Mavericks pound Shorecrest 56-21

EDMONDS — The Meadowdale football team is on a roll. Just ask the Shorecrest defense.

The Mavericks scored touchdowns on five of their first six offensive possessions en route to a 56-21 rout of the Scots in a Western Conference South Division game Oct. 1 at Edmonds Stadium.

After losing two of its first three games, Meadowdale has rebounded with impressive back-to-back wins over Jackson and Shorecrest to improve to 3-2 overall.

“I think this is the best game we’ve played so far,” said senior running back Travis Anderson, who rushed for 117 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns. “Jackson might be close, but overall I think this is the best one.”

Aside from one fumble in the first half, the Maverick offense performed flawlessly throughout the night until Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart sent in the reserves in late in the third quarter.

But before emptying the bench just about every player had his moments against the Scots.

“Our line … was punishing them. Our running backs were running hard,” Anderson said. “Everyone was doing great. Pick a guy. Demetri Huffman scored two touchdowns running and passing. Jake Linton had a touchdown. I had two touchdowns. Justin Lucero had two touchdowns.

“We were just tearing it up all around. It was just a great offensive day.”

Lucero ran for 50 yards on six carries, while Huffman rushed for 47 yards and threw for 157 yards.

Heading into the game, Stewart had a feeling that his offensive line might have a bit of an advantage against Shorecrest.

He was right.

“I thought we could man up and physically get after them a little bit and we were able to,” said Stewart. “We just kind of wore them down a little. We kept scoring and all of a sudden you look up and you’ve got some points.”

The Meadowdale defense kept what Stewart described as a potentially explosive Shorecrest offense in check for most of the game.

Shorecrest initially looked like it might be able to match Meadowdale touchdown for touchdown.

Quarterback Jon Glancy guided the Scots on a five-play, 78-yard drive to start the game. Glancy scampered in for a 21-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the first quarter.

Meadowdale responded with six-play, 63-yard scoring drive that tied the score at 7. Quarterback Huffman found wide receiver Linton on a 19-yard scoring strike at the 8:05 mark.

Shorecrest appeared poised to retake the lead but a Glancy pass was picked off by Meadowdale defensive back Alex McDonald, who ran the ball back for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Mavericks a 14-7 advantage with about a minute left in the first quarter.

“That was big,” Stewart said of McDonald’s interception. “They’re scary on offense.”

The Scots’ offense had to punt on the next two possessions, as Meadowdale upped its lead to 28-7 on a 28-yard touchdown run by senior running back Travis Anderson and an 11-yard score by Lucero.

The Scots cut the deficit to 28-14 on a 44-yard pass from Glancy to Kevin Ramos at the 5:02 mark of the second quarter.

Meadowdale, however, closed out the first half with a pair of touchdowns to seal the victory. Lucero scored on 5-yard run and then a turnover led to a 1-yard run by Anderson with six seconds left in the quarter.

“They’re efficient. They’re disciplined,” said Shorecrest coach Mike Wollan said. “They’ve got guys moving in every direction. Their cutback ability by their running backs was tremendous … we didn’t have an answer.”

Aside from the one fumble, the Mavericks’ offense held on to the ball. The first punt of the night for Meadowdale took place with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“We’re executing real well,” Stewart said. “The last couple of weeks we just haven’t made mistakes.”

Ben King continued the Meadowdale onslaught by returning the opening kickoff of the second half 82 yards for a touchdown.

Stewart told his players not to let up in the second half, noting that Shorecrest rallied strongly against Kamiak earlier in the season.

“We knew that this team is a good team,” Anderson said. “Our coach said, ‘Don’t slack off. These guys are going to come back. They’re a big-play team.”

Huffman scored on a 13-yard run in the third quarter to boost the Meadowdale advantage to 56-14. Shorecrest junior running back Jesse Hoffman closed out the scoring with a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

With the exception of one game, the Meadowdale defense has played well, said Stewart, who was concerned about the Scots’ offense.

“Shorecrest is a real scary team because they can put the points on the board,” he said. “Their guys make plays. We have guys that make plays too. We were able to come back and make enough to get them shut down.”

Shorecrest converted on only one of eight third-down plays, while Meadowdale was six of nine. The Mavericks had 22 first downs compared to 11 for the Scots.

The victory lifted Meadowdale into a four-way tie for third place in the South Division. The Mavericks face Mariner, one of those four teams, at 7 p.m. tonight (Friday, Oct. 8) at Goddard Stadium.

“We were all disappointed at the start of the season when we lost to Kamiak and we lost to Woodway,” Anderson said. “Now we’re making a push. We’re trying to win the rest of the games.”