LAKE STEVENS — Lake Stevens reaffirmed its conference supremacy in resounding fashion.
Junior quarterback Conor Bardue and senior receiver Jake Rasmussen connected for four touchdown passes as the sixth-ranked Vikings shut down 10th-ranked Monroe’s high-powered offense and captured their fourth consecutive Wesco 4A title with a 42-3 win in Friday night’s much-anticipated battle of unbeatens at Lake Stevens High School.
With the victory, Lake Stevens (7-0 league, 9-0 overall) extended its conference winning streak to 24 games and earned four straight league titles for the first time in program history. It was the Vikings’ fifth win over Monroe (6-1, 8-1) in the last six years.
“The fact that it was against Monroe, our biggest rival this year, that was just a blessing,” Bardue said. “It was more motivation for us to just go out and execute, get a ‘W’ and make school history.”
Monroe entered the de-facto conference title game averaging 49.5 points per contest and in search of a landmark victory over its rival to the north, but Lake Stevens squashed those hopes with a dominant defensive performance that kept the Bearcats off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. The Vikings held Monroe to just 152 total yards, more than 300 less than its season average.
“Our defense has been lights out,” Lake Stevens head coach Tom Tri said. “They’ve been shutting teams down game after game. People are starting to take notice that it’s not just our offense.”
Monroe senior running back JJ Jerome came in as the area’s leading rusher and was averaging more than 200 yards rushing per game, but Lake Stevens limited the Bearcats star to just 35 yards on 15 carries. The Vikings also sacked senior dual-threat quarterback Zach Zimmerman five times. Lake Stevens’ starting defense still hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all season.
“We did a great job of bottling (Jerome) up, being physical on him,” Tri said. “First guy to the ball, wrap up. Second guy, hammer. Third guy, hammer. We just gang-tackled him and kind of wore him out, to be honest. That’s what our defense has done all year.”
Typically known for their high-octane passing attack, the Vikings’ offense established the ground game early while racing to a quick start with two touchdowns on their first six plays.
Senior running back Blake May hauled in a 23-yard third-down reception on the opening drive and ran for a 45-yard touchdown on the next play to put Lake Stevens on the board, bursting through a gaping hole and juking a Monroe defender on his way to the end zone. Senior receiver Hunter Eckstrom then took a fly sweep 63 yards for a touchdown on the Vikings’ next possession to give Lake Stevens a 14-0 lead less than six minutes into the game. May finished with 134 yards rushing, including 104 in the first half.
“(Monroe) came out with five men in the box,” Tri said. “They didn’t come out in their usual defense that they’ve been playing in previous weeks. They took one of their down linemen out and put another saftey in, so they were only playing with four or five in the box. That’s a green light for us to run the ball. And then they made an adjustment, brought another guy in and we started throwing the ball over the top.”
As Lake Stevens opened up the passing game, Rasmussen broke the contest wide-open with three second-quarter touchdown receptions. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound receiver finished with six catches for 105 yards and four scores, which gives him nine touchdowns in the last two games. He had a five-touchdown performance last week against Cascade, with four touchdown catches and a punt return for a score.
“Jake’s a senior captain who’s realizing his football career is starting to wind down, and he’s having so much fun right now that he doesn’t want to quit playing,” Tri said. “He’s the most energetic kid we have on the field.”
“He’s always been the same receiver — he’s got great hands, he runs great routes,” Tri added. “He’s just been patient this year and waited his turn. Finally it’s been (his) turn the last two weeks and he’s just taken advantage of every opportunity that’s been given to him.”
Rasmussen began his second-quarter scoring barrage by hauling in a perfectly placed 34-yard touchdown pass from Bardue and later snagged a 3-yard pass in the end zone to extend the lead to 28-0. Rasmussen then took a screen pass 36 yards for a touchdown late in the first half, spinning past a Monroe defender and breaking free to give Lake Stevens a 35-0 halftime advantage. Bardue found Rasmussen for a 14-yard score late in the third quarter to push the margin to 42-0 and begin a running clock.
“I did not expect it to be a running clock in the fourth quarter,” Tri said. “That’s just a tribute to our kids. They answered the bell. They responded all week in practice, came out and executed the game plan. That’s a lot of fun watching that. When kids execeute the way they’re capable of in a big game like this, that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Bardue finished with 229 yards passing and four touchdowns, bumping his season total to 38 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.
“We just came in motivated and knew that we were going to play our best game of the year,” Bardue said. “We all knew that. We didn’t expect (42-3), but we executed very well.”
Both Lake Stevens and Monroe will host winner-to-state district crossover games on either Nov. 4 or 5. The Vikings’ win over Monroe not only earns them the league title, but would give them home-field advantage in the first round of the state playoffs should they advance.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
