Gallagher powers E-W by Scots

EDMONDS — Just when Shorecrest’s fragile kicking game was finally turning the corner, the rest of the offense started to come apart at the seams.

Four turnovers sank the Scots in a 40-23 loss to Edmonds-Woodway Oct. 3 at Edmonds Stadium in a matchup of teams awaiting their first league victory.

E-W running back Glenn Gallagher rushed for 275 yards on 27 carries and supplied four second-half touchdowns to put away the Scots.

With the Warriors facing a 23-14 deficit, Gallagher scored on runs of 5, 18 and 47 yards and hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Reed Brown.

“It was a fourth-quarter nightmare,” Shorecrest coach Mike Wollan said.

After a botched punt early in the fourth quarter, the Scots (0-4 league, 1-4 overall) took over at the E-W 40 trailing by two. But they fumbled on their first play and the Warriors (1-3, 1-4) converted the turnover into a touchdown.

Shorecrest sophomore Jesse Hoffman nearly returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but E-W’s Jesse Ballou slapped the ball free near midfield.

“There was nobody else between Jesse and the end zone,” Wollan said. “He was gone.”

The first half provided better results for the Scots, who jumped to a 7-0 lead when quarterback Jon Glancy and Shane Hoffman hooked up for a 55-yard touchdown pass on Shorecrest’s first play from scrimmage.

Two plays later, Gallagher answered for the Warriors, darting 56 yards on a sweep to set up Brown’s 16-yard play action TD pass to Andrew Vaabeene at the 8:25 mark of the first quarter.

E-W charged in front 14-7 with 44 seconds left in the first quarter when Glancy fumbled a snap and lineman Michael Lee pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for the Warriors.

But on E-W’s next possession, quarterback Phillip Baker fumbled and Shorecrest lineman Andrew Cornejo recovered the ball at midfield.

The Scots responded with a five-minute, 11-play scoring drive, capped by Jesse Hoffman’s 2-yard TD run up the middle.

Freshman kicker Elliott Richards gave the Scots a 16-14 halftime advantage by nailing a 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in the second quarter, eliciting a loud response from the Shorecrest sideline.

Glancy’s 23-yard touchdown strike to J.D. Gardner at the 9:14 mark of the third quarter increased Shorecrest’s lead to nine.

From there it was all E-W and Gallagher, who was responsible for the game’s final four touchdowns.

“We showed a little more aggressiveness in the second half, which was huge,” E-W coach John Gradwohl said. “That was the best half of football we’ve played all year.”