The Snohomish County Vikings never gave up in last week’s Northwest Football league clash with the Washington Cavaliers.
Snohomish County’s resolve was rewarded with a second straight victory, the first time the Vikings have recorded back-to-back triumphs since 2002.
The win didn’t come easy as Washington took an 18-14 lead with just under a minute and a half remaining in the fourth quarter.
But a strong kickoff return coupled with a clutch 10—yard touchdown pass from quarterback John McCourt to wide receiver Phil Nugent with one second remaining lifted Snohomish County to a thrilling 20-18 victory over the Cavaliers Aug. 14 at Toutle Lake High School in Toutle.
“The guys are just playing their butts off,” Snohomish County head coach Wes Fischer. “You can’t cut it any closer than we did Saturday night.”
The Vikings appeared to be headed for their second straight victory but saw their 14-12 advantage wither away when Washington scored on a 72-yard pass play with 1:30 to go in the fourth quarter.
The touchdown was the result of a mixup in the defensive coverage, Fischer said.
Snohomish County returned the ball to the 50-yard line on the ensuing kickoff and took over with 1:20 remaining in the game.
Then with 20 seconds left and the ball on the Washington 20, McCourt completed a 10-yard pass to tight end Alex Stein for a first down.
The Vikings had one timeout remaining and had planned to save it. But by the time the officials had spotted the ball and moved the chains, the clock had run down to eight seconds and Snohomish County was forced to call a timeout.
McCourt then lofted the ball to Nugent, an Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, who caught the game-winner with one tick left on the clock.
The offensive line’s play again was the key as it was in the Vikings’ first win of the season against the Northwest Avalanche two weeks ago.
“Our offensive line … just made it possible for McCourt to sit back and throw the ball when he needed to and for us to run the ball when we needed to,” Fischer said. “The defense shut them down when they needed to.”
Fischer noted that Washington took the ball over at the Snohomish County 30 one time during the game but was unable to move the ball and eventually turned the ball over.
The Viking defense forced six turnovers.
Snohomish County running back Steve Casino scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and defensive back Drew Jenkins returned an interception 72 yards for another score in the third quarter.
“We were able to move the ball real well,” Fischer said.
The Vikings were missing several key several players, including a starting linebacker and defensive back.
“The backups just stepped up,” Fischer said. “It worked fine. They all listened to each other and they pulled together to make it happen.”
Snohomish County’s success the past two games is a direct result of the players staying focused on the task at hand, Fisher said.
“Not losing focus is the biggest thing,” he said. “You can’t take plays off … you can’t make plays if you’re thinking about what’s gone on behind you. You’ve got to look forward.”
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