Although both Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood are going into tomorrow night’s game with low expectations due to their 0-2 records, the Hawks and Royals will both be playing hard. Any rivalry game, whether professional or amateur, always has a more intense feel to it. This game is sure to be no different. This particular rivalry game has the potential to spell out the rest of the Hawks’ season. The rest of their regular season schedule is fairly unchallenging, excluding the Glacier Peak and Meadowdale games on Sep. 27th and Oct.11th, respectively. If they can pull off the win over their rival, the morale of the clubhouse is sure to improve exponentially.
Hopefully the Hawks will be able to pull out this victory, because it truly will turn their season around. Winning this game would put them at 1-2, and give them an entire different clubhouse morale. The rest of their schedule includes teams such as Shorecrest, Shorewood, and Everett, all fairly weak teams in which the Hawks definitely have the potential to defeat. Overall, the Hawks could end up right at .500 by the end of the regular season, a mark that they reached last year. This means they still have a chance at making the playoffs. However, Terrace fans shouldn’t get there hopes up; expectations were much higher going into the season than they are now, mostly because of the surprising loss to Stanwood that opened up the season. That’s why this is a make-or-break game for the Hawks; a game they must win to keep any postseason hopes alive.
The Hawks did show signs of hope last week against Edmonds-Woodway, despite the score being 35-0. Yes, Terrace got blown out, but against a very good Warriors team. The team’s defense held strong in the first half. Led by standout players Brett Potter, Austin Bates, and Ryan Lacasse, the Hawks defense held the Warriors to just seven points for the majority of the first half. However, Edmonds-Woodway did score a touchdown with about a minute before halftime, making the score 14-0. This is when team morale and play began to spiral downwards. Still, the fact that they were able to show signs of improvement from the previous week against Stanwood was definitely noteworthy.
As far as offensive play went, the Hawks looked dismal. Sub QB Jonathan Williams couldn’t manage the offense well, and it was very apparent on the scoreboard as the Hawks got shut out. However, with all the emotion coming into the game against Lynnwood, I believe that the Hawks will be able to defeat the Royals tomorrow night. As I’ve already said, both teams have looked nearly equally tragic thus far in the season, but the Royals have faced tougher times than the Hawks. After approximately two weeks of investigations towards head coach Adam Fermstad, Lynnwood fired him today. The Royals will be playing without a head coach tomorrow night, most likely causing even more disarray than usual. Therefore, with the Hawks improving and the Royals just facing challenge after challenge, I believe that Hawks fans can finally enjoy victory Friday night.
