The Snohomish County offense finally got on track, but the defense made the big play as the Vikings won their first game of the season.
Ty Williams intercepted a two-point pass conversion attempt to seal Snohomish County’s 14-12 victory over Pierce County in a Northwest Football League game June 16 at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner.
The Vikings took a 14-0 lead into the fourth quarter only to have the Bengals rally with a pair of touchdowns. Pierce County missed the extra point on the first touchdown and then went for two on the second for the tie with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Snohomish County scored a pair of touchdowns after being limited to one field goal in a 9-3 loss to Oregon in its season opener two weeks ago.
“We progressed really well with the offensive line,” Snohomish County head coach Wes Fischer said. “The line was giving the quarterback time to throw. We opened it up. The running backs did better.”
The Vikings took a 7-0 lead with about eight minutes to go in the second quarter on an 8-yard run by running back Brandon Lewis. Jason Skahan kicked the extra point.
Running back Chris Stokes then scored on a 4-yard run at the 6-minute mark of the third quarter and Larry Moody booted the extra point to give Snohomish County a 14-0 advantage.
Skahan and Moody are friends who are sharing the kicking duties this season. Moody, a longtime kicker in the NWFL, had been contemplating retirement but then decided he wasn’t quite ready to give up the sport.
The two proposed that they would alternate on the kicks, which suited Fischer just fine.
“You love guys who want to work together and do what they can do to help the team,” Fischer said.
Snohomish County (1-1) hosts its home opener at 6 p.m., Saturday, June 23, against Renton (1-1), which lost 19-12 to defending league champion King County.
The Ravens are known for their strong defense, Fischer said.
“We want to step up our offense so it clicks like a well-oiled machine,” he said. “We want our blocks to be crisp. We want the backs to run hard. We want the receivers to really look sharp. We want the timing to be really sharp on those passing routes.”
Daimino Stewart saw most of the action at quarterback, though Brendan Gallacher played some in the second and third quarters so that Stewart could see time on the defense.
“We rotated Stewart at cornerback. He can play both sides of the ball,” Fischer said. “Brendan did a good job of completing some balls. He’s a good quarterback.”
Lewis, Stokes, Apollo Lewis and Marquise Moses handled the running back duties.
“When we needed short yardage, (the offensive line) overpowered the other line,” Fischer said.
Snohomish County’s passing attack also was successful as tight end James Hunt and receivers Rondell Honcoop and Antwoine Gamble made key receptions.
“They did a good job overall with the possession plays to keep the drives rolling,” Fischer said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
