MUKILTEO _ In a Saturday afternoon football shootout, the postseason fortunes of two teams came down to one final dramatic play.
A two-point conversion try, attempted by Snohomish after Mariner High School jumped offside prior to the previous snap, was denied when the Panthers fumbled a handoff with 1:21 to play in the fourth quarter. The ball was recovered by the Marauders and allowed them to hold on for a thrilling 41-40 Western Conference 4A victory at Frank Goddard Stadium.
“It was exciting,” said Mariner coach John Ondriezek, smiling with understatement.
Both teams came into the game with matching 3-3 league and 3-5 season records. With the win, Mariner advances to face Federal Way in the opening round of the state playoffs.
“I think our kids played with a lot of heart,” Ondriezek said. “It was important for them to win this football game.”
Trailing 14-7 after one quarter, the Marauders scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter for a 28-14 halftime lead. Three of Mariner’s four first-half touchdowns were scored by running back Dyonte Law on runs of 45, 1 and 50 yards.
The Marauders wrapped two more touchdowns around a Snohomish TD for a 41-21 lead heading to the final period.
But in the fourth quarter, a sputtering Panthers offense finally came to life. In the last 12 minutes Snohomish scored three touchdowns and ran 34 offensive plays compared to just six offensive plays for Mariner (excluding two game-ending kneel-downs). Behind the passing arm of quarterback Kobe McDaniel, the Panthers had scoring drives of 95, 56 and 52 yards to pull within a point with 1:21 remaining.
After Snohomish’s final TD, the Panthers lined up to kick the game-tying PAT. But just before the snap a Mariner player jumped across the line, so the ball was moved half the distance to the goal, putting it just outside the 1-yard line and leaving Snohomish coach Kai Smalley with a decision.
After a timeout, Smalley kept his kicking team on the sideline and sent his offensive unit back on the field. The Panthers would try attempt a two-point PAT for the lead, and perhaps the win.
But a handoff from McDaniel to running back Boomer Vuori was bobbled in the backfield and fell to the turf, where it was recovered by the Marauders.
With no timeouts remaining, Snohomish’s final hope was an onside kick. But Mariner’s Greg Whitaker fell on the ball and the Marauders were able to run out the closing seconds.
“I thought our kids played well,” Ondriezek said. “We obviously gave up some big plays defensively, but (Snohomish) has been scoring a lot of points all year. Offensively, except for a couple of drives our kids really controlled the line of scrimmage and we moved the ball well.”
Ahead for Mariner is an opening-round state playoff matchup with Federal Way of the South Puget Sound League. Federal Way boasts one of the state’s most dynamic players in running back and kick returner Chico McClatcher.
“We’re going to go down and play a tough Federal Way team,” Ondriezek acknowledged. “But we’re in the playoffs and that’s always one of your goals when you start the season. … It’s a lot of pride for Mariner High School to have the opportunity to be in the state playoffs, and we’re going to have a great week to get prepared for this game.”
“Being able to make the playoffs is amazing, especially for my senior year,” said Law, who finished with 191 yards on 20 carries with four touchdowns.
Snohomish, which saw its season end, was led by McDaniel, a 6-foot-2 junior who completed 24 of 36 passing attempts for 369 yards with two touchdowns, including 10 completions of 15 yards or more. Freshman running back Keegan Stich had 90 yards on 29 carries with three touchdowns.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
