Prep football notebook: Storylines, analysis, Week 4 stars

As rainy weather made its way through Snohomish County on Friday night, defense ruled in many of the area’s high school football games.

Six contests involving local teams featured less than 30 points combined, including a pivotal top-five showdown between Northwest 2A Sky Division rivals.

Here’s a look back at the notable Week 4 storylines and stars from across the Snohomish County area, as well as a look ahead at what’s to come.

ARCHBISHOP MURPHY FALLS TO LYNDEN IN TOP-5 SHOWDOWN

In a key top-five showdown between two of the state’s premier Class 2A programs, Archbishop Murphy and Lynden grinded away at each other in a rain-soaked defensive slugfest.

The two perennial powers — who have accounted for seven of the past 13 state titles in the 2A classification — combined for just 341 yards of total offense and 16 pass attempts in the wet conditions.

In the end, the visiting fourth-ranked Lions prevailed for a 10-7 win over the second-ranked Wildcats in Friday night’s pivotal Northwest 2A Sky Division opener.

“It was what we thought it would be — a four-quarter battle against an excellent, great football team and program in Lynden,” Archbishop Murphy coach Mark Leone said. “They are well-coached and they don’t beat themselves, and we made too many mistakes tonight.”

The game was scoreless until less than four minutes to play in the first half, when Lynden took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Baylor Ayers. Archbishop Murphy quarterback Victor Gabalis evened the score in the third quarter, rushing for a 14-yard TD to make it 7-7.

Lynden kicker Marko Samoukovic then hit a decisive 27-yard field goal in the fourth with less than eight minutes to play, giving the Lions (4-0 overall, 1-0 Sky Division) a three-point lead that held up.

The Wildcats (3-1, 0-1) managed just 138 yards of total offense in the loss.

It was the second time in as many seasons that Archbishop Murphy has suffered a three-point loss to Lynden. In last year’s matchup, the Lions rallied for a 24-21 victory that ultimately determined the Sky Division title.

LAKEWOOD MAKES STATEMENT, BLANKS SEDRO-WOOLLEY

Lakewood opened Northwest 2A Sky Division play with a defensive masterpiece Friday night, allowing just 104 yards of total offense in a 27-0 shutout win over ninth-ranked Sedro-Woolley.

It was a massive statement by the Cougars, who went 0-4 in the ultra-tough Sky Division last season and surrendered more than 30 points in each of those contests. The victory avenged last year’s 36-14 loss to the Cubs and places Lakewood (4-0 overall, 1-0 Sky Division) as a serious contender in possibly the state’s toughest 2A league.

“I think until you get a couple of signature wins, they’re going to always sort of wonder who you are,” Cougars coach Dan Teeter said. “We haven’t really had a whole lot of talk about us or anything. Our guys are proud, and they realize that and they wanted to make a statement.”

Sedro-Woolley (3-1, 0-1) entered Friday averaging 41.7 points per game and coming off non-league victories over Wesco 4A’s Mount Vernon and Wesco 3A’s Oak Harbor. But against Lakewood’s stifling defense, the Cubs couldn’t muster much of anything.

The Cougars held Sedro-Woolley to no first downs in the first half and just four for the entire game. Lakewood stymied receiver Brent VanderVeen, limiting the Eastern Washington University commit to just two catches for 21 yards.

It was already the second shutout of the season for the Cougars, who blanked Bellingham 49-0 two weeks ago. And dating back to last week’s win over Evergreen, Lakewood has posted six consecutive quarters of shutout football. Through four games, the Cougars have allowed just 31 points combined.

“Coach Mitch Robbins, our defensive coordinator, has put a lot of time in, and I’m so proud of those guys,” Teeter said. “They worked really hard, and you can’t say enough about the defense.”

WESCO 4A ROUTS CONTINUE

Through the first two weeks of Wesco 4A play, seven of the league’s eight conference games have had margins of 35 points or more. The trend of blowouts was particularly evident Friday night, with none of the league’s four games being even remotely competitive.

Top-ranked Lake Stevens eclipsed 70 points for the second straight week, cruising to a 77-0 trouncing of Mount Vernon. It was the unbeaten Vikings’ highest point total since at least 2004, surpassing their scoring output in last week’s 73-28 win over Monroe.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, bounced back from that blowout loss to Lake Stevens with a 49-7 rout of Mariner. In the conference’s other two games, unbeaten Glacier Peak rolled past Kamiak 41-6 and Cascade blanked Jackson 40-0.

SNOHOMISH, EDMONDS-WOODWAY SIT ATOP WESCO 3A SOUTH

Snohomish and Edmonds-Woodway both moved to 2-0 in Wesco 3A South play with victories Friday night.

Defending league champion Snohomish rolled to its second straight blowout win, cruising past Everett in a 48-12 rout. In their two league games against Shorewood and Everett, the Panthers (2-2 overall, 2-0 Wesco 3A South) have outscored their opponents 104-22.

Edmonds-Woodway, coming off its first losing season in more than a decade, earned a 27-13 win over rival Meadowdale in a game that didn’t kick off until after 9 p.m. because of weather delays in the preceding contest at Edmonds Stadium.

After the late start, the Warriors raced to a 20-0 second-quarter lead and recovered three Meadowdale fumbles. The Mavericks trimmed the margin to 20-13 in the second half, but Edmonds-Woodway scored a late TD to seal the victory.

The Warriors (2-2, 2-0) lost to Shorecrest and Meadowdale by 21 points apiece last season, but have avenged those defeats with victories the past two weeks to open Wesco 3A South play.

ARLINGTON FALLS TO FERNDALE IN WESCO 3A NORTH CLASH

After allowing just 24 points combined in its first three games, ninth-ranked Arlington suffered a 48-28 road loss to Ferndale in a Wesco 3A North matchup Friday night.

Arlington (3-1 overall, 2-1 Wesco 3A North) trailed by just seven points at halftime, but Ferndale capitalized on a pair of turnovers early in the second half to extend its lead to 35-14. The victory moved the Golden Eagles (2-2, 2-0) into a first-place tie with Marysville Pilchuck atop the Wesco 3A North, with both teams off to 2-0 starts in league play.

Elsewhere in the Wesco 3A North, visiting Stanwood defeated Oak Harbor 22-6 to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

WEEK 4 STARS

Brayden Corwin, sr., Glacier Peak

Corwin caught a 54-yard TD pass and kicked field goals of 45 and 35 yards in the Grizzlies’ 41-6 win over Kamiak. He also made all five extra points.

Dylan Owen, sr., Glacier Peak

Owen rushed for four TDs in the Grizzlies’ rout of Kamiak.

Darius Hacking, sr., Monroe

The senior linebacker returned an interception for a 26-yard TD and recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for another score in the Bearcats’ 49-7 rout of Mariner.

Tanner Jellison, jr., Lake Stevens

Jellison completed 12 of 16 passes for 245 yards and four TDs in the Vikings’ 77-0 win over Mount Vernon.

Tyler Larson, sr., Snohomish

Larson rushed for 163 yards and four TDs on just 11 carries in the Panthers’ 48-12 win over Everett.

Marysville Pilchuck’s rushing tandem

Sophomore Dylan Carson and senior Jordan Justice combined for 235 yards rushing and three TDs in the Tomahawks’ 33-14 win over Lake Washington. Carson ran for 131 yards and a TD, and Justice added 104 yards and two scores.

Garrett Craig, sr., Stanwood

Craig kicked field goals of 30, 26 and 39 yards and made an extra point in the Spartans’ 22-6 win over Oak Harbor.

Lakewood defense

The Cougars allowed just 104 yards of total offense in a 27-0 shutout win over Sedro-Woolley.

Jared Taylor, sr., Lakewood

The dual-threat quarterback ran for 110 yards and a TD on 19 carries in the Cougars’ win over Sedro-Woolley. Taylor also threw for 76 yards and a score.

Alan Sepulveda, sr., Lakewood

Sepulveda kicked a school-record 44-yard field goal in the Cougars’ victory over Sedro-Woolley. He also hit a 33-yarder and made three extra points.

Dawson Cairns, sr., Cedarcrest

Cairns had nine receptions for 135 yards in the Red Wolves’ 22-18 win over Bellingham.

NEXT WEEK’S BIG GAMES

Glacier Peak at Cascade, 5 p.m. Friday at Everett Memorial Stadium. Glacier Peak takes a 4-0 record into this Wesco 4A matchup and will look to slow down running back Davanta Murphy-Mcmillan and the Bruins, who have scored 87 points combined in their first two conference games. Also of note: Shane Keck will face his former team for the first time as a head coach. Keck, who took over as Glacier Peak’s head coach just prior to the season after Nick Bender had to step aside for health reasons, was Cascade’s head coach from 2015 through 2017.

Shorecrest at Snohomish, 7 p.m. Friday. This Wesco 3A South clash is a rematch of Snohomish’s 33-27 overtime win over the Scots last season. The Panthers look to improve to 3-0 in league play, while Shorecrest aims to climb back into the Wesco 3A South race.

Lakewood at Lynden, 7 p.m. Friday. After shutting out Sedro-Woolley in its league opener, Lakewood travels north to face another state-ranked team in a Northwest 2A Sky Division clash against perennial power Lynden. The Cougars look to avenge last year’s 31-14 loss to the eventual 2A state runner-up Lions.