The fire returned for the Lynnwood football team in last week’s game against Stanwood.
The Royals played a solid game but came up short in a 33-27 non-conference loss Oct. 26 at Edmonds Stadium.
“We played an inspired game,” said Lynnwood head coach Dorian Manza. “We were fired up the whole time. … We were very enthusiastic. It was a good change from the last couple of weeks when we felt we were stagnant.”
Lynnwood broke out of an offensive slump thanks to the arm of junior quarterback Jared Shippey, the hands of senior wide receiver Scott Hill and the legs of senior running back J.J. Fuentes.
The Spartans jumped out to a 20-0 second-quarter lead before the Royals’ offense started clicking. Fuentes, who rushed for 104 yards, scored on a 5-yard run and Shippey followed with a 14-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Chad DeGraw as Lynnwood closed to 20-14.
In a momentum-turning special-team’s play, Stanwood’s Keaton Harrtzell returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and gave the Spartans a 26-14 halftime advantage.
“That took the wind out of our sails,” Manza said. “That really hurt and set us back.”
Stanwood’s C.J. Tolbert then scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter to give his team a 33-14 advantage.
The Royals refused to give up as Shippey found Hill on a 13-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter. The two Royals hooked up again on a 15-yard score in the fourth quarter.
“We executed pretty well offensively and we were able to throw the ball really well,” Manza said. “We had a good combination of both (run and pass). Shippey threw the ball really well, He had three touchdown passes. He did a really good job. … He does a really good job of staying in the pocket.”
Hill caught eight passes for 128 yards and two scores.
“He should be all-league,” Manza said. “He was amazing. He made some great catches.”
Stanwood sealed the victory by using up most of the clock on a time-consuming drive late in the fourth quarter. The Spartans took the ball and drove deep into Lynnwood territory before turning over the ball on downs. The drive took about seven minutes off the clock and left Lynnwood with about 10 seconds left in the game and no timeouts remaining.
The Royals (2-6 in the league, 2-7 overall) host Squalicum at 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 2 at Edmonds Stadium.
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