, and then you win some more.”
Price led Lake Stevens with 65 receiving yards on seven receptions. Moser went 24-for-39 with 195 passing yards, and he added 87 yards on the ground for three total touchdowns. For Sumner, Braylon Pope had 115 yards and four (yes, four) touchdowns on 10 receptions.
Ferrell-Gilkey led the Lake Stevens rushing attack with 124 yards, the bulk of which came on the very first play from scrimmage.
Following a Sumner punt on the opening drive, Ferrell-Gilkey took a handoff and curled towards the right sideline. He found some space before a few Spartan defenders tried to cut him off, but he bolted into the middle and sprinted diagonally into more open space before hitting pay dirt on the other side to complete a 72-yard rushing touchdown. Tri pumped his fist on the sideline as the bench and home cheering section went into a frenzy behind him.
“Before we came (into) this game, I told all my guys, we coming out here to execute,” Ferrell-Gilkey said. “We lost last year in OT (to Sumner, by the same score, 31-28). We didn’t like that. They (were) coming to our field and we wanted to take back what was ours.”
Lake Stevens’ Jayvian Ferrell-Gilkey escapes multiple tackles while running the ball during the game against Sumner on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Three plays after Lake Stevens took the early 7-0 lead, senior Dylan Phinney intercepted Sumner quarterback Nate Donovan to keep the momentum rolling. However, the Spartans forced Lake Stevens to punt before driving down the field for a field goal. The two sides traded scores — and a turnover each — throughout the first half before Lake Stevens missed a 52-yard field goal before halftime, leading 21-16.
The Vikings executed a 16-play, 89-yard drive in the third quarter that burned 5:51 off the clock, but settled for a field goal. Productive in every facet, but Tri wasn’t satisfied.
“I don’t think we executed well at all,” Tri said. “We should finish those drives. Three points? We want seven. We gotta finish those drives. Yeah, it was great to move the ball all the way down the field. I’m really proud of our guys, but to win these types of games and not be so intense and (with) high emotions, we gotta find a way to surgically execute those plays, even in those big moments.”
Settling for three almost cost Lake Stevens in the end. Trailing 24-16, Sumner marched down the field to cut the deficit to two, failing to convert the tying two-point conversion after fumbling the snap. The Vikings offense stalled, burning nearly four minutes off the clock but giving Sumner new life. The Spartans took advantage of good field position, and Donovan connected with Pope — who has scholarship offers from several FBS college football programs — for his fourth touchdown of the game. Another failed two-point try left Sumner with a 28-24 lead with 4:48 remaining.
Sumner’s Braylon Pope scores a touchdown to give Sumner the lead in the fourth quarter against Lake Stevens on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“My coach was pissed at me because Braylon Pope was cooking me,” said Price, who also plays defensive back. “But I got back in on (offense), and I just had to go do my due diligence.”
The Vikings pulled back together when they needed to most, completing a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to win the game. Moser completed eight passes to six different receivers and churned out a 22-yard rush to pull it off.
“I just knew we had to get on the ball and score a touchdown,” Moser told KRKO Radio. “I thought the post would be there, I didn’t see it at first, so we did the scramble drill, you know. Coach said, ‘If you’re a player, you’re gonna go make a play,’ so that’s exactly what we did, man.”
Lake Stevens’ Blake Moser scrambles with the ball during the game against Sumner on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
With a thrilling victory in a marquee matchup, the Vikings are juiced up for their matchup against Bellevue next week.
“My boy, Seth Price. He executed, last play,” Ferrell-Gilkey said. “I love that guy.”
But they’re not getting too carried away.
“We’re gonna study film, see what we gotta do better next week,” Ferrell-Gilkey said. “We got Bellevue next week. We’re going to their house, and we’re trying to execute again.”
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