Prep football: Mavericks down Hawks 34-14

Meadowdale quarterback JP Routen is chased by Mountlake Terrace's Billy Parkins during a Wesco 3A South game Friday at Edmonds Stadium. (Photos by David Pan)
Meadowdale quarterback JP Routen is chased by Mountlake Terrace’s Billy Parkins during a Wesco 3A South game Friday at Edmonds Stadium. (Photos by David Pan)

Taking advantage of an injury-depleted Mountlake Terrace secondary, Meadowdale quarterback JP Routen threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns Friday night as the Mavericks upended the Hawks 34-14 in a Wesco 3A matchup at Edmonds Stadium.

Routen’s efforts came in just over three quarters of play as the senior went down with a right shoulder injury with 11:14 to go in the game and never returned.

Routen completed 9 of 15 pass attempts in the game, with two of those completions going for touchdowns during a 34-second span late in the first half. Following a 30-yard TD pass to Malik Braxton with 1:10 to go, the Mavericks recovered an onside kick at the Mountlake Terrace 29 yard line. Two plays later Routen hooked up with Braxton again, this time for a 45-yard TD with 46 seconds to go in the half.

The two scores pushed the Mavericks’ lead to 28-0 at halftime, an advantage the Hawks could never challenge.

“We had some really good moments,” Meadowdale coach Mike Don said. “We made a lot of big plays. I thought the kids played well a lot of the time. … We threw the ball really well in the first half.”

Meadowdale’s offensive game plan was to attack the Terrace defense through the air.

“We watched a lot of film this week and we saw some things that we thought we could take advantage of in the passing game,” Routen said. “We’re a run-first team, so we can always fall back on that, but we love to air the ball out.”

The Mavericks’ first play from scrimmage resulted in a 32-yard pass completion; the team’s opening drive ended with a 19-yard TD pass from Routen to Charlie White. Routen also completed a 30-yard TD pass to Harrison White during the Mavericks’ big first half offensive explosion.

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Meadowdale’s Rory Spillum (left) looks for the hole in the line thanks to a block by teammate.

While Maverick fans were loving the first half output, the happiest person in the stadium may have been Routen himself. “Coach Don is awesome,” Routen said smiling. “Last year I went to Newport High School and we ran the triple option, so I wasn’t throwing the ball a lot. Coach Don is a great offensive mind and a great play caller. He’s a pleasure to play for.”

While the Meadowdale offense totaled 391 yards for the game, the Hawks’ offense sputtered, never crossing the midfield stripe in the first half. The team was more successful in the second half and found the end zone twice as senior Ryan Lacasse rushed for two touchdowns on a third quarter 3-yard run and a fourth quarter 11-yard run.

Lacasse also led the Terrace team in tackles with three solo stops and assisting in two others. But the Hawk defense was hobbled by a couple key defensive backs out with injuries suffered on Sept. 5 – senior Josh Hopkins is nursing a leg injury while senior Michael Hunt is out for the year after suffering a broken tibia and fibula.

Meadowdale only kicked two field goals in the second half and Don wasn’t pleased.

“We’e got to get better at finishing games,” he said. “We get up big early. I think we kind of coasted a little bit. That can’t happen. I wasn’t pleased with our second half.”

Both the Mavericks and the Hawks will be back at Edmonds Stadium on Friday, Sept. 19; Terrace will take on Shorewood at 5 p.m. while Meadowdale will face rival Edmonds-Woodway at 8 p.m.

“I thought we got a little bit better this week,” Don said. “We’ll try to get better next week.”

– By Doug Petrowski and David Pan 

Mountlake Terrace vs. Meadowdale football, Sept. 12

Terrace                    0            0        7          7          —          14
Meadowdale             7          21        6          0          —          34

JP Routen 19-yard TD pass to Charlie White (Meadowdale) – PAT kick good
JP Routen 30-yard TD pass to Harrison White (Meadowdale) – PAT kick good
JP Routen 30-yard TD pass to Malik Braxton (Meadowdale) – PAT kick good
JP Routen 45-yard TD pass to Braxton (Meadowdale) – PAT kick good
Brett Schafer 28-yard field goal (Meadowdale)
Ryan Lacasse 3-yard TD run (Mountlake Terrace) – PAT kick good
Brett Schafer 23-yard field goal (Meadowdale)
Ryan Lacasse 11-yard TD run (Mountlake Terrace) – PAT kick good

Records: Mountlake Terrace 0-1 in Wesco, 1-1 overall; Meadowdale 1-0, 1-1

Next games: Mountlake Terrace versus Shorewood, Friday, Sept. 19, 5 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium; Meadowdale versus Edmonds-Woodway, Friday, Sept. 19, 8 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium (both games streamed live on the Sound Live Sports Network)

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