Snohomish routs Jackson, stays alive for postseason

SNOHOMISH — The Snohomish football team’s storybook season continued Monday night, as the Panthers outlasted Jackson 59-35 in a Wesco 4A contest at Veterans Memorial Stadium that puts them in position to clinch a playoff berth with another win next week.

Freshman running back Keegan Stich ran for 244 yards and four touchdowns against a Timberwolves defense that allowed 394 yards on the ground in the game.

Snohomish raced out to a 22-0 lead after the first quarter and led 29-8 at halftime, but Jackson’s offense outscored the Panthers 27-23 in the third quarter and got to within 10.

But the Panthers kept scoring, with Stich and quarterback Kobe McDaniel running for touchdowns on back-to-back drives at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth to pull away for good.

Tanner Litchfield caught six passes for 145 yards and a touchdown for Jackson and Timberwolves quarterback Alex Cheesman completed 16-of-30 for 300 yards and two touchdowns.

After winning just one game in each of the past two seasons and dropping its first four contests in 2014, Snohomish has won three of its last four to improve to 3-3 in league play and 3-5 overall.

The Panthers are tied with Mariner for fourth place, and can clinch a playoff spot if they can beat the Marauders at Goddard Stadium on Saturday afternoon. That game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday to give Snohomish another day to rest after Monday’s game, which was postponed from Friday in the wake of the shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

At Veterans Memorial Stadium

Jackson08270—35

Snohomish227237—59

S—Keegan Stich 6 run (Jess Harris run)

S—Stich 63 run (Aaron Nicholas kick)

S—Boomer Vuori 12 run (Nicholas kick)

J—Jason Cottingham 1 run (Jacob Saldana pass from Keynan Foster)

S—Vuori 37 pass from Kobe McDaniel (Nicholas kick)

J—Brad Borders 76 pass from Alex Cheesman (Chandler Woolley kick)

S—Stich 31 run (pass failed)

J—Foster 8 run (Woolley kick)

S—McDaniel 50 run (Joel Williamson kick)