When the Mountlake Terrace football players took the field at Shoreline Stadium, they were full of energy and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case once time had run out on them.

Shorecrest (1-1) used a late run in the second half to pull away from the Hawks (1-1). After Ryan Benham’s touchdown from four yards out with 11:24 left in the game, the Hawks took a 23-19 lead, their first since the game’s opening drive.  However, that would be the Hawks’ last scoring opportunity.  Shorecrest responded with two consecutive touchdowns.  An 11-yard touchdown run by Keegan Lockler and a 73-yard touchdown bomb to Damon Richards put the game out of reach.

“They smacked us in the mouth. There were plays that could have gone one way or the other.  They made the key plays on defense and on offense,” Hawks coach Tony Umayam said.

The Scots’ offense was led by quarterback Ted Hammond with 288 yards passing and running back Keegan Smalls with 81 yards rushing.  The Hawks’ young secondary was tested on multiple occasions and struggled to slow down Shorecrest’s balanced offense.

“I have faith that our secondary will get better as the season goes on,” Umayam said.  “We’ll have to see the situation on Zack [Karels] though.”

Karels, who had played with a wrapped shoulder during last week’s victory over Oak Harbor, left the game with a shoulder injury late in the third quarter.  He did not return to the field.

The game was closely contested throughout.  Dual-threat quarterback Hunter Rook kept the Hawks within striking distance and led the offense with 131 yards passing and 144 yards rushing.  He had a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Julian Snow just before the end of the first half and a rushing touchdown.

Last week, the Hawks had success dominating an outmatched Oak Harbor team. Shorecrest, a team that hung tough in their first game against Meadowdale, came out with more physical and more aggressive.

“They were physical and out hustled us. Those are hallmarks of our team… but we didn’t do that tonight,” Umayam said regarding his team’s effort.

The Hawks host the Bishop Blanchet Braves (1-1) next Friday, September 17 at 7:00 p.m.  The Braves are coming off of a 34-13 win over Granite Falls.

“It’s okay to let this one settle for a few days,” Umayam said. “This will motivate us to prepare better next time.”

Notes: LB Mitch Haldane had 19 total tackles. Mountlake Terrace was whistled for 10 penalties in the first half.