Lake Stevens leaves no doubt in rematch with Kennedy Catholic in WIAA 4A football quarterfinals, 3 takeaways
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - If this is the version of the Lake Stevens High School football team that the remaining contenders in the WIAA Class 4A tournament are going to see - well, good luck.
The team the Vikings beat in last year's state title game didn't have an answer Friday night in a much-anticipated rematch.
Junior Kolton Matson passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half, and the Vikings' first-string defense did not allow a first down in just over a half as second-seeded Lake Stevens walloped No. 11 seed Kennedy Catholic, 44-21, at Viking Stadium.
Lake Stevens will host the Mount Si-Kamiakin winner Nov. 25 in the state semifinals.
"We executed so well," longtime Lake Stevens football coach Tom Tri said. "I am so proud of our guys."
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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TOM TRI GETS HIS REDEMPTION
It isn't often when Tri feels like he's let his team down in big games - but that was his sentiment after the Vikings' 24-22 win over Kennedy Catholic in the Class 4A championship game last December.
Lake Stevens rode the strong performance of all-state tailback Jayden Limar, who finished with 185 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown, but struggled to find any rhythm in the pass game.
"I was kind of embarrassed by the state championship game. We didn’t execute, but it wasn’t really our guys -it was me," Tri said. "They (the Lancers) put a good defensive schemes against us, and I didn’t recognize it in the game well enough, and I took full ownership of it.
"I was going to make sure we had a better game plan against these guys."
So, Tri dug into last year's game film, Then he watched three more of Kennedy Catholic's game from this fall, including last week's win over Curtis.
Something in that game film caught his attention when Curtis utilized some of the formations Lake Stevens does.
"I realized they were not scheming against us, but that is what they do against certain formations," Tri said. "So (Friday), I had a good feel for what we were going to see on defense where as last year, I was guessing."
Matson worked both sides of the perimeter to perfection, completing 16 of his 19 passes - with a pair of touchdowns to Keagan Howard, and other touchdowns to David Brown and a tipped 34-yarder to Paul Valera on the final play of the first half to give the Vikings a 44-0 lead.
"We executed beyond our expectations tonight," Matson said.
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LAKE STEVENS DEFENSE SETS TONE
After the Vikings lost a non-conference game to Oregon power West Linn in Week 4, Tri admitted the team's pressure on the quarterback had to improve and the secondary had to stop giving up big-chunk plays.
Well, both issues appear to be fixed.
Linebacker Mason Turner and the Lake Stevens defensive front got to Kennedy Catholic Devon Forehand for five sacks, including one for a safety that gave the Vikings a 9-0 lead.
They also completely stifled Kennedy Catholic's Wing-T rushing attack. Indiana Jones finished with 48 yards on 11 carries - with a large chunk coming in the fourth quarter when the team was on running-clock "mercy rule."
Lake Stevens' first-string defense has now posted 10-plus consecutive quarters of shutout football.
"Getting pressure has been a focal point, and coaches want us to blitz more," Howard said.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO KENNEDY CATHOLIC?
For a team coming off a road win at No. 7 seed Curtis in the opening round, the Lancers should have been riding that high into Friday night.
But they gave up a Lake Stevens drive of 70 yards on the opening series, resulting in a Jayshon Limar 18-yard touchdown run - and never generated anything on offense.
They even went for it on fourth-and-short from their own 36-yard line to try and get something going. Jones was stuffed for no gain - and Lake Stevens went right down and scored to push its lead to 30-0.
"They came out hot and fast, and we came out really flat," Kennedy Catholic football coach Pat Jones said.
"I don’t want to take anything away from Lake Stevens, but we played really flat - and lethargic. Their middle linebacker (Turner) ate us up, and we didn't want to block him."
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