The 2003 football season is beginning to feel a lot like 2001 to Shorewood coach Jeff Weible.
That year, the Thunderbirds dropped their first two league games before storming back to finish 6-3 and advance to the district playoffs.
With just two playoff berths awarded to the Western Conference 4A South Division this season, another 5-1 finish might not cut it.
Shorewood could log a third straight 6-3 league mark, but miss out on the postseason altogether depending on how the division leaders perform.
If the T-birds sweep their final five games — starting with Mountlake Terrace tonight — and go 7-2, that might be good enough for a top-two finish.
“We’ll probably need some help from other teams,” Weible said. “But it’s too soon to even be thinking that far ahead.”
Shorewood picked up its second straight win last week, rolling over last-place Lynnwood 44-20 Oct. 3 at Shoreline Stadium behind two touchdowns from Eric Christophersen and Sean Tracey’s two TD passes.
The T-birds (2-2 league, 3-2 overall) scored all of their points before Lynnwood (0-4, 0-5) came up with three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“We cut down our penalties and cut down our mental mistakes and took care of a team we should beat,” Weible said.
With leading rusher Seth Setterberg still feeling the effects of a neck stinger he sustained in a win over Shorecrest the week before, Christopherson and Jeff Brower took most of Tracey’s handoffs.
Brower kicked off the scoring with a 23-yard run in the first quarter and Christopherson followed with TD runs of 28 and 37 yards.
Tracey hit wideout Wade Gurnett for a 42-yard score in the second quarter, boosting Shorewood’s halftime lead to 30-0, and found Tyler Tonkin on a 22-yard strike in the third quarter.
David Peoples added a 17-yard TD run for the T-birds in the fourth quarter before the Royals got their points.
A three-year losing skid notwithstanding, Weible was impressed by the game film he had of Lynnwood and urged his players not to overlook the Royals.
“They looked a lot better than the past,” Weible said. “I didn’t want us to be the team they got off the schnide against.”
Shorewood linemen Joey Steadman and Andrew Preston also sat out with injuries, but are expected back tonight.
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