EDMONDS
For what feels like the past decade, Edmonds-Woodway has ruled the Western Conference South Division and Mountlake Terrace has wallowed near the cellar with seemingly little hope of escape.
On Oct. 16, Terrace served notice to the league that its time at the bottom is over. The Hawks posted a convincing (but closer than the score indicated) 28-7 victory over the Warriors, spoiling Edmonds-Woodways’s homecoming at Edmonds Stadium.
The downpour that started in the second half and continued postgame went virtually unnoticed by everyone on the Mountlake Terrace (3-1 in the league, 5-2 overall) sideline, from the cheerleaders in hoods to the players whose faces were covered in wet, sticky, rubber pellets from the FieldTurf.
“I’m still full of adrenaline right now,” senior linebacker Max Wicklander said, grasping for words to describe the Hawks’ win over Edmonds-Woodway (1-3, 2-5).
Mountlake Terrace coach Tony Umayam said it was the Hawks’ first victory over the Warriors in nine years.
Wicklander had two fourth-quarter sacks that helped force the Warriors into a fourth-and-21 and a fourth-and-23. Edmonds-Woodway failed to convert both times, giving Mountlake Terrace tremendous field position. His second sack, on the Warriors’ 13-yard line, essentially ended Edmonds-Woodway’s chances to come back from a 21-7 deficit.
“Coach asked me to go in on a blitz,” Wicklander said. “I saw the opportunity and I grabbed (the quarterback) and didn’t let go.”
When Mountlake Terrace got the ball, senior quarterback Brandyn Eckhart fumbled on a third-and-nine run, but recovered the ball and scampered into the end zone for the game’s final touchdown. It was Eckhart’s third TD of the game — the other two came through the air.
“It keeps us in the hunt which is exciting,” Umayam said of the victory. “We have the top two teams in the league coming up so nothing is decided. But we are going to enjoy this one.”
Umayam was pointing to the Hawks’ next opponent, undefeated Jackson, and their final regular season opponent Kamiak, which sits tied with the Hawks for second place in the Wesco South.
“We are showing other teams that we are one of the powerhouses in Wesco South,” running back Casey Ellersick said.
The senior rushed 23 times for a game-high 94 yards and a score.
The Hawks jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the half thanks to some fortuitous plays that cost Edmonds-Woodway. However, Mountlake Terrace’s most important score probably came in the third quarter after its defense got its first three-and-out of the game.
The Hawks offense took the field with 9:04 remaining in the third and Umayam put the ball in the hands of Ellersick. He rushed on seven of the next eight plays, bruising through the tiring Warriors’ defense. His final rush was for two yards for a score that gave the Hawks a 21-0 advantage with five minutes remaining.
“I’m glad that coach wants to put the ball in my hands (in that situation),” Ellersick said.
The score forced Edmonds-Woodway to take more chances on offense, which had performed well in the first half despite not scoring. When Edmonds-Woodway took chances in the second half, the Hawks responded.
The Warriors had little difficulty moving the ball in the first half, racking up 174 yards, including 108 on the ground. Edmonds-Woodway did not have a drive of less than eight plays before halftime. It wasn’t how the Warriors moved the ball that mattered. It was what happened on the final play of their drives that was the difference.
On the game’s opening possession, Edmonds-Woodway quarterback Andy Wilcock’s 27-yard pass was intercepted by Mountlake Terrace’s Zach Karels, who returned the pick 20 yards.
The Warriors got the ball back thanks to a fourth-down stop deep in their own territory, only to turn it over to the Hawks on a bad exchange at midfield. Mountlake Terrace took immediate advantage when Eckhart threw to Hunter Rook, who streaked 27 yards into the end zone.
Down 7-0, Edmonds-Woodway’s offense got going once again, but this time it was derailed when Zack Berg was stuffed for a two-yard loss on fourth down at the Warriors’ 44. Berg finished with 12 carries for 75 yards and a score.
The Hawks took advantage once again this time from 15 yards out. Eckhart got his pass by three defenders and into the hands of Karels in the end zone.
Trailing 14-0, the Warriors moved from their own 30 to inside the Terrace 20 in eight plays. With under a minute to go in the half Edmonds-Woodway experienced its second fourth-down run stuff and Terrace preserved its first-half shutout.
Jon Saperstein writes for The Herald.
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