🏈 Bellevue Looms Friday After Lake Stevens Loses OT Thriller in Sumner, 31-28 - Stats, Video, Pics + more

The Vikings welcome 3A champion Bellevue for the home opener Friday, 7pm...Viks look to rebound from tough loss in game that saw Lake's stars show their mettle

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SUMNER, WA — The season opener was like many other contests in the Tom Tri era. When the Lake Stevens Vikings face off with a highly-ranked opponent, Viking dominance is written all over the final box score. Whether that will be the case this Friday, after Lake Stevens hosts the Bellevue Wolverines for the home opener (kickoff 7pm) is yet to be determined.

Lake’s game ending box score displayed the usual statistical dominance after the contest ended Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner: Tom Tri’s two-time returning 4A State Champion Vikings more than doubled up their opponents (the third-ranked Sumner Spartans) in total offense, time of possession, passing yards and total yards.

But one stat category the Vikings didn’t command? Points scored.

Sumner won 31-28 in overtime.

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The Spartans found a way to dispatch the back-to-back 4A State Champs despite holding the ball for just over six minutes in the first half — and barely over three minutes in the second half.

How can this be so? And what does it spell for Lake’s season?

First things first. The Spartans battered the Viks on special teams, blocking a punt and returning the live ball for a first-quarter touchdown…and drilling a game-winning 36-yard field goal in overtime.

Sumner’s special teams units raced up and down the field on returns, accumulating more than a hundred combined return yards, including a fifty yard kickoff return that may’ve been headed to paydirt if Viking kicker Lucas Mooring hadn’t made the saving tackle.

Aside from special teams though, Lake Stevens bossed the action.

Which is sorta like saying “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”

Revamped Viking Defense Shows Immediate Aggression, Offense Up to Usual Tricks

The 2024 season started in a promising fashion for the Vikings.

After winning the coin flip and electing to defer, Lake sent out its newly-formed defense to open the contest.

And on the first play from scrimmage, Lake’s 2024 defense — featuring ten new starters — opened with a turnover as talented junior cornerback Kekoa Okiyama read Spartan QB Nate Donavan’s intent and headed to the spot some forty yards down the field before the heavily recruited sophomore star receiver Braylen Pope could snatch the pigskin out of the air.

Okiyama beat Pope to the spot, pulled in the interception and gave Lake great field position out the gate.

Matson Puts Viks on the Board First

Then, as Lake transitioned to offense, senior transfer wide receiver Cannon Kennard started his Viking career with a bang, taking an end-around towards the boundary before turning the corner on Sumner, racing up field for a 9-yard gain. Then Jayshon Limar raced up the middle for 14. Kennard’s number was called again, this time skipping through the left side for 13. Next, Tri dialed up Kennard’s number on a screen pass, and the shifty slot receiver burst through the middle of the field for 18. First and goal on the three.

Senior QB and reigning Gatorade Player of the Year Kolton Matson didn’t wait around, charging around the right end and into the endzone. 7-0 Lake.

Sumner was next to score after Lake couldn’t convert on fourth and eight from their own 40 — going for it was a typically bold decision from the punt-averse Tri. But when the Matson pass looking for Keagan Howard dropped to the turf, Sumner was handed a short field. It got even shorter after a personal foul penalty. At this point, Sumner only needed to “drive” the final 25 yards.

Following runs of 5 and 16 yards, junior transfer QB Nate Donavan rolled right and threw the first of two TD passes on the day.

The score made it 7-7, 5:11 1Q.

Donavan was far from a sure thing though, and he was held in check by Lake’s revamped secondary. The Spartan signal caller was just 7 for 15 in the first half and only 9 for 19 on the day, albeit with a pair of touchdowns, an interception and 121 yards passing.

Sumner Specials Capitalize on Stalled Drive

After Donavan’s first quarter strike, the Viks got the ball back and hamstrung themselves with a series of penalties. After one first down, Lake faced 4th and 13 from their own 35.

Tom Tri sent out the punt team and Sumner capitalized, sending a rusher past the protector and into the leg of Blake Moser, the Viks’ punter/backup QB.

The punt ricocheted off the Spartan and took a nice Sunday hop into the arms of a charging Spartan reinforcement, who galloped 25 yards or so untouched into the endzone.

Postgame, Spartan head coach Keith Ross told the media that blocking a punt had been part of the Spartan strategy. Ross said he’d told his defense that if they could stop Lake inside their own 35, Tri would have to punt, and if Lake punted — Ross told his players they’d block the punt. And that’s exactly what occurred.

The special teams touchdown made it 14-7 Sumner, 2:22 1Q.

The second quarter featured more of the same frustrations for the Vikings. Moving the ball wasn’t a problem, finishing drives with touchdowns was more difficult. Trailing by a touchdown, Lake started the next drive on the 20.

After 12 plays covering 72 yards and eating up over five minutes, Tom Tri took a field goal from 25 out making it 14-10. After that, the Viking D forced a three and out from Sumner — one of several sub one minute possessions for the Spartans on the day — and took possession at their own 20. Building on the momentum from the previous drive, Lake moved the ball with alacrity. Jayshon Limar for five. Then three straight completions by Matson covering a total of 33 yards. Limar ran for four, and then broke a run for 16. Lake was on Sumner’s 26 and threatening.

That’s when Matson took a corner end zone shot for senior TE Keagan Howard, but the communication was a beat off. Early season rust. Howard zigged when Matson zagged.

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