In the final regular season conference game, the Mountlake Terrace Hawks blew out the Lynnwood Royals 43-13 on Thursday night at Edmonds Stadium.
Despite Lynnwood’s futility over the last few years, the Hawks did not overlook their opponent. Less than a week removed from a homecoming win over Everett, a win over Lynnwood would keep the Hawks’ playoff hopes alive. In addition, the Hawks needed Glacier Peak to defeat Everett.
However, the Hawks started slow out of the gate. Lynnwood scored the first points of the game with a fumble recovery returned 21 yards for a touchdown and took the 7-0 early lead.
Shortly after the second quarter began, the Hawks scored on a Hunter Rook 11-yard touchdown run and never looked back from that point. The Hawks scored 36 unanswered points until Lynnwood stopped the bleeding with a short touchdown run.
The Hawks’ offense was powered by the running game led by Devante Downs and Griffin Rash. Downs had 24 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Rash had nine carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Ryan Benham added a 9-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the final score of the game.
By the third quarter, it seemed as if fans were more interested in the score of the Glacier Peak-Everett game, rather the game right in front of them. When fans found out that Glacier Peak was blowing out Everett, fans cheered upon hearing the positive news.
The Hawks’ season does not end here though. The Hawks are tied with Shorecrest and Everett in the WesCo 3A standings, and only two of three teams will move on to the district playoffs. Glacier Peak and Meadowdale have already sealed the top two spots.
Mountlake Terrace, Shorecrest and Everett will be playing in a three-team Kansas City tiebreaker on Saturday night at Shoreline Stadium, beginning at 5:00 p.m. The teams will play an overtime-style format and start on the 25-yard line. For admission, adults, students without ASB cards, seniors and children will pay $2. High school students with ASB cards enter for free.
In game one, the Hawks play Everett in a rematch of the homecoming game a week ago. If the Hawks win, they play Shorecrest in game two for the WesCo 3A third seed in the playoffs. However, if the Hawks lose to Everett, they would need the Seagulls to beat Shorecrest, in order to play the Scots for a shot at the 4th seed. After that, the fourth seed crosses over and plays the Northwest Conference’s second seed next Tuesday.
But for now, all three teams have to prepare first for Saturday night before thinking ahead.
