The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

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Football: Hawks spoil Sedro-Woolley’s homecoming

The Mountlake Terrace Hawks football team spoiled Sedro-Woolley’s homecoming game with a 22-13 non-conference win Friday night at Greene Memorial Field.

The Hawks (3-2) were led by freshman running back Devante Downs’ 177 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns.  From start to finish, the powerful Hawks’ offensive line was able to provide Downs with many open running opportunities.

“Devante is a hard worker and it’s nice that he’s a pretty sharp guy.  He’s a quick learner,” Hawks coach Tony Umayam said of Downs. “He has been a pleasant surprise for us.”

Early on, Zack Karels’ 53-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Hawks much-needed momentum.  The first quarter was filled with punts, dropped passes and sloppy play by both teams. From that point on, Downs and the rest of the offense marched down the field at will with little opposition.

With a 2-yard touchdown to begin the second quarter and a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter by Downs, the small contingent of Terrace fans who made the 90 minute drive were on their feet. The Hawks looked to be in control with a 22-0 lead.

Contributors on offense were quarterback Hunter Rook, who threw for 54 yards, and tight end Mitch Haldane with seven catches for 54 yards.

The Hawks shut the Cubs down for much of the first three quarters with constant pressure from Haldane, Julian Snow and Stafford Williams. However, Sedro-Woolley mounted a late game comeback.  Cubs running back Clayton Johnson, who had a relatively quiet night, broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run with 1:35 in the third quarter.

Disaster nearly struck in the fourth quarter for the Hawks.  Following an 11-yard run by Downs, the Hawks had first-and-goal from the 2-yard line.  Two consecutive false starts pushed the Hawks back to the 12.  Shortly after, Rook was sacked setting up a fourth-and-23 situation.  The Hawks tried to convert on fourth down but Rook fumbled in the face of heavy pressure.

“Those mistakes put us in a situation where it cost ourselves a touchdown and we had a chance to go up by three scores,” Umayam said. “Fortunately we had a little bit of a cushion to work with.”

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After recovering the fumble, Sedro-Woolley took possession of the ball.  A few plays later, the Cubs’ third-string quarterback Seth Noble hooked up with Aaron Stroosma for a 67-yard touchdown, narrowing the Terrace lead to 22-13 with 4:57 remaining in the game.  The Cubs surprisingly decided to go for the 2-point conversion but failed.

Following the game, Coach Umayam told his players that next week’s opponent, Glacier Peak, will be a much different opponent than Sedro-Woolley was.

“Glacier Peak is known for their high-flying offense. We’re going to have to make sure that our secondary is ready to contain their athletes and we need to pressure their quarterback,” Umayam said. “Offensively, we need to be able to sustain drives and we did that a little bit [Friday night].”

The Hawks face No. 9 Glacier Peak (4-1, 4-0 Wesco 3A) next Friday at Edmonds Stadium, 8:00 p.m.  Glacier Peak won Friday night against Meadowdale 42-21.

“This game gets us amped up for next week and basically gives us the momentum we need to beat Glacier Peak,” Haldane said.

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