EVERETT — Football may be a team sport, but that didn’t stop Jackson High School’s Richie Tri from putting on quite a one-man show.
Tri caught two touchdown passes, returned a fumble for another TD, showed off some wicked punting skills and intercepted a pass to end Edmonds-Woodway’s last-chance drive, boosting the Timberwolves to a 27-24 Western Conference South Division victory over the resilient Warriors Sept. 30 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“Richie Tri did it all tonight,” said Jackson coach Joel Vincent, whose team improved to 3-2 in league and overall. “He played fantastic receiver … He came up big on defense in a key situation there. And my goodness, that kid can flat-out punt.”
Jackson held a 27-24 lead with less than two minutes to play after surrendering 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points. Faced with fourth-and-4 at its own 49-yard-line, Jackson called on Tri’s powerful leg. He delivered, pinning E-W at its own 3 with a 48-yard punt that angled out of bounds with 1:43 to go.
“That punt down there at the end, down in the coffin corner, really, really helped us out there late in the game,” Vincent said.
Edmonds-Woodway (3-2) had moved the ball well in the final quarter behind quarterback John Dawson’s passing and Mike Darrington’s receiving. On their final drive, the Warriors got to midfield with 50 seconds to go, but Tri slammed the door. On third-and-1, the 6-foot-2 senior free safety stepped up to make the game-ending interception. Jackson then ran out the clock.
Tri caught three passes for 100 yards and the two touchdowns to help make Jackson sophomore quarterback Jake Gelakoska’s first start a success.
“If I can just get it in his area, he’ll go and get it,” said Gelakoska, who completed 8 of 15 passes for 203 yards and three TDs.
“It was something I was looking forward to for a long time,” Gelakoska said of the start.
Jackson grabbed a 7-3 lead with 2:40 to go in the first quarter when Gelakoska lofted a 40-yard TD pass to Tri. Against one-on-one coverage, Tri caught the ball near the left sideline at the E-W 5 and cruised in for the score.
The duo hooked up again 4:07 into the second quarter for a 29-yard TD on third-and-10. This time Tri made a leaping catch to snare Gelakoska’s slightly under-thrown pass at the left corner of the end zone.
An Edmonds-Woodway defender had tight coverage, but Tri ripped the ball away as the players crashed into the end zone. With the point-after kick, the Timberwolves took a 14-3 lead that held up through the first half.
Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl had to think maybe it wasn’t going to be his team’s night when Jackson turned a flubbed fake punt into another touchdown to take a 27-9 lead in the third quarter. Gelakoska scooped up a bad snap that was intended for Tri, scrambled and found tight end Rory Wilson wide open. Wilson hauled in the pass, ran over a tackler along the right sideline and scored an unlikely 44-yard TD.
E-W battled back admirably but that didn’t soothe Gradwohl.
“We got a long way to go,” he said. ” (Jackson) did a good job. They had a real good game plan.”
Dawson, the Warriors’ QB, was 17-for-31 for 187 yards and two TDs, both to Darrington (six catches, 97 yards). E-W running back Travis Smith rushed for 94 yards and a score.
Jackson helped E-W get back into the game with 11 penalties for 121 yards, but Vincent said he couldn’t fault his team’s effort.
“A lot of those penalties were pass interference or face-guarding type penalties.” he said. “Our kids were just being aggressive. … You can’t tell your kids not to be aggressive.”
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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