Scots flatten Royals in final tune-up for crossover matchup

SHORELINE — Jesse Hoffman and Grady Small maximized their limited playing time in last week’s Western Conference South Division football finale.

The Shorecrest teammates sliced through the Lynnwood defense for two quarters and left the rest to their understudies as the Scots coasted to a 48-6 victory Oct. 29 at Shoreline Stadium.

Hoffman rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and Small added 92 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts in the first half to give Shorecrest a commanding 35-6 lead at the break.

The Scots (4-5) scored on their first five possessions and racked up a season-high 479 rushing yards, surpassing the previous week’s total of 360 against Mariner. In both games, Shorecrest employed a simplified game plan to put up the gaudy numbers.

“Sometimes you can get too fancy and you’ve got to reel yourself back in and reevaluate some of the things you’re doing,” Scots coach Mike Wollan said. “We’ve found something we seem to be doing pretty well.”

Wollan attributed the recent uprising of the running game to stability on an improving offensive line. Midseason injuries forced the Scots to shuffle some personnel.

“We’ve had the same starting lineup up front now for a couple weeks,” Wollan said. “They’re starting to figure each other out and we’re able to … keep guys off balance a bit.”

Hoffman had the Royals (1-8) on their heels from the outset. The junior tailback scored his team’s first three touchdowns, spinning free from tacklers and speeding by the secondary.

“He’s listed at (205 pounds) and he plays at about 260,” Lynnwood coach Andrew Burton said. “The kid’s probably got a heart the size of Colorado in there. He just plays hard. He does not stop moving his legs.”

The longest and most dazzling carry of the night for Hoffman was a crisscrossing sideline-to-sideline jaunt with two minutes to go in the first quarter that somehow turned into a 41-yard touchdown run. Hoffman also scored on runs of 1 and 11 yards.

Small’s first touchdown came on a 1-yard plunge that capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive with 4:46 remaining in the first half. Three minutes later, the sophomore fullback juked his way to a 32-yard TD after the Scots stuffed Lynnwood on fourth-and-inches.

“Having Grady be effective from the fullback position takes some pressure of Jesse,” Wollan said. “He can cut on a dime and make guys miss. That’s a weapon we’ve got to utilize. When you have a guy like (Small) who can make plays, it makes it tough (for defenses) to key on one guy.”

Containing one guy was all Wollan was asking of the Shorecrest defense — junior Luke St. Marie, who burned the Scots for 132 yards last season.

Other than a 50-yard burst that set up Lynnwood’s only touchdown midway through the first quarter, Shorecrest kept St. Marie in check. The 6-foot, 205-pound fullback finished with 97 yards on 17 carries.

“Last year we didn’t do a very good job tackling him,” Wollan said. “He made some good plays against us. He’s a hard-nosed back and a big, strong kid. We need to stop that kind of runner once in a while.”

Shorecrest held the Royals to 165 total yards — all on the ground — and six first downs. Lynnwood got past midfield just once in the second half.

Josh Ke collected 102 yards on 11 second-half carries for the Scots. The junior running back scored on a 20-yard sweep with seven minutes to go.

Senior fullback Joe Leigh added 41 yards on six rushes, including a 6-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Two straight wins to close out league play gave the Scots some momentum going into last night’s matchup with Cedarcrest of the Cascade Conference. The winner of the crossover contest goes on to face the Northwest League runner-up Nov. 9 in a winner-to-state game.

“One of the things we’re trying to create is that (playoff) mentality with the players and the coaches,” Wollan said. “It’s pretty exciting. The school needs an opportunity like that. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had it, so we’re going to enjoy it.”