Snohomish County drops final NWFL game

EDMONDS

With nothing but their pride on the line, the Snohomish County Vikings gave the Puget Sound Titans all they could handle in both teams’ final game of the regular season.

Puget Sound came into the contest undefeated and had won its previous nine games by an average of nearly 30 points. But late in the fourth quarter, the Titans held only a 7-point advantage and Snohomish County had the ball at midfield.

Unfortunately, the Vikings fumbled away the ball and Puget Sound took advantage, scoring its fourth touchdown of the game to preserve a 28-14 victory in a Northwest Football League game Aug. 16 at Edmonds Stadium.

Snohomish County was disappointed with the loss but not in their effort against a team that had beaten the Vikings 49-13 earlier in the season.

“The bottom line is that we didn’t execute,” said Vikings quarterback Hal Bisnett. “It’s still fun to be out here. It was a good, old-fashioned football game, America’s game. It’s something that not a lot of people can still do. You’ve got to cherish every minute that you’re able to be out here and just take advantage of it and have fun.”

Puget Sound (10-0) already had clinched the North Division title, while Snohomish County (3-6) had been eliminated from the playoffs. But neither team held much back in Saturday’s game.

“Today what I liked so much about this game is that Snohomish (County) could have called it in, but they played with a great deal of pride and that starts with the leadership in their organization,” said Titans coach Jeff Scott. “They’re a top notch, first-class organization. I knew they would represent themselves very well on their home field. So we expected a hard game.”

There was nowhere that Snohomish County linebacker Chris Stokes would have rather been than at Edmonds Stadium on a Saturday night.

“Everybody still had something to fight for,” said Stokes, who missed three games this season due to injuries. “We wanted to go out with a bang and beat the top team in the league.”

Instead, Puget Sound wrapped up a perfect season and heads into this weekend’s playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the league. The Titans host the Willamette Valley Raiders (6-4) in a semifinal contest on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Oregon Thunderbolts host the Seattle Stallions in the other semifinal game. Both Oregon and Seattle won their final regular season games.

Scott described the Titans’ performance against the Vikings as merely OK. It wasn’t necessarily the way he wanted to head into the postseason. Puget Sound fumbled away the ball twice and threw one interception. The Titans also missed a field goal and had a touchdown run called back on a penalty.

“I wish we had played a little bit better to get ready for the playoffs,” Scott said. “Champions always figure out a way to win. So today we showed why we’re champions.”

Snohomish County coach Wes Fischer was most pleased with the Vikings’ defense, which matched up far better the second time around against a potent Puget Sound offense that included former Washington Cougar standout Mike Bush.

“What I liked is our defense was starting to come together,” Fischer said. “They weren’t wrapping up as well as I liked, but we’re playing a heck of a team. … We forced some turnovers.

“When you’re tackling and making them turn the ball over to you or making them fumble that means you’re hitting hard and trying to peel that ball out. Those are both good things.”

While the Titans are looking ahead to their game against Willamette Valley, Snohomish County is looking forward to next season. The Vikings were noticeably younger this season with newcomers, such as Bisnett and Mountlake Terrace graduate Matt Terwilliger. The team also picked up some wide receivers late in the season.

“Ninety-nine percent of the guys that are here are going to be back,” Fischer said.

One player Fischer is especially looking forward to coaching again is Bisnett, who had not played football in several years.

“Hal is a stud,” Fischer said. “If we can get his passing accuracy where it needs to be, he is going to be amazing. Hal can run. … He had no fear of those guys. He can play.”

Scott agrees with his coaching counterpart.

“Their quarterback stepped up. He made plays,” Scott said. “He led his team like a veteran quarterback should do. It’s going to be exciting next year to get ready to play him.”

Snohomish County’s offense gave Puget Sound different looks throughout the game. The Vikings started off the game with six straight passes in their first two offensive series and then switched to the run-oriented double Wing-T formation later in the first half.

“Our personnel kind of changed a lot over the last few weeks,” Bisnett said. “We went from having a lot of running backs and not a lot of skill guys to not a lot of running backs and lot of skill guys, receivers and slot guys. So we’ve got to take advantage of whatever you’ve got. We came out throwing the ball around. We kind of changed it up and went back to the double Wing-T in the first half and kind of caught them off-balance and got a little momentum going.”

Neither team mustered much offense in the first quarter. Snohomish County’s best opportunity came after Kalani Book recovered a fumbled at midfield. The Vikings weren’t able to move the ball and had to punt.

Puget Sound took over at its own 27 and put together a nine-play drive, culminating in a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Leon Dickerson to Bush with six seconds left in the first quarter.

The Vikings’ first drive of the second quarter was cut short when Puget Sound’s Piper Jordan picked off a pass at the Titan 27. Puget Sound then drove down to the Snohomish County 16 before stalling. The Titans then misfired on a 33-yard field goal.

Snohomish County tied the score at 7 on a 43-yard scoring strike by Bisnett to wide receiver Robbie Delgardo with 1:07 remaining in the second quarter. Puget Sound returned the ensuing kickoff to the Viking 43 and four plays later, Dickerson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jordan as the Titans went into halftime with a 14-7 lead.

Puget Sound appeared poised to extend its lead early in the third quarter. The Titans had the ball at the Snohomish County 10 before Viking defensive back John Redmond picked off a pass at the 3. Snohomish County wasn’t able to move the ball and had to punt four downs later.

On the first play of Puget Sound’s ensuring drive, running back E.J. Ash scored on a 55-yard run, but the touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Puget Sound took a 21-7 lead when Dickerson scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Snohomish County then responded with a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive as Bisnett found wide receiver Sam Gadbury on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 8:47 left in the game.

The Vikings attempted an on-sides kick but Bush recovered the ball at the Snohomish County 30. Puget Sound wasn’t able to take advantage of their good field position and turned the ball over on downs.

“We just stepped up defensively,” Stokes said. “We were able to shut them down when we needed to.”

Snohomish County’s offense was only able to record one first down before turning the ball over on downs. The Vikings, however, got another opportunity when Jason Carter recovered a Puget Sound fumble at the Snohomish County 42 on the first play from scrimmage. But three plays later, Snohomish County turned the ball over on a fumble.

Puget Sound cashed in as Dickerson connected on a 69-yard touchdown pass to Bush with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter.

“It was an up-and-down season, a tale of two teams,” Stokes said. “When we had our full squad and we were healthy, we played well. (When) we were missing quite a few starters … we just had a rough stretch.”

Stokes pegs Puget Sound as the team to beat in the postseason.

“They’re the favorite to win, I think, and they will do well nationally,” Stokes said.

Fischer is looking forward to next year, especially when the word gets out about Bisnett. He expects more wide receivers to show interest in the team.

“They start coming when they see we’ve got a quarterback like we have — a big, tall, rangy guy that can throw the ball or put and put pressure on the defense,” Fischer said. “They love that stuff.”

Ultimately, Fischer isn’t so much concerned about the wins and losses. For him, football is much more than a sport.

“I want to teach them team. I want them to be good sportsmen,” Fischer said. “I want to teach them family. I want to teach them how to play well together and have fun doing it.”