Lake Stevens (9-0) Crushes Arlington 55-7 to Claim 13th Straight Wesco Title; Second-seeded Viks Host Playoff Game Friday, 7 pm
J425 has the playoff seeding for all classifications, a game report on the Viks' blowout win, stats, pictures, highlights...and an early look at the top contenders' paths to Husky Stadium
LAKE STEVENS — “We waited 365 days to get a little redemption.”
That’s how Lake Stevens Vikings Head Coach Tom Tri began his post game media address Friday, after his Vikings moved to 9-0 with a 55-7 home defeat of the Wesco rival Arlington Eagles. The win sewed up the Wesco title and a top seed in the Round of 32 playoff that begin this week.
It’s probable that the quest for redemption never strayed far from Coach Tri’s mind on any one of those 365 days.
A year ago, Lake Stevens’ 63-game Wesco winning streak came to an end on a cold November night in Arlington, as the Eagles bullied Tom Tri’s Vikings 28-14, turning Lake over four times and frustrating the-then two-time repeat 4A champions.
Blake Moser post game interview, Friday 10/21/25.
Lake ended up Wesco co-champs as the Viks, Arlington and Glacier Peak finished tied at the top – so the 12-year reign atop Wesco was alive Friday, as was the prospect of revenge…and if not revenge, then at least a palate-cleansing: Tom Tri told his charges all week during practice that the two touchdown loss had left a bad taste in his mouth for a full year.
The oft-repeated anecdote became a slogan of sorts with the term 28-14 standing in for the loss of the win streak, the loss to a rival, and the ending of a two-year reign atop state 4A.
So needless to say, Tri and the Vikings were not looking past the Halloween Night contest, hosting 4-4 Arlington for a tilt that also served as Senior Night for the Viks.
Given that Lake averages over 13 games a year over the last decade (and often 14, especially recently), it sometimes seems like a false conclusion holding senior night ahead of what is likely to be a four game home stand. That said, traditions are traditions, and Lake’s 2026 class was honored before and after the game.
When the action started between the lines, Tri took the governor off the engine early, unleashing his cat-quick junior signal caller on a designed run right out of the gate, sending junior QB Blake Moser around the right end of an unbalanced line that featured two tight ends and both tackles deployed on the right side.
Moser stoned a would-be Eagle tackler at the line with a javelin of a stiff arm, crumpling the defender where he stood (reminiscent of the iconic stiff arm Moser used in his first run as a stand-in WR last year during the playoff charge, a 29-yard TD off of a fly sweep versus Tahoma) before jetting around the right end and up the sideline for 12 yards before most of us could so much as blink.
The alacrity with which the 6’ 180-pound 2027 star accelerates is stunning to behold and the potential damage he can unleash on his feet has been readily apparent since he vivisected the Sumner defense for a 40-yard game-breaking touchdown run Week 1 – but like Jedd Fisch does with Demond Williams on Montlake, Tri keeps Moser in the pocket or on the rollout, allowing the strong armed righty to deal strikes out to a balanced receiving core that caught 26 touchdowns from number six so far this season. After beginning with somewhat of an uneven start passing, Moser has steadied the ship and pushed the throttle to full steam ahead, sharpening his passing to an All State level of proficiency.
For the season, Moser is now completing passes at a 67% clip and owns a shining 26/4 TD to interception ratio. Combine that with 270 yards and 5 TDs on the ground – accompanied by a ten yard per carry average – and Moser represents quite the problem for opposing defenses. Even more so when Tri makes it a point to unleash his star on the first drive of the game. It’s a point designed to catch the attention of Tri’s contemporaries, studying Viking tape ahead of possible playoff matchups…and it was more directly a statement made directly to the upstart Arlington Eagles: here’s something we’ve been saving for you.
After the initial first down on the ground, Moser conducted an efficient scoring drive that culminated with a 21-yard catch and run by junior wideout Seth Price. Just seven plays later, Moser would take it in himself from five yards out. 14-0 Lake Stevens, 1Q.
And after the two teams exchanged punts (with Moser doing the honors for Lake), Moser hit on four straight passes before jetting around the right end again, diving headfirst through a would-be tackler and inside the pilon for a score. After picking himself up, the usually-reserved junior discussed a few points with an Arlington defender, energizing the crowd and his teammates while staking the Viks to a 20-0 lead.
Arlington would score a first half touchdown, but from this point forward the game was not in doubt and Lake cruises to a running-clock 55-7 Wesco title-winning victory over Arlington.
Moser was 13-18 passing for 223 yards and four touchdowns passing with another 60 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Junior back Jay Ferrell scored twice for Lake and receivers Seth Price, Max Cook and Kekoa Okiyama all caught TD passes. Junior running back Colten Fink added a touchdown on the ground.
Lake Stevens 14 27 7 7 — 55
Arlington 0 7 0 0 — 7
Passing: Moser (LS) 14-19 223 yards, 4 TD.
Rushing: Ferrell 10-89-TD, Moser 5-60-2TD, Fink 6-48-TD.
Rec: Price 5-74-TD, Cook 3-70-TD, Okiyama 4-57-TD, Ferrell 1-9-TD.
Tackles: Yonesaka 6, Tautolo 4, Phinney 4. Sacks: K. Brown, A. Griffin III.
Notes: Mooring, LS: Nine kickoffs, nine touchbacks.
Full stats are attached at the bottom of the post.
Lake Hosts Kingco Opponent to Open Playoffs This Friday, 7 pm
The second-seeded Viks (9-0) open the 2025 playoff chase hosting #31 Woodinville (3-6) Friday in Lake Stevens. The Falcons finished dead last in KingCo Crown division, slogging through an 0-5 league campaign. The Viks and the Falcons have a common opponent: Bellevue, whom thrashed the Falcons 55-19. Lake Stevens beat Bellevue at Bellevue 21-14 in Week 2.
Mapping Out Lake’s Possible Playoff Path
Based on the initial seeding, the action picks up significantly the following week. The seeding committee will re-seed the remaining 16 teams and place them into the 4A bracket next Sunday, but we can see roughly where everyone is headed, assuming chalk victories this week. Lake, thanks to an undefeated regular season, will be seeded no worse than second, which is virtually the same as a one-seed, given that both one and two are on opposite sides of the bracket and get home turf advantage all the way until Husky Stadium.
As currently seeded, the Viks side of the bracket would contain #15 Eastlake, which at 5-4 would be Lake’s Round of 16 opponent, #10 Skyline, #7 Moses Lake, #3 Gonzaga Prep, #14 Curtis, #11Kennedy Catholic and #6 Sumner.
After Eastlake, Lake would get the winner of the 7/10 game, and could well be looking at a very interesting quarterfinal opponent in
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