Lake Stevens rallies to win Wesco football title

EDMONDS — Trailing 31-14 late in the third quarter, the outlook was dire for the Lake Stevens High School football team.

Even Vikings coach Tom Tri thought so.

Standing on the sidelines, “I was wondering, ‘Are we going to win this game or not?’” Tri said. “And I’m thinking, ‘Well, maybe at the very least we learn something from it.’”

As it turned out, the Vikings learned how to pull off a remarkable comeback Friday night, scoring touchdowns on their final three possessions and holding Edmonds-Woodway scoreless the rest of the way for a 35-31 victory in the Western Conference championship game at Edmonds District Stadium.

After falling behind late in the second quarter and then further in the third quarter, Lake Stevens rallied and eventually got the go-ahead touchdown with 2:14 to play in the game on a 2-yard run by fullback Shae Giddens. The Vikings then pinned Edmonds-Woodway deep on the ensuing kickoff, gave up one first down, then held the Warriors on downs at the E-W 21-yard line.

Lake Stevens quarterback Jake Nelson took a knee to run off the final seconds and the giddy Vikings poured onto the field to celebrate a 9-0 regular season — the program’s first since 1994, when Lake Stevens went undefeated into the state championship game before losing to finish 13-1.

“We never gave up,” said Nelson, who finished 21-for-31 for 227 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. “Our coaches were telling us on the sidelines. ‘We can’t quit.’ And we came back and got it done.”

Nelson, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior, was outstanding in the second half, as he has been so often for the Vikings this season. Beginning with his team’s second possession of the second half, Nelson completed 10 of his last 12 pass attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown.

Earlier in the game, though, Lake Stevens was struggling to contain the speedy Warriors offense. After the Vikings nabbed an early 7-0 lead, Edmonds-Woodway came back to score 31 of the next 38 points and put Lake Stevens on the ropes late in the third period.

“We were pretty sleepy in the first half,” Tri acknowledged. “I just think we came in a little overconfident. We watched (the Warriors) on film and thought we were going to stop their run game and force them to throw, which is not their specialty.

“But when they hit us in the mouth a little bit, we realized that they’re the Wesco South champs for a reason and we had to fight a little harder.”

Trailing by 17 points, he added, “I think our seniors finally realized it’s now or never. … And we have a bunch of seniors that don’t quit.”

Edmonds-Woodway lost despite a dazzling offensive show of its own, highlighted by running back Desmond Young. A 5-10, 155-pound junior who runs with power and was probably the fastest player on the field, Young carved up the Lake Stevens defense for 293 rushing yards on 25 carries. His night included touchdown runs of 46, 11 and 92 yards, and he had six other runs of double-figure yardage, including a 43-yarder.

The Warriors, though, were undone by a defense that seemed to fatigue in the fourth quarter, and a slew of costly penalties. Edmonds-Woodway was flagged 14 times (one was declined) for 129 yards.

“How many yards in penalties did we have?” asked Warriors coach John Gradwohl. “(The Vikings) are a great team and you can’t play a great team and do that.

“At the end they were running on all cylinders,” he said. “We needed to keep the ball longer, but we killed ourselves. Stupid things. And we helped them with a couple of their drives to keep them going (by committing penalties). … That’s kind of been a theme for us this year, and a little bit too much.”

Lake Stevens and Edmonds-Woodway both advance to the quad-district playoffs, with each having a first-round home game. The Vikings will host Heritage, the No. 3 team from the Greater St. Helens League, while the Warriors, who dropped to 5-4, host South Kitsap, the No. 4 team from the Narrows League.

And for Lake Stevens, Friday’s comeback win kindled hopes of a few more giddy outcomes in the upcoming playoffs.

“We have so much potential,” Nelson said. “We can be amazing, and I think we’re going to go far.”

“We have enough weapons on offense that we can score,” Tri added. “So if we can just take care of the ball and do what we’re supposed to do, I think we can play with anyone in the state.”

At Edmonds District Stadium

Lake Stevens77714—35

Edmonds-Woodway714100—31

LS—Gasca 17 pass from Nelson (Sellers kick)

E-W—Young 46 run (Davis kick)

EW—Young 11 run (Davis kick)

LS—Young 1 run (Sellers)

E-W—McLachlan 1 run (Davis kick)

E-W—Davis 25 FG

E-W—Young 92 run (Davis kick)

LS—Giddens 1 run (Sellers kick)

LS—Gasca 25 pass from Nelson (Sellers kick)