EVERETT — With a balanced offensive attack and an unyielding defense, Meadowdale knocked off Jackson in a Western Conference South Division football game Sept. 24 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Mavericks beat the Timberwolves 28-6 in large part due to the efforts of quarterback Demetri Huffman and wide receiver Jake Linton.
Huffman had his best game of the season, having a hand in all four touchdowns. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 75 yards, rushed for 52 yards and threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. He also snagged an interception while playing cornerback. Linton, the recipient of all three airborne TDs, had seven catches for 51 yards.
“We’re real good friends and it shows in the game,” Linton said. “We have a lot of fun, and he’s a good quarterback. We’ve been clicking since we were little kids.”
The Mavericks set the tone on their first possession by going 79 yards on a 14-play drive that lasted more than six minutes. Huffman found Linton on a 9-yard rollout pass to give Meadowdale a 7-0 lead.
“Against a good team you’re going to have to be efficient,” Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart said. “It was great to see us come out on that first drive and have a nice efficient drive and then end it with a score.”
Meadowdale’s defense was also effective, forcing five turnovers and disrupting Jackson’s offensive rhythm for most of the game.
“They have some guys on their side that can do some things, and our defense played great,” Stewart said. “The defense coach is doing a great job.”
The Meadowdale defense aggravated Jackson’s offense from the beginning, forcing four consecutive three-and-out possessions and allowing only 141 yards.
On the fifth Timberwolves’ possession, receiver Kevin Salkey caught a pass, but was pounded by defensive end Kevin Kim. The hit resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Meadowdale linebacker Travis Anderson. The turnover gave the Mavericks field position inside the Jackson 30.
This allowed the Mavericks to score on a 9-yard pass from Huffman to Linton and increase their lead to 14-0 with 1:21 left in the half.
Going into the second half, the Timberwolves were unable to stop Meadowdale’s offense as the Mavericks marched 75 yards on 17 plays. Huffman scored on a 3-yard run.
The Timberwolves responded with a 65-yard drive of their own with Bowen scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Sophomore quarterback Jake Gelakoska helped fuel most of the drive with a 28-yard run and a 20-yard pass.
Jackson fumbled on its next possession, which resulted in a 6-yard Huffman to Linton touchdown pass that wrapped up the scoring.
The Mavericks received strong contributions defensively from Jordan Dodge, who had seven tackles with two assists and a fumble recovery and offensively from Anderson, who rushed for 115 yards on 27 carries.
“We gave them a short field to drive on a couple of times off some turnovers, when we actually make the catches and then turned the ball over,” Jackson coach Joel Vincent said. “It’s just a tough night offensively for us.”
The Mavericks were coming off a tough loss to district rival Edmonds-Woodway.
“This was big for our team because we needed a boost,” Linton said. “They’re a good team and they’ve shown themselves real well, so I think we put ourselves back on track. That’s where we want to be.”
With this win, Meadowdale (2-2) gains ground in the Wesco South standings.
“It’s pretty even in this league, and we’ve had three tough games and we’ve dropped two of them, so this was a tough team,” Stewart said. “I told the kids, ‘You have to worry about us. Worry about us and play hard.’”
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