EDMONDS — Mountlake Terrace football was on its heels.
After holding Edmonds-Woodway to 3rd-and-11 following the first two plays of the game at Edmonds Stadium on Thursday, the defense allowed three straight gains of 10, 11 and 16 yards, respectively. With a 15-yard penalty tacked on the end of the third play, Edmonds-Woodway suddenly faced first-and-10 on the Mountlake Terrace 29.
Needing an impact play to set the tone, Mountlake Terrace sophomore Jackson Wallis worked his way around his blocker from the edge as tight coverage in the secondary prevented a quick throw. Rushing from the blindside, Wallis delivered a crushing blow to the Edmonds-Woodway quarterback’s back, knocking the ball loose. Senior lineman Liam Moore fell on the ball to give Mountlake Terrace possession.
“We just gotta get a stop,” Moore said. “And I trust my team, and I know they will, and look what happened? They did.”
It was the first of four turnovers the Hawks (8-0, 6-0 league) generated on the first five drives for the Warriors (5-3, 4-2), and the offense scored 24 points off those turnovers en route to a 45-7 victory to clinch the Wesco South 3A title, the first in program history in its first-ever undefeated regular season.
The Hawks dumped their cooler of water on coach Archie Malloy when the clock hit 0:00, and he jumped up and down the sideline. It marked a massive milestone in what he labeled a “reclamation project.” After inheriting a one-win team in 2021, Malloy coached Mountlake Terrace to five wins in his second season, and six in each of the past two years.
After a second-place league finish in 2024, the Hawks reached the top on Thursday.
“This team trusted us when we came in and we laid a foundation,” Malloy said. “If you go back and check each year, our arrow was pointing up. We garnered wins in stadiums on Thursdays and Friday nights, and you know what, it cultivated this year into something special.
“We’re on a special run, and we’re not going to run from it. We’re going to run towards it.”
Mountlake Terrace’s Ryan Pineda reacts to getting a sack during the game against Edmonds-Woodway on Oct. 23, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
And run towards it quite literally. Rushing the ball 39 times, Mountlake Terrace accumulated 341 net rushing yards (8.74 yards per carry) in the win. Junior Owen Boswell rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns on 16 attempts, adding 27 yards and another touchdown across three receptions. Senior Cody Ekanayake (eight attempts, 62 yards) and junior quarterback Mason Wilson (13 attempts, 68 yards) combined for 130 more yards on the ground, picking up yards at will thanks to stellar offensive line play from Colin Bellecourt, D’Andre Daigre, Bakr Khan, Ryan Pineda and Moore.
Malloy shouted “Best line in Wesco!” as he passed the starting unit while heading to the locker room.
“They’re giving it their all, and I see it,” Boswell said. “It’s just the best feeling knowing everyone got my back. I can trust everyone, and they’re doing their job every play.”
Complimenting the offense, the Hawks defense remained as stout as they have been all season. After allowing 36 net yards on Edmonds-Woodway’s first drive, plus another 15 on the penalty, Mountlake Terrace only allowed 25 total yards in the rest of the first half.
“It was a huge momentum swing,” Wallis said of the first strip sack. “They were driving and they thought they had something going, and then ‘boom.’”
Mountlake Terrace’s Liam Moore reacts to recovering a fumble during the game against Edmonds-Woodway on Oct. 23, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
After Wallis created the first turnover, the offense executed a 12-play, 67-yard touchdown drive capped by a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Boswell, bouncing off defenders up the middle to go up 7-0. The defense followed up with another strip sack, this time forced out by Moore and recovered by Wilson to set the Hawks up on the Warriors’ 20. A penalty and a couple of incompletions forced them to settle for a field goal, but junior Cian Harney (6-for-6 on extra points) nailed a 40-yard kick to extend the lead to 10-0.
Just two plays later, an Edmonds-Woodway pass deflected off a receiver’s hands and straight to Ekanayake to give Mountlake Terrace another short field to work with, and Boswell made it 17-0 with 50 seconds left in the quarter on an eight-yard rushing score.
“We play complimentary football, so if our defense is going to stop ‘em, we’re gonna go score,” Moore said. “That’s what we do around here.”
After forcing a punt on the Warriors’ fourth drive, the Hawks secured their second interception of the night on the fifth, with senior Mo Sillah taking a 46-yard return up the sideline to put the offense back inside the red zone. The offense capitalized once again when Wilson connected with Boswell for a 16-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-0 with 7:10 left in the half.
The defense held Edmonds-Woodway to a couple of three-and-outs in the rest of the half, but the Warriors made a goal-line stand before the break, with senior Natan Ghebreamlak executing a diving pass break-up in the end zone before the defensive line stuffed Mountlake Terrace at the one-yard line as time expired.
But the damage was done. With three offensive drives the rest of the game, the Warriors did not reach the end zone until senior Andrew Bau linked up with senior Samuel Isaac for a 10-yard touchdown pass, capping a nine-play, 78-yard drive with 1:26 left.
Prior to that, Boswell rumbled for a pair of 40-plus yard touchdowns to add to his absurd rushing totals and set up the 45-7 final, taking the first one 47 yards down the sideline with 3:14 left in the third, and spinning off a defender amid a 42-yard scamper up the middle with 8:37 left in the game.
“Owen Boswell is just an absolute beast,” Malloy said. “He takes pride in running behind that offensive line that blocked for him, and our offense, once we get clicking, we got five, six people we can put their hands on the ball and do something dynamic.”
After putting the finishing touch on a magical regular season, Mountlake Terrace is eager to reach another level in the postseason. After spending the past five years building to where they are now, they feel ready to meet the moment.
“This has been the goal since the start of the season,” Wallis said. “This is always what we’ve been working for. We work hard every single day to be in this moment. We know we deserve it.”
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