EDMONDS — It took all of three minutes for the tables to turn on the Lynnwood football team.

In a matchup of winless Western Conference South Division foes, Shorewood used a robust defensive effort to down the Royals 28-7 Sept. 24 at Edmonds Stadium.

The Thunderbirds took advantage of premium field position by turning three Lynnwood fumbles into touchdowns. Two of the scores came during the final five minutes of the second quarter.

Shorewood improved to 1-3 and the Royals dropped their 42nd game in a row to move within four games of matching Tyee for the state record for consecutive losses.

“Week in and week out we’re getting better,” Lynnwood coach Andrew Burton said. “There’s progress.”

Lynnwood controlled the clock for much of the second half and outgained the Thunderbirds on the ground (142 yards to 106), but the Shorewood defense slammed the door on the Royals with a pair of crucial fourth-and-1 stops.

“The offense wasn’t real smooth tonight but we converted those turnovers into points,” Thunderbirds coach Jeff Weible said. “The defense put us in good position.”

Shorewood scored on the game’s fourth play when the Royals fell for a fake sweep and Alex Burns busted through the line for a 37-yard touchdown run. Both offenses mustered just one first down over their next five possessions.

After pinning the Thunderbirds inside their 10-yard line on a punt, Lynnwood pulled even at the 8:06 mark of the second quarter when Derek Stong pounced on a botched handoff in the end zone.

The Royals then forced Shorewood to go three-and-out, but fumbled two plays later at their own 11. Shorewood quarterback Sean Tracey gave the Thunderbirds the lead for good with a 2-yard touchdown sneak on fourth down.

Two runs from Luke St. Marie got the Royals close to midfield on their ensuing drive, but Shorewood recovered another fumble in Lynnwood territory. On the next play Tracey fired a 45-yard pass down the sideline to junior Chris Kearns, who out-jumped his defender and stumbled across the goal line to give the Thunderbirds a 21-7 edge.

Lynnwood put together its longest drive of the half in the final 1:56 of the second quarter, chewing up 40 yards in seven plays before Stong was intercepted by Austin Collins as time expired.

“Unfortunately we just ran out of time,” Burton said.

Stong completed three passes for 40 yards and St. Marie added 22 yards on six rushes as Lynnwood opened the third quarter with a 79-yard drive. But the Thunderbirds stuffed Stong on third down and St. Marie on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line to protect their lead.

“That’s huge for momentum,” Weible said. “The defense did a great job on the goal line.”

Lynnwood defensive back Josh Petersen intercepted Tracey two minutes later and returned the ball 19 yards to the Shorewood 48. Backup quarterback Gilbert Martin marched the Royals inside the 20-yard line before turning the ball over on downs at the start of the fourth quarter.

Midway through the period Lynnwood fumbled for the third time and Burns responded with his second touchdown on a 16-yard burst. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior finished with a team-high 80 yards on just six carries.

Working with short fields most of the contest, the Thunderbirds rushed for 200 yards. Tracey misfired on his first six pass attempts and was 2 of 10 for 54 yards.

St. Marie accounted for 110 of Lynnwood’s 203 rushing yards on 19 carries. It was the second straight 100-yard game for the junior tailback.

Weible came away impressed by the progress the Royals have made.

“From what I’ve seen they’ve (improved) a ton,” Weible said. “They fight the whole game and coach Burton does a great job preparing them.”