Strength meets strength in Lake Stevens-Woodinville semifinal clash

The Lake Stevens football team’s balanced, high-powered offense averages more than 45 points per game. Woodinville’s physical, swarming defense holds opponents to just 12.2 points per contest.

With a trip to the Tacoma Dome at stake, something has to give.

The third-seeded Vikings square off against the second-seeded Falcons in a Class 4A state semifinal Saturday at Bothell’s Pop Keeney Stadium, with the winner advancing to face either Union or Puyallup in the Dec. 1 state championship game.

“We love a good challenge like that,” Lake Stevens senior receiver Ian Hanson said of facing the Falcons’ stingy defense. “They’ll present a really good challenge for us, so I’m excited.”

For both teams, this semifinal showdown is a chance to clear the penultimate hurdle to a first-ever state crown.

Woodinville (11-1) reached the state championship game last year, but saw its second-half rally fall short in a 28-21 title-game loss to Richland.

Lake Stevens (12-0) is seeking its third-ever trip to a championship game, and its first since 1994. The Vikings lost state semifinal contests in 2011 and 2015.

“It’d mean everything,” Vikings quarterback Tre Long said of the opportunity to punch their ticket to the Tacoma Dome for next week’s title game.

To do so, Lake Stevens has to get past Woodinville and its suffocating defense, which has posted two shutouts and held nine opponents to 14 points or less. Despite graduating numerous key players from last year’s runner-up squad, the Falcons are yielding less than 13 points per game for the third consecutive season.

“They’re a bear on defense,” Vikings coach Tom Tri said. “They can stop the run with five (or) six guys in the box, because their D-line is so salty up front. They’ve got speed with their linebacking crew, and then they’ve got great coverage skills with their secondary.”

Woodinville’s defense is headlined by 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior Dylan Lewis, who has a scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii. Lewis anchors the defensive line with a team-high 20 tackles for loss.

“It starts up front with their D-line,” Tri said. “They’ve got a great D-line. They’re big, but they also run well.”

In what figures to be a highly competitive battle in the trenches, the Falcons’ defensive front will face a powerful Lake Stevens offensive line led by 6-foot-5, 285-pound left tackle Devin Kylany, 6-foot-5, 300-pound left guard Logan Bruce-Jones and 240-pound center Wyatt Hall. The Vikings’ bruising group of lane-clearers pave the way for a rushing attack that averages 261 yards per game and 7.8 yards per carry.

“We have the best O-line in the state,” Hanson said. “I really believe that. They can give (our quarterback) plenty of time (and) they open up huge holes for our running backs every single play.”

With a dominant line, Lake Stevens is running the ball more often than in years past. That was particularly evident in last week’s 45-28 quarterfinal win over Graham-Kapowsin, when the Vikings attempted just two passes in the second half. Junior running back Dallas Landeros finished with 241 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries, bumping his season rushing total to nearly 1,200 yards.

“I can’t remember the last time as a play-caller — even when we’re beating teams by 30 or 40 points with a mercy clock — only throwing the ball twice (in a half),” Tri said. “That was 100 percent confidence (in) our offensive line.

“I thought about throwing the ball, (but) every time it was like, ‘Well, if they stop us on the next play for a short gain, I’ll throw it.’ … I went the whole second half saying that to myself.”

Complementing the Vikings’ high-powered run game is a supremely efficient aerial attack led by Long, who has completed 74 percent of his passes for nearly 2,400 yards, 30 touchdowns and just two interceptions. The dual-threat senior also has rushed for 387 yards and 10 scores.

Last week, Long threw three touchdown passes of 50-plus yards — two to Hanson and one to Kasen Kinchen. Kinchen has a team-high 903 yards receiving and 12 touchdown catches, and Hanson has 843 yards and eight scoring receptions.

“He’s a general out there,” Hanson said of his quarterback. “He knows how to control the offense, he’s a great leader on the field and his passing is unbelievable. He throws such a beautiful ball. He’ll throw it, and you can just run right under it. It makes your job so much easier as a receiver.”

Moving the ball through the air against Woodinville’s defense, however, is no easy task. In last month’s KingCo 4A title game against Mount Si, the Falcons avenged their lone loss of the season and held University of Oregon commit Cale Millen to 19-of-34 passing for a season-low 177 yards.

Woodinville’s ball-hawking defense has 19 interceptions, led by the defensive-back trio of Cage Schenck (five), Nolan Downs (four) and Blake Glessner (four).

“Their secondary does a great job of mixing their coverages up, making it look like one coverage and then running another,” Tri said.

On the other side of the ball, Woodinville’s offense features a run-first attack that averages 237 yards rushing per game and 5.8 yards per carry.

The one-two punch of Joey Johnson and Nolan Downs has combined to run for more than 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns, and dual-threat quarterback Noah Stifle has added more than 550 yards on the ground. Stifle, who played receiver last year, also has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

“Their philosophy is very similar to ours,” Tri said. “They want to run, run, run, then throw. They want to try to impose their will on you, and it all starts with their O-line. … They’re as big as any team we’ve seen.”

Lake Stevens’ defense, which has posted three shutouts and allows less than 17 points per game, is coming off a strong performance last week against Graham-Kapowsin. The Vikings held G-K to just 14 points until late in the fourth quarter and limited University of Washington-bound Dylan Morris — ranked by 247Sports as one of the top 10 senior quarterbacks in the nation — to 13-of-26 passing for 200 yards.

Tri said the biggest keys to success were keeping G-K’s top receiver in check with over-under coverage, and slowing down the Eagles’ run-first attack by matching the physicality of their offensive line.

“Our defense played lights-out,” Bruce-Jones said.

Lake Stevens’ defense also excels at creating turnovers, having picked off 17 passes this season and returned five interceptions for touchdowns. Kinchen, a three-star junior cornerback with an offer from Oregon, leads the Vikings with seven interceptions.

With both teams adept at forcing takeaways, protecting the football will be critical Saturday night.

“It’s probably the difference in the game,” Tri said. “The O-line, D-line battle up front is probably one of the most important factors. Equally important is taking care of the ball and trying to create some three-and-outs or turnovers.”

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CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINAL

No. 2 Woodinville vs. No. 3 Lake Stevens

When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Pop Keeney Stadium (Bothell)

Radio: KRKO 1380 AM

Implications: The winner advances to face either top-seeded Union or fifth-seeded Puyallup in the Dec. 1 state championship game.

Woodinville: 11-1 overall (4-0 KingCo 4A Crown Division)

The Falcons’ postseason path: beat Federal Way 38-0 in Week 10 playoffs, beat Skyview 34-21 in state first round, beat Gonzaga Prep 45-24 in state quarterfinals

Lake Stevens: 12-0 overall (7-0 Wesco 4A)

The Vikings’ postseason path: beat Kentlake 56-0 in Week 10 playoffs, beat Curtis 56-42 in state first round, beat Graham-Kapowsin 45-28 in state quarterfinals

Herald pick: Lake Stevens

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PICKS

Cameron Van Til

Herald Prep Writer

Lake Stevens over Woodinville

Last week: 1-0, .1.000

Season: 157-44, .781

Steve Willits

Co-Host of Prep Sports Weekly

Woodinville over Lake Stevens

Last week: 1-0, .1.000