SHORELINE

Glacier Peak’s spread offense did its job while its defense shut down Shorecrest, as the Grizzlies secured a playoff berth in the first year of the program and ended Shorecrest’s postseason hopes.

Sophomore wide receiver Tanner Southard caught touchdown passes of nine and 24 yards and finished with 147 yards receiving in Glacier Peak’s 34-7 win Friday night at Shoreline Stadium.

“It feels great to have the opportunity to go to the playoffs,” Southard said.

Glacier Peak, which has no seniors, improved its Wesco 3A League record to 3-1, 5-4 overall and clinched the league’s second playoff berth. Shorecrest fell to 2-2 and 4-5 and was eliminated from the playoffs after Meadowdale beat Everett to claim the league title and No. 1 seed. Everett, which is also 2-2 in the league beat Shorecrest, and earned the third spot.

On the game’s first drive, Shorecrest made an early statement going 92 yards in three plays. The Scots’ Jordan Brown broke loose over the left side of his line for a 55-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the game.

But Glacier Peak answered with 34 unanswered points and its defense made adjustments to stymie the Shorecrest running attack.

The Grizzlies cut the lead to 7-6 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Richter to Southard. A 20-yard completion from Richter to Southard kept the drive going on a third-and-seven play.

The Grizzlies took the lead for good on a 7-yard touchdown run by Alex Stepanchenko with 5:36 left in the half. Southard caught a 16-yard pass on fourth-and-12 to keep that drive alive. The two-point conversion from Richter to Luke Westberg made it 14-7, after Brown blocked Glacier Peak’s first extra point.

With Glacier Peak driving late in the half, Shorecrest caught a break when Michael Harris intercepted Richter in the end zone and took off down the sideline headed for open field. Shorecrest coach Mike Wollan said an inadvertent whistle by an official blew the play dead and the Scots took over on their own 12-yard line.

On the next series, Glacier Peak linebacker Hunter Lundstrom drilled Brown and the ball squirted loose. Nick Sage pounced on it in the end zone to give Glacier Peak a 21-7 halftime edge after Jackson Miller’s extra point.

Much has been made about Glacier Peak’s spread offense that had averaged 40 points in its last five games, but it was the defense Glacier Peak coach Rory Rosenbach wanted to talk about.

“They made the necessary adjustments. They did a phenomenal job of containing (Shorecrest running back Harris) who is a heck of a playmaker,” Rosenbach said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage. They were flying around in the secondary. Guys were coming up and forcing plays. We got some turnovers. That turnover right before the half, the touchdown, that’s the biggest play of the year.”

Shorecrest only crossed midfield twice after its first drive and never got past midfield in the second half.

“It was kind of a war of attrition we had a lot of new guys up front and consequently they had to play defense too,” Wollan said. “They definitely wore down as the game went on.”

Shorecrest’s passing game was ineffective, only generating 15 yards, as it was in a loss to Everett the week before. Glacier Peak was able to key on the run.

“They did a good job plugging the middle,” Wollan said. “It was tough to find places to run.”

Glacier Peak tacked on a 24-yard pass play from Richter to Southard in the third quarter and a 4-yard touchdown run by Nathan Wirtz in the fourth quarter.

Southard credited the offensive line for freeing up Richter to make throws. Shorecrest did put pressure on Richter, blitzing several times and sacking him twice, but he made key plays when needed.

Richter completed 15-of-30 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The Grizzlies finished with 121 yards rushing and 252 yards passing for 373 total yards. Shorecrest had over 100 yards rushing in the first quarter but finished with only 150 yards rushing for the game and 165 yards total while committing four turnovers.