Scots put scare into unbeaten Knights

EVERETT — In a flash, the Shorecrest football team went from down and out to within striking distance of the biggest upset of the young season.

The Scots used their quick-strike ability to put a scare into league-leading Kamiak in a Western Conference South Division thriller Sept. 17 at Goddard Stadium.

After allowing the unbeaten Knights to stretch their advantage to 42-14 in the fourth quarter, the Scots roared back with three unanswered touchdowns in less than eight minutes.

But the late surge came up short when Kamiak recovered an onside kick and ran off the final 1:41 to protect its deteriorating lead and escape with a 42-34 victory.

“We’re doing our darndest as a coaching staff to teach these guys how to win,” Scots coach Mike Wollan said. “They had a chance. We gave (Kamiak) some opportunities and good teams take advantage of those opportunities. We had a couple chances at some (turnovers) and we’ve got to figure out how to get those.”

Kamiak (3-0) held the Scots (1-2) scoreless during the second and third quarters to break open a 14-all tie and took its largest lead of the night on Tony Virata’s 3-yard touchdown run with 9:47 remaining.

It didn’t last long.

Kevin Ramos returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to ignite the Shorecrest comeback. The sophomore slipped through a crease, cut to the sideline and darted to the end zone untouched.

The Scots regained possession three minutes later when lineman Kirk Swensen sacked Kamiak quarterback Mark Iddins on fourth down at the Shorecrest 33-yard line.

On the very next play Scots quarterback Jon Glancy tossed a screen pass to Jesse Hoffman, who sped around the left side of the line on his way to a 62-yard score.

Shorecrest again stuffed the Knights on fourth down with 2:59 to go and Glancy came out firing. Ramos laid out to snag a 25-yard reception and Hoffman picked up another 12 yards on a swing pass.

On third-and-7 Glancy connected with Hoffman again for a 17-yard gain that led to a 1-yard TD plunge by Glancy with 1:42 to go.

Wide receiver Tyson Carter pounced on Shorecrest’s onside kick at midfield for the Knights, who had given up a combined 16 points in their first two games of the season.

The Scots became just the fourth team to score more than 30 points against Kamiak since the 2001 season.

“Once we got those quick scores everybody started believing, ‘We could come back. We can probably beat the best team in this league,’” Ramos said.

In addition to his runback and diving catch in the final 10 minutes, Ramos displayed his speed on a 58-yard touchdown run that gave Shorecrest an early 7-0 edge.

“Kevin’s got that big-play potential,” Wollan said. “He is still getting used to the Friday night stuff. When he’s not tentative and attacks, he showed what he can do.”

Kamiak pulled even when Iddins hit Virata for a 24-yard TD pass and the teams traded touchdowns again during a wild first quarter.

Hoffman capped an eight-play Shorecrest drive with a 3-yard TD run and Iddins scored on a 1-yard sneak on the seventh play of Kamiak’s next drive.

Three dropped passes led to a pair of Shorecrest punts that allowed the Knights to cushion their lead. Kamiak scored on all four of its first-half possessions.

Iddins found Rebel Hall for a 24-yard touchdown catch and Nate Hadley tacked on a 1-yard TD run with 19 seconds left in the half. Shorecrest had stopped the latter drive with an interception, but Hall swiped the ball from Hoffman on his return.

Hall added a second TD reception from 20 yards out at the end of the third quarter. In the middle two quarters, the Scots moved the ball just 63 yards.

“We can’t have these ups and downs during the course of the game,” Wollan said. “We’ve got a chance to score on every play. We’ve got some guys who can make plays. If we keep giving them chances, sooner or later something’s going to happen.”

Despite a 30-minute time of possession edge in Kamiak’s favor, the teams accrued similar offensive numbers. Iddins finished 16 of 24 for 223 yards and three touchdowns and Virata rushed for 177 yards on 18 carries for the Knights.

Shorecrest ran for 122 yards and Glancy was 11 of 20 for 216 yards. Hoffman caught six passes for 149 yards, rushed for 36 yards on eight tries and matched Riley Mahler with a team-high 11 tackles.

After the game, Wollan urged his players not to be content with a moral victory against an opponent of Kamiak’s caliber.

“We can’t accept this,” Wollan said. “We need to build on this. We need to approach every game like this.”

It was of little significance to Wollan that his team’s offensive outburst undoubtedly improved its reputation around the league.

“I’m not looking to earn respect. I just want our guys to play good football,” Wollan said. “They need to start respecting themselves and know they can win. I hope we can prove that to these guys this year.”