What is the difference between a Wolf and a Timberwolf? Football fans packed Everett Memorial Stadium Nov. 7 to find out the answer.
Around three touchdowns.
Much to the relief of the faithful from Mill Creek, it was the Timberwolves that came out on top as Jackson dispatched Eastlake 38-15 in the 4A quad-district playoffs and advanced to the first round of the state tournament.
There was no raucous celebration by these Timberwolves after the game, however. Their minds were already on next this week’s opponent.
“I’m thinking about Issaquah,” Taylor Mead said shortly after the final seconds ticked off.
The Eagles (7-3) would be wise to think about Mead, who was in on just about every significant play of the night for Jackson (10-0), which had to work early, but coasted to the finish.
It didn’t look good for Jackson as the fired up Wolves came out full of adrenaline and knocked the fourth-ranked team from Mill Creek onto its heels.
The Wolves needed just five plays from scrimmage to go up early when Kelby McCorkle hit a wide-open Kyle Lappano for a 44-yard touchdown 1:35 into the game. McCorkle finished the game 19-for-28 for 211 yards and three interceptions.
The Eastlake defense responded with a three-and-out and a short punt gave the Wolves the ball back in Jackson territory at the 47. McCorkle’s next pass tipped off the hands of his receiver and into the grasp of the charging Mead. The Jackson safety bobbed and weaved down to the 1-yard line where McCorkle dragged him down.
Jackson’s Riley Carr took the ensuing snap from center and plunged into the end zone to tie the score, giving the Timberwolves more points than total yards by a 7-3 margin.
Carr missed most of the last few games with an ankle injury but was on the defensive side of the field at his normal linebacker position for the duration. Jackson coach Joel Vincent held him out of the offensive end for the final three quarters.
“He’s getting better,” Vincent said. “He’s not there yet.”
Mead would add three touchdowns to his play on defense, including two rushing and one on the opening kickoff of the second half that gave Jackson a 31-7 advantage. His 30-yard dash around the end sealed the game in the fourth quarter after the Wolves pulled to within two scores.
He ended up carrying the offense more than usual from his wide receiver position. Mead rushed for 69 yards on seven carries.
“They left our counter wide open,” Mead said. “We saw it on film before the game and exploited it.”
Jackson runs the counter out of the Wildcat, which is where the offense did almost all of its damage. The normally unflappable quarterback Andy Gay had his worst game of the season connecting only six of 21 times for 98 yards and two interceptions. Once again Traishawn Patrick filled in admirably at Wildcat quarterback for Carr. Patrick ran for 60 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
“The Wildcat that they run is very explosive,” Eastlake coach Gene Dales said.
Dales was proud of his team but felt like they were lucky to have made it this far due to injuries including five at offensive tackle.
“We played with emotion,” he said. “We had a hard time of sustaining it.”
Jackson next gets to host Issaquah, which was a big winner over Kentwood in its playoff game thanks to running back Grant Gellatly. The senior missed almost the entire regular season but ran for five touchdowns Friday and led Issaquah to the state championship game last year. Issaquah squeaked by Eastlake 14-13 without Gellatly on Oct. 2.
“He’s a heck of a back,” Vincent said, having scouted the Eagles game Friday. “So we are going to have to game plan for him … we can’t just line up against him because they are balanced.”
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