EDMONDS — When there were momentary creases in Meadowdale’s defense, Sexton Shearer found them. And when there weren’t, the hard-running senior made them himself.
Burlington-Edison rode Shearer’s four-touchdown performance to a 34-21 victory over the Mavericks in Tuesday night’s Northwest District 3A state-qualifying game at Edmonds Stadium.
The Tigers scored a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes to ruin Meadowdale’s bid at returning to the state football playoffs for the second year in a row.
“In a game like that, it’s going to be the team who makes the most big plays,” Mavericks coach Mark Stewart said, “and they made a whole lot more than we did.”
Shearer was a big-play machine on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, who advance to face unbeaten Issaquah tomorrow night in a first-round matchup.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, turned a mid-range reception into a breakaway TD and picked off Meadowdale quarterback Eric Marty with 4:39 remaining to seal the outcome.
Meadowdale never led, but had an answer for Shearer’s first three scores. After Shearer scored off a 42-yard draw on the game’s opening drive, the Mavericks pulled even at the 8:46 mark of the second quarter on Justin Lucero’s 28-yard TD sweep.
B-E drove 53 yards in five minutes at the end of the half and regained a 14-7 lead when Shearer rumbled off right tackle for an 11-yard touchdown, pushing his halftime totals to 105 yards and 16 carries.
The Mavericks kept better tabs on Shearer in the second half and limited the Tigers to nine yards on their first two possessions of the second half and negative-nine yards on their next two.
But Meadowdale’s offense didn’t fare much better. The Mavericks fumbled to open the half and went three-and-out on their next possession before Lucero evened the game at 14-all with a 5-yard touchdown with 4:09 left in the third quarter.
The teams traded touchdowns again early in the fourth quarter. With the nearest defender a good eight yards away, Shearer hauled in a pass from B-E quarterback Peter Voorhees and crisscrossed the field for a 77-yard catch-and-run TD with nine minutes remaining.
Less than two minutes later, Meadowdale tied the score one last time when Marty threaded a pass to Lucero along the B-E sideline and the 5-foot-7 speedster sprinted into the end zone to complete a 64-yard TD strike.
“We made some adjustments … late in the game and started to play well,” Stewart said.
B-E’s adjustments were even better.
Following Lucero’s score, the Tigers executed a textbook flea-flicker that clearly took the Mavericks by surprise. Voorhees and Rey Gonzalez connected on a 55-yard gain to set up Gonzalez’s 12-yard TD catch three plays later.
Shearer then cut in front of Meadowdale wideout Jake Linton to pick off Marty. He returned the interception 30 yards and scored on a 4-yard run on B-E’s next play.
“We had them shut down for a bit, then they got us a couple times,” Stewart said. “Their coach made some great calls at great times. They did enough to move on and they deserve it.”
Marty was 12 of 22 passing for 148 yards and Lucero finished with 71 yards on seven carries for the Mavericks. Vorhees was four of seven for 154 yards for the Tigers.
“We thought we’d get the ball in the air a bit and we were doing OK,” Stewart said. “We got behind late and it takes you out of your game plan.”
Making its second straight appearance in the district playoffs, Meadowdale ended its season 6-5 overall.
“Those guys who have played the past couple years can feel good about their high school careers. It’s tough because you’re out here and you’re battling and you come up short,” Stewart said.
“Our kids work hard and play hard. They’re starting to expect to win.”
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