Sixth-ranked Woodinville ends Mariner’s season, 27-0

Published 1:30 am Friday, November 11, 2016

BOTHELL — Mariner’s offense moved the ball incrementally here and there against Woodinville. But forget the end zone, it was the red zone that proved impossible for the Marauders to breach Friday night at Pop Keeney Stadium.

Mariner coach Mark Stewart said Woodinville — the KingCo 4A champion — was known for its defensive prowess, and he was telling the truth. The Marauders couldn’t get anything going offensively all four quarters and had nothing to show for their first trip to the state playoffs since 2007.

“They made everything real hard on us,” Stewart said. “We had to be perfect, and we had to execute, and we just couldn’t get enough stuff done offensively to get anything on the board.”

Mariner’s defense hung tough against the undefeated Falcons, but ultimately the Falcons’ playmakers showed up, and the Marauders suffered a 27-0 Class 4A state playoff opening-round defeat.

The loss snapped a four-game win streak by Mariner (7-4) and ended what’s been the Marauders’ best season in nearly a decade.

“We are making progress as a program,” Stewart said. “We still got a ways to go, but we are kind of moving forward. We are graduating some pretty good seniors, but we got some young guys coming up, and we’re going to try to keep it going.”

Mariner finished with 192 yards of total offense and didn’t get past Woodinville’s 26-yard line. Senior quarterback JJ Walker had a tough time finding any success against Woodinville’s secondary. He finished 7-of-24 for 83 yards and threw four interceptions, although two were end-of-half, desperation heaves.

Woodinville finished with five interceptions, three of which were caught by Peyton Chester.

Mariner held Woodinville’s rushing game in check for the most part and even flustered quarterback Jaden Sheffey early on with pressure. The Marauders sacked Sheffey seven times, but that didn’t stop him from throwing for 261 yards on 16-of-29 passing. His main target was 6-foot-4 Michael Roth, who caught seven balls for 138 yards.

Several big passes to Roth downfield set up short Woodinville rushing scores. Running backs Jake Kim and Mack Minnehan had two rushing touchdowns apiece, but the duo combined for just 51 yards on 14 carries.

“Our D did a nice job,” Stewart said, “but eventually they are going to make plays. That’s the playoffs. You face good football teams, and we faced a good one tonight.”

The Marauders’ defense shut down the Falcons offense through the first 16 minutes, but a critical interception set up Woodinville up with prime scoring position after three consecutive Falcons punts to start.

Chester took the first of his two first-half interceptions down to Mariner’s 38, and five plays later, Kim cashed in from the 1-yard line, giving Woodinville a 7-0 lead with 6:03 to play in the second.

The Marauders moved the ball during the first half — their best drive was a 10-play, 64-yard journey down to Woodinville’s 26 that ended in a turnover on downs — but they never finished with points. Mariner went punt, turnover on downs, interception, punt and a final interception as the second quarter expired.

After Mariner’s second punt late in the second quarter, Woodinville’s offense engineered an 81-yard touchdown drive in a span of 3:11.

Sheffey picked apart Mariner’s secondary, and a 37-yard pass down to the 1-yard line set up a 2-yard TD run from Minnehan with 0:10 left in the half. The score gave Woodinville a 13-0 halftime edge.

Another 2-yard Minnehan score with 4:11 to go in the third extended Woodinville’s lead to 20-0, and a 1-yard Kim touchdown with 6:24 to play in the fourth sealed the game for good.

Mariner back Darius Brown led the Marauders’ ground attack, rushing for 63 yards on 16 carries.