SHORELINE — Junior quarterback Tony Ellersick completed six of his first 12 passing attempts and threw two first-half touchdowns to lead Mountlake Terrace to a 17-7 victory over Shorewood in a Western Conference South Division football game Sept. 22 at Shoreline Stadium.
Ellersick, who stood nearly untouched just about every time he dropped back, led the Hawks on a 75-yard, 10-play touchdown drive on their initial possession in the first quarter. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior went 6-for-6 for a total of 68 yards and finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown strike to receiver Michael Wiley to give the Hawks a lead they’d never surrender.
“I have to give all the credit to our offensive line,” said Ellersick, who completed 9-of-22 and threw for 152 yards. “They work so incredibly hard all week and then they do a super job opening holes and protecting me. It was a great win for us and now it’s time to get ready for Woodway.”
The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 2-1 in league and 2-2 overall. Mountlake Terrace gets its biggest test of the season as it meets the state’s fourth-ranked team, Edmonds-Woodway, at 8 p.m. tonight (Friday, Sept. 29) at Edmonds Stadium.
The Warriors improved to 4-0 in league and 4-0 overall after crushing Lynnwood 52-7 on Sept. 22. Edmonds-Woodway has scored 80 points and has given up just 14 in their last eight quarters. In four games, E-W is averaging 39 points per game.
“This was a good win for us tonight,” Mountlake Terrace coach Tony Umayam said. “But it’s time to put it behind us and get ready for a tough game against Edmonds-Woodway next week. I am very proud of our offensive line. They did a great job protecting Tony (Ellersick) and opening up holes for our running game.”
The loss dropped the Thunderbirds to 1-3 in league and 1-3 overall. Shorewood, which shut out Lynnwood two weeks ago 24-0, plays undefeated Kamiak (3-0 league, 4-0) at 7 p.m. at Goddard Stadium in Everett.
Mountlake Terrace increased its lead to 14-0 after scoring on a 7-play, 60-yard drive, capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ellersick to junior receiver David Vodegal with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter. Unlike its first touchdown drive, Mountlake Terrace relied on its strong ground game, led by running back Michael Chaney. The 5-foot-7 junior rushed for 37 yards on the drive, which included runs of 11 and 18 yards. The speedy Chaney gained 87 of his game high 127 yards in the second half.
“I just couldn’t believe how big those holes were,” Chaney said. “I thought they’d be big a little while and then they’d close up. But that never happened. Our offensive line kept opening them up and I just kept running. They (offensive line men) played great.”
The Hawks added to their lead on a 24-yard field goal kick by sophomore Chaz Dalton, which gave Mountlake Terrace a 17-0 lead with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter.
Shorewood nibbled into the Hawk lead on its following possession, scoring on a 63-yard halfback pass from senior Tysen Allumbaugh to receiver Devin Whittle, who sprinted down the sideline untouched. That was as close as Shorewood could get.
“It’s simple, they flat out executed and we did not,” Shorewood coach Paul Christianson said. “We didn’t wrap up and they did. There were no surprises, except for maybe the play we scored on.”
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