EDMONDS — Since starting the season with a disappointing 1-2 record, the Meadowdale football team had a clear mission — win the rest of its league games and earn a spot in the playoffs.
With an impressive 26-10 victory over Shorewood in the final league game for both teams Oct. 29 at Edmonds Stadium, the Mavericks can finally say the words mission accomplished.
The win also gave the Mavericks a share of the Western Conference South Division championship with Edmonds-Woodway.
Up next, Meadowdale hosts Auburn in a state qualifier game at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 6) at Edmonds Stadium.
For the Mavericks, the pressure was on before the game even started, as Meadowdale’s coaches, team captains and alumni motivated the team with speeches to remind them of what they were playing for.
Jay Mustard, the father of co-captain Joe Mustard and a member of the school’s last league championship team, gave the Mavericks a pep talk prior to the game.
“We went into our gym, and he showed us the banner from the last league championship and said, ‘Hey, this is you guys. Just make sure you go out and get it,’” senior running back Travis Anderson said.
The motivational talk paid off as the Mavericks forced Shorewood to go three-and-out on its first possession and then scored with a 61-yard pass to senior Jake Linton on their second offensive play.
Shorewood (3-6) countered with a 16-play, 50-yard drive that ended with a punt, but temporarily slowed Meadowdale’s momentum down.
With Meadowdale (7-2) having missed its extra-point kick, the Thunderbirds were only down 6-0 and still very much in the ball game until the second quarter, when a short punt gave the Mavericks good field position at the Shorewood 29-yard line.
From there, the proficient Meadowdale offense was able to pound the ball into the end zone in six plays, as junior Kevin Kim ran the ball in for an 8-yard touchdown that opened up a 12-0 lead.
Shorewood was unable to answer until late in the second quarter, when it kicked a 38-yard field goal.
With 28 seconds remaining in the half, Shorewood attempted a 52-yard field goal, but the kick fell short.
The deficit tightened in the second half as Shorewood senior running back Wil Barker turned on the afterburners and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown on an option play that narrowed the margin to 12-10.
The Mavericks eventually bounced back and early in the fourth quarter after the offensive line opened up a gaping hole that senior running back Justin Lucero was able to race through for a 22-yard touchdown.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks followed up with a steady drive that ended in a 5-yard touchdown run by Anderson. Senior quarterback Demetri Huffman completed a pass to junior tight end Alex Romanyuk for a two-point conversion.
The Thunderbirds got as far as the Meadowdale 29-yard line on their final possession before time ran out and Meadowdale left the field to celebrate a share of the league title.
“That was a good football team,” said Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart. “They were capable of beating us and we knew that, but we got the job done, and now we’re going to enjoy being league co-champs.”
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