SNOHOMISH – Dick Armstrong would’ve been proud.
On a night when the Snohomish Panthers dedicated a life-size statue of the late, great Snohomish football coach, the Panthers played their second consecutive turnover-free football game Friday night, defeating the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks 28-9 in a Wesco North game at Snohomish High School.
Snohomish (2-0 Wesco North and overall) scored 21 unanswered points all in the second half.
Panther running back Derek Jones rushed for 135 yards on 23 carries and the senior, who has orally committed to play baseball at Washington State, showed off his arm by taking a handoff and throwing a 34-yard pass to receiver Kevin Karpinski for a touchdown and a 14-9 Panther lead.
Though the final score shows a 19-point difference, the game wasn’t actually decided until midway through the fourth quarter when Panther cornerback Matt Berry picked off Tomahawk quarterback Denay Stell at midfield.
The interception was Stell’s second of the game and allowed the Panthers to regain possession at midfield and use up most of the remaining 6:30 of the clock.
The opportunities were there for the young Tomahawks, who were led by junior running back Travis Sanderson’s 12 carries for 69 yards.
Marysville-Pilchuck had three opportunities in the red zone but had to settle on three Elwood Sevon field goals.
“Our red zone defense played outstanding tonight. They stepped it up when they had to. Forcing the three field goals was huge,” Panthers’ assistant coach Brannon Jackson said.
In the first quarter the Tomahawks were stopped three times while inside the 10-yard line. The final stop of the drive came on a third-and-goal at the 4-yard line when Andy Abadam tried to scamper into the end zone on a reverse but was taken down at the 2-yard line by Jones before he could cross the goaline.
On Marysville-Pilchuck’s final drive of the half the Tomahawks went 88 yards on 13 plays only to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Sevon as time expired.
Snohomish’s defense again stopped the Tomahawks inside the 10-yard line when Tomahawks’ running back Caleb Posey was stopped for a loss on the 5-yard line.
That set up Sevon’s third field goal of the night, a 25-yarder that gave Marysville-Pilchuck its first lead of the season.
“(Marysville-Pilchuck) gave us everything we had. Their quarterback (Stell) did a fantastic job and their offensive line did a helluva job,” Jackson said.
Snohomish quarterback Brad Perry, who didn’t attempt a pass in the Panthers season-opening win over Cascade last Friday, was 3-for-6 for 65 yards. The senior QB rushed for 42 yards and a TD on eight carries. Running back Miles Semanskee carried 10 times for 66 yards with a touchdown.
At Snohomish H.S.
M-P33309
Snohomish7071428
SnohomishJones 26 run (Wiseman kick)
Marysville-PilchuckFG Sevon 20
Marysville-PilchuckFG Sevon 32
Marysville-PilchuckFG Sevon 25
nohomishKarpinski 34 pass from Jones (Wiseman kick)
SnohomishSemanskee 17 run (Wiseman kick)
SnohomishPerry 17 run (Wiseman kick)
RecordsM-P 0-2 division and overall. Snohomish 2-0, 2-0.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
