Warriors flatten Mavericks

EDMONDS — So much for keeping the Edmonds-Woodway football team’s burgeoning passing game under wraps.

Though nearly all of the preseason buzz surrounding the Warriors focused squarely on the explosive backfield of brothers Josh and Tony Heard, E-W displayed a different side of its offense in last week’s season opener.

Junior quarterback Kyle McCartney threw touchdown strikes to four different receivers to pace the Warriors to a 42-20 victory over Meadowdale in a Western Conference South Division contest Sept. 1 at Edmonds Stadium.

“We knew we’d have to throw it a little bit because of how their defense is set up to stop Josh and Tony,” McCartney said. “But I didn’t think we’d throw as much as we did.”

With the Mavericks crowding the line to contain the Heards, E-W attacked through the air. Making his first varsity start at quarterback, McCartney was 11 of 19 passing for 201 yards with no interceptions or sacks.

“I haven’t told anybody about Kyle. Why the heck would I want to do that?” E-W coach John Gradwohl joked.

McCartney connected with wideout Eric Greenwood on fourth down for a 19-yard TD with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter for the game’s first points. Another fourth-down reception by the 6-foot-6 senior set up a 1-yard TD dive by Josh Heard at the 6:24 mark of the second quarter.

Josh Heard then stopped Meadowdale’s ensuing drive with a one-handed interception and four plays later Tony Heard took a screen pass from McCartney 23 yards for a score to give E-W a 21-0 edge.

“We all know each other so well,” said Greenwood, who led the Warriors with five catches for 85 yards. “It’s our chemistry. We’re all friends off the field. We all come up here in the summer and run routes together, working on our timing. Obviously it pays off.”

The Mavericks responded as senior quarterback Matt Johnson lofted a 47-yard pass to tailback Eric Rabon, who then scooted eight yards on a carry up the middle for a touchdown with 30 seconds to go in the half.

E-W (1-0) stretched its lead to 28-7 at the break as McCartney fired a tight spiral down his team’s sideline to a streaking Antoine Wafer, who jetted past his defender for a 59-yard catch-and-run TD.

“They were playing their corners up and we knew we had to go deep because there were only about 20 seconds left,” McCartney said. “We wanted to run a stop-and-go and see what would happen.”

Three first-half turnovers slowed the Mavericks (0-1), who limited the Heards to a combined 49 rushing yards in the first two quarters.

“There were a lot of first-game mistakes,” Gradwohl said. “I don’t think the score is an indication of how hard this game was fought. (Meadowdale) came out in the second half ready to play and took it right to us.”

Johnson kept the Mavericks close with a 29-yard TD run to open the third quarter, but the Warriors pulled away with a pair of scores in a two-minute stretch starting with McCartney’s final TD toss.

After finding Greenwood on third-and-long, McCartney threaded a pass to tight end Casey Hamlett for a 15-yard score with 1:01 to go in the third quarter. The Warriors then forced a Meadowdale punt and Tony Heard took a handoff 79 yards for a TD to make it 42-14 with 11:28 left in the game.

Tony Heard rushed for a game-high 109 yards on eight carries and Josh Heard added 68 yards on 16 attempts. Johnson ran for 69 yards and was eight of 14 passing for 123 yards for the Mavericks, including a 20-yard TD pass to tight end Jacob Clampitt with 3:58 remaining.

“I’ve got a brand new offensive line I was nervous as heck about because we haven’t played anybody,” Gradwohl said. “But we’ve got some good receivers and a good quarterback and I thought if they took away Josh and Tony — which they did a good job of — we’d have to put the ball in the air.”

Starting the season with a victory while not having to rely on the running game to establish the tempo was a bonus for McCartney.

“We had confidence coming in, but this gives us even more,” he said. “It’s something to build off.”