Top-Ranked Vikings Ring Wolverines’ Bell 21-14
Vikings move to 2-0 after defeating 4A and 3A’s best in back-to-back weeks…Stats, box score, pics and highlights.
BELLEVUE — According to Head Coach Tom Tri, the Lake Stevens Vikings (2-0) have facets of their play that need continued improvement. The Vikings’ haven’t played their best football, Tri said in a post game interview Friday.
All of this must come as bad news to the rest of the Washington State prep landscape, asTri’s Vikings sit at 2-0 after passing a two-game non-conference scheduling test that ranks among the toughest Tri has ever conjured up.
The Vikings opened with a home win over defending 4A champs and preseason #1 Sumner, 31-28 on Blake Moser’s last-second TD strike to Seth Price.
And a week later, Lake hit the road for game four in their on-going home-and-away series with 3A powerhouse Bellevue.
The Vikings defeated the 2024 3A runners-up in Bellevue last Friday 21-14, overcoming a 14-7 halftime disadvantage before slowly throttling the life out of the Wolverines in a dominant second half punctuated by junior safety Felix Ramsey’s game-altering red zone interception, ending what would have been a long Bellevue scoring drive late in the third quarter.
Defensive Coordinator Eric Dinwiddie’s troops held the line Friday, shutting off a Wolverine rushing attack.
The Viks received pointers midweek from guest speaker Brandon Carson, the retired state champion Marysville-Pilchuck coach/Wing-T savant.
The info must’ve been well-received because Viking defenders swarmed to the ball and cutoff star running back Max Jones. So good was the Viking run D that the famously pass-averse Wolverines turned to the air for their only scoring plays.
The Viking defense was led by junior middle linebacker Kayden Blanchard’s team-high 17 tackles, including two tackles for loss.
Blanchard led NINE Vikings in double figures, including Dylan Phinney and Kenny Buckmiller with a dozen tackles each, Keegan Brown with 11 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack and Felix Ramsey’s ten tackles and interception.
On offense, Blake Moser wasn’t quite as accurate as he’ll likely be in the future, completing just 11 of 24 passes for 146 yards.
The junior threw a touchdown to sophomore wideout Max Cook for the second straight week and spread the wealth amongst five Viking pass catchers, including sophomore wide receiver Deuce Wilson, whose first varsity snag went for 26 yards down the Wolverine sideline.
With the Viking pass attack hitting patches of rust, Tom Tri turned once again to junior back Jayvian Ferrell, quickly becoming a star. Ferrell gashed the Wolverine D for 119 yards on 21 bruising carries, including a touchdown.
Hit the jump for box score, stats and more highlights.
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