Eastlake Wolves defeated Woodinville Falcons, 35-19, on Friday, Sept. 26 at Eastlake High School
The Falcons received the kickoff to open the competition. Woodinville chewed up several minutes from the clock with multiple first downs on their first possession. Failing to find the end zone, the Falcons settled for a 3-point field goal, leaving just 4:30 in the quarter.
A quick three-and-out produced nothing for the Wolves, returning the ball to the Falcons with 25 seconds on the clock. It looked like it was going to be a long night for Eastlake.
This time, though, it was the Falcons that failed to produce not just in this possession but the rest of the half. What looked like a difficult night for the Wolves quickly turned.
The Wolves made good on every possession in the second quarter. Their first touchdown came with a completion from Ryder Barrysmith to Chase Hanschka in the right corner of the end zone to take the 7-3 lead.
A quarterback sack left the Falcons reeling when Behrett Bratlien and Nolan Budish took down Drew Sorensen for a loss. Stopped on downs, Woodinville was forced to punt.
With a completion to Landon Johnson and a series of carries by Myles Johnson, the Wolves rapidly ate up the field. Myles Johnson found a hole in the defense when he made his way from the middle to the outside to run the ball up the right side for another Eastlake touchdown and a 14-3 advantage.
A fumble recovery by Jack Devine gave the ball back to Eastlake with less than two minutes to score. A carry up the middle by Myles Johnson put the Wolves at the Falcon 44-yard line. With a series of short, rapid completions to Landon Johnson, Eastlake was in scoring position again. With 16 seconds on the clock, Barrysmith kept the ball and ran into the end zone for another Eastlake touchdown.
Despite a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on Barrysmith, the long, extra-point kick from the 35-yard line was good to give the Wolves the 21-3 lead going into the halftime break.
With momentum still on their side, the third quarter belonged to the Wolves. Myles Johnson scored again for the home team when he spun left, past a pair of defenders, to fall forward into the end zone for a 28-3 Eastlake lead.
Frustrated with a quick three-and-out, the Falcons were forced to punt. Eastlake capitalized on the opportunity. This time, it was Landon Johnson who found the end zone, breaking five tackles to run right and quickly shift left to score. The Wolves dominated the quarter for a 35-3 advantage.
It was during this possession that Barrysmith suffered an injury and had to come out of the game, replaced by JR Gill. Barrysmith came back briefly but did not play in the final quarter.
If the third quarter belonged to the Wolves, the final quarter belonged to the Falcons. Woodinville managed to add to the board early in the fourth quarter with a safety for two points.
Now in possession and anxious to score, the Falcons moved downfield quickly. A long bomb to Owen Milnes moved the visiting team 45 yards downfield on a single play. Their work paid off when Sorensen connected with Blaine Hager for a touchdown, to reduce the deficit to 35-12.
While Eastlake ate up the clock on their next possession with three first downs, they were forced to turn the ball over. Unfortunately, Landon Johnson suffered an injury during the first series.
With just over five minutes remaining in the game, the Falcons wasted no time moving the ball. Relying on their passing game for rapid movement, the visitors advanced ten yards at a time. Then, on a quick change from passing to running, a handoff to Gavin Watts added to the Woodinville score to close the gap, 35-19.
Time was not on Woodinville’s side. Despite a valiant effort, the Falcons ultimately failed to stop the Wolves’ offensive machine, and Eastlake secured a comfortable 35-19 victory.
The Eastlake Wolves will play the Skyline Spartans at Skyline on Friday, October 3, at 7 p.m. for the annual battle on the plateau.
