Hawks stun Royals

EDMONDS — Fear can sometimes be a tremendous source of motivation.

The Mountlake Terrace football team found that out in last week’s Western Conference South Division game against district rival Lynnwood.

The Hawks pulled out an improbable come-from-behind victory when quarterback Troy Hennum threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Adrian Blake with seven seconds remaining to stun the Royals 32-28 in an Oct. 8 clash at Edmonds Stadium.

The Mountlake Terrace victory meant that Lynnwood’s losing streak was extended to 44 games, currently the longest skid in the state.

Up until Hennum’s pass, it appeared the Royals were on their way to a much desired victory. Lynnwood jumped on the Hawks early, capitalizing on a fumble and botched snap to seize 16-0 first quarter advantage. The Royals took a 22-12 lead into halftime and never trailed in the game until Mountlake Terrace’s final drive.

“We had a big talk at halftime,” said Hennum. “All our guys there were scared. We didn’t want to give them (Royals) their first win. We came out with a lot more intensity in the second half. It was huge for our team.

“We never once thought we were out of that ball game.”

The Hawks (1-5), however, likely would have lost the game were it not for a key defensive series in the final two minutes.

Mountlake Terrace running back Carroll Powell had scored on a 6-yard run at the 1:51 mark of the fourth quarter to cut the Lynnwood advantage to 28-26. The Hawks went for the two-point conversion but Powell was stopped short of the goal line and the Royals hung on to their narrow lead.

The Hawks defense then forced Lynnwood (0-6) to turn over the ball on downs at the Royals’ 45 with 1:27 remaining in the game.

Mountlake Terrace was without any timeouts when its offense took the field because coach Tony Umayam had used all three of them on defense.

“I have a lot of faith in our defense,” Umayam said. “A lot of missed tackles early in the game cost us. We just came in and played stout defense. I knew I’d use all of my timeouts on defense … to get the ball back to the offense we knew we had to get some crucial stops there.”

Mountlake Terrace had to overcome what appeared to be a costly holding penalty on offense that pushed the ball back to the Hawks’ 45.

Hennum lofted a 44-yard pass that Blake came down with at the Lynnwood 11 with 47 seconds to go. Hennum then spiked the ball to stop the clock.

A running play by Powell netted only a couple of yards and the Hawks were faced with a third-and-8 from the 9 when Hennum found Blake for the game-winner.

“He (Blake) is a great receiver,” Hennum said. “I knew if I could get it up to him he can make a play with any corner in the league.”

Hennum took over at quarterback when Anthony Rutherford suffered an ankle injury. Hennum admitted he was a little worried about throwing the ball after being on the sideline.

“I just got a little warmed up and got a little more comfortable,” he said. “The line gave me some time to throw the ball … I knew we had a chance. I’ve got good receivers out there.”

The victory was the first career win for the first-year Hawks coach, who knew the potential significance of losing to Lynnwood.

“It would be huge news to be the team that gave up that long streak,” Umayam said. “I told them (players) being an alum (of Mountlake Terrace) I didn’t want that to happen to us, especially my first game as a head coach coaching against Lynnwood. I’m glad our team showed enough character and heart to overcome the mistakes.

“I gave a lot of credit to Lynnwood. They came out and fought hard and really gave us more than we could handle.”

The loss was the hardest one Lynnwood coach Andrew Burton has ever experienced.

“The kids did everything we asked of them,” he said. “We were doing so well.”

Perhaps in part due to the rain, the Hawks botched the opening kickoff and the Royals recovered deep in Terrace territory. Lynnwood converted when running back Brian Hill scored on a 14-yard run.

The Hawks’ next offensive possession ended almost as badly when the snap to the punter went out of the end zone for a safety.

Lynnwood then increased its lead to 16-0 on a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Luke St. Marie.

Mountlake Terrace regrouped in the second quarter and cut the lead to 16-12 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Powell and then a 7-yard fumble return by Travis Parvin.

The Royals struck back with a 65-yard touchdown run by St. Marie and took a 22-12 halftime lead.

“We knew that they were going to come out with a lot of intensity,” Hennum said. “We knew they wanted this game … they played hard.”

A renewed emphasis on the running game paid off in the third quarter for the Hawks when Powell scored on a 7-yarder and ran in the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 22-20.

Powell finished the game with 183 yards on 28 carries and scored three touchdowns.

“We definitely didn’t come out and play with the intensity I think we needed to come out and play with (in the first half),” Umayam said. “We had to … pretty much go back to playing power football and giving them a nice dose of the inside run.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Hill initially had trouble handling the ball but then motored 94 yards for a touchdown to boost the Lynnwood lead to 28-20 early in the fourth quarter. Mountlake Terrace blocked the extra point.

“Both teams played hard,” Umayam said. “Lynnwood really came out and they took it to us. They took advantage of a few mistakes we had and we really had to crawl out of a hole there. I’m proud of the kids because they kept fighting even at the end of the fourth quarter. We didn’t get down on the sidelines. We knew our defense would give us a chance to punch it in.”

The Royals have bounced back from Friday’s disappointment and are looking forward to tonight’s game with crosstown rival Meadowdale.

“These kids are just absolutely astounding,” Burton said. “These kids at Lynnwood they are just a great group to be around the entire time … these kids are just the most resilient kids I’ve ever been around.”