By Quint Turner

Meadowdale’s Brett Schafer surprised the football team by beating out the competitors for the starting slot of kicker, despite being a sophomore. He hadn’t missed an extra point in his first 27 attempts, and he was given the chance to kick his first field goal as a varsity player with nine seconds left from 29 yards out Friday night — breaking a 14-14 tie and winning the game for the Mavs.

The field goal attempt was made after Meadowdale quarterback Brian Marty threw a deep bomb to Ryan White, who got 46 yards on the catch and took the ball to the Mountlake Terrace 19-yard line. After Chace Diemond picked up another eight yards, it was up to Schafer. The snap to Isaiah Barhoum was a bit high, but he set it down perfectly for Schafer. He knocked it directly through the uprights, and the Maverick student section went crazy.

It was an unfortunate loss for the now 2-4 (0-2 in conference) Mountlake Terrace Hawks, as it was Senior Night, along with homecoming. Senior quarterback Beau Kennedy led an offense that relied mostly on the triple option, with running backs Devante Downs and senior Lucas Pope being the main threats, but three interceptions while in MHS territory stopped key drives.

The Mavericks overall looked great in the first half. They started on their own 30-yard line, and on the first play from scrimmage, Marty was sacked by Downs for a six-yard loss. The Mavs responded on third and 11, when Marty threw a deep ball to Morgan Masanda, who caught the pass for 28 yards, and brought the ball to the Mountlake Terrace 44-yard line. The next play, Diemond got the snap, and ran 11 yards for a first down.

The Mavs went for six points on second and 9, as Marty tried to get the ball to Ryan White in the end zone, but it was broken up by Terrace defensive back Chance Ragsdale. However, Ragsdale was called for defensive pass interference, and the 15-yard penalty moved the chains — and the Mavericks — to the 16-yard line. Diemond got the snap and was initially stopped at the line of scrimmage, but managed to break free and get to the outside, scoring a touchdown on the run. Schafer kicked the extra point, and it was 7-0 with 9:25 to go in the first quarter.

The Hawks started with the ball on their own 23-yard line, but they would go three-and-out. The Mavs got the ball back at their own 38 after the punt. Malik Braxton got five yards on second and 1 to start the drive. On first and 15 at the MHS 43 (the Mavs were called for a false start), Marty dropped back to pass, and found Diemond along the sidelines for a 15-yard gain before Diemond stepped out of bounds. The Mavs had first and 10 at the Terrace 39, and on the next play, the Mavs were called for holding. That didn’t stop Meadowdale. On second and 16, Braxton took the snap and shoveled a pass to Masanda, and he took the ball 45 yards to the house after breaking a couple of Hawk tackles, and the Mavs were primed to start a blowout after going up 14-0.

The Hawks were determined to come back in the game after starting at their own 30-yard line. Shawn Evenson caught a screen pass from Kennedy for four yards on third and 2 for a first down to start the drive. With 3 minutes to go, and on second and 9 at the 41-yard line, Pope got the hand-off after Kennedy faked giving it to Downs, and he picked up 15 yards, but a personal foul by the Hawks wiped out the play. Second and 10, Kennedy found an open Quinton Barnard for 9.5 yards, but it wasn’t enough for a first, and on third and short, Ragsdale got the hand-off and was stopped short again.

With 1:30 left in the quarter, Terrace was called for a false start, forcing the Hawks to punt. The ball got to the MHS 32-yard line before being downed. The Mavs were looking to keep the pressure on, and on first and 10, Amanuel Tekle got the handoff and fought for all 11 yards he got. First and 10 on the MHS 44, Tekle got 10 more yards to keep the drive going to the MTHS 46. The last play of the quarter was a 9-yard run by Phillip Thomas, and the Mavs looked to be in good position to go up by three touchdowns early in the second quarter.

However, things didn’t go quite as planned. Back-to-back false starts backed up the Mavericks far enough, and on third and 11, Marty was rushed when trying to pass, and had to throw it away as Jordan Brown was quickly getting to him. The Mavs punted, and the Hawks started at their own 16-yard line. On second and 4, Kennedy threw a screen to Barnard for 13 yards. And on third and 2 at the Hawks’ own 34, Kennedy handed the ball off to Ragsdale, and he got three yards and a first down at the MTHS 45.

Next play, Downs broke free from the MHS initial tackles, and got 53 yards to bring the ball all the way to the MHS 1 yard line before being run down. Third and goal from the one, Downs jumped over the pile of lineman, and stretched the ball over the line for the touchdown with 6:25 to go in the half. The extra point from TK Johnson was good, and it was 14-7 MHS.

The Mavericks’next drive started well enough. On second and 3 at their own 30-yard line, Diemond got four yards to start the drive. However, Marty’s pass on second and 9 was picked off by Mason Stone at the Hawks’ 31 with 3:50 to go. On second and 8, Kennedy found Barnard near the MHS 45-yard line, and he made a lateral pass to Ragsdale just before his knee went to the ground. Ragsdale took the ball all the way to the 8-yard line on the hook and ladder. On first and goal at the 8, Kennedy faked handing the ball off to both Downs and Ragsdale, and ran it to the outside. He was untouched as he went into the end  zone, and the game was tied at 14 with 2:47 to go in the half, stunning the Mavericks.

Braxton returned the kickoff 39 yards from his own 10-yard line to the MHS 49 to start the next Maverick drive. However, on third and 5, Masanda lost a yard on a run, and the Mavs were three and outed. Or so the Hawks thought. Marty faked the punt, and threw a screen to Diemond. Diemond accidentally fell out of bounds two yards before the first-down marker, and the ball was turned back over to the Hawks with 1:15 to go in the half. The Hawks were unable to get a drive going, and the game was tied at 14 going into the second half.

The second half was much more of a battle of defenses than the first half. The Hawks started with the ball at their own 31, and looked to keep up the momentum they had. The drive was going well, as they drove down to the MHS 37-yard line before being stalled on fourth and 7. Kennedy tried to get a first down off a pass, but Nate Tibbot picked it off at the 30-yard line, giving the Mavs the ball back with 7:51 to go in the quarter.

The Mavs came back the other way with a well-sustained drive of their own. After Diemond picked up 13 on first and 10, Diemond racked up 11 more on third and 4 to get the ball on the MTHS 40. On third and 15, after a delay of game penalty on third and 10, Marty found Charlie White for a 10-yard gain. That set up a key fourth and 5 at the MTHS 35, and coach Mark Stewart decided to go for it with 4 minutes to go. Marty found Ryan White for an eight-yard screen pass and a first down to keep the chains moving.

The Hawks put the Mavs in a third and 1 situation at the MTHS 19-yard line, and Cummings got the snap and picked up four yards. The Mavs backed themselves up on first and 10 at the MTHS 15-yard line after a holding penalty, leading to a first and 20. Marty dropped back to pass, and was rushed by three Mountlake Terrace defenders, and was sacked and stripped of the ball.

Anfernee Calloway picked up the ball and took it to the MHS 40-yard line before being tackled by Barhoum. The Hawks had great field position with a minute to go, and were in a third and 5 situation at the MHS 35 before third-quarter time expired.

Downs was given the ball on the triple option, and got the necessary five yards to start the fourth quarter. The next three plays for the Hawks only earned them four yards, and Kennedy was forced to pass. Once again on fourth down, he was picked off. This time, Masanda got it in the end zone and returned the ball to the MHS 30-yard line with 10 minutes to play. First play from scrimmage, Masanda got four yards, but the Hawks were called for a facemask on the tackle, giving 15 more yards to the run. That brought the ball to the MHS 49-yard line, and Braxton got the handoff. He was stripped by the Hawks, and Terrace also recovered the ball at their own 47, giving them the ball back with 9:30 to play. A personal foul penalty was also called on the Mavericks, pushing the ball to the MHS 38, once again setting up amazing field position for the Hawks.

That field position didn’t do much good. On the first play of the drive, Kennedy dropped back to pass, and was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Cummings. On second and 21, Downs got the pitch from Kennedy, and actually attempted a pass down the sidelines, but Josiah Evans was there to pick off the pass, and he returned it to the MHS 33. After a three-yard run by Masanda on first and 10, offensive lineman Dustin Spicknall went down and had to be carried off the field by a stretcher. This was another blow to the Mavericks, who were still missing running back Giavani Shepard.

The Hawks were able to force a three-and-out and got the ball back at their own 31-yard line with seven minutes to go. The aim of the drive was to keep the ball on the ground and get five-plus yards each play. They executed that well from the get-go. Ragsdale got the ball on the triple option twice in a row, and got 10 yards combined to start the drive. With 4:35 to go, the Mavs had a chance to get the ball back if they stopped the Hawks on third and 1, but Downs got 4 yards to keep the drive alive. They had first and 10 at the MHS 46-yard line.

Three plays later, the Hawks were in a fourth and 6 situation with 2:29 to go. Kennedy dropped back as if he were going to pass before he ran the ball to the outside and got six yards and the first down at the MHS 35. A key play came two plays later. With third and 8 with 1:31 to go and the Hawks at the MHS 33-yard line, Kennedy once again ran the ball to the outside after faking the pass, and was inches short of getting to the first down before running out of bounds. That set up fourth and a half-yard, and the Hawks offensive line jumped and they were called for a false-start penalty. That meant it was fourth and 5 1/2, and Kennedy went back to pass. The ball thrown was a screen pass intended for Barnard, but the Mavericks knocked the ball down, giving them the ball back at their own 31-yard line with 1:19 to go.

On second and 6, Marty was hit from the blind side by Jevin Bahinui for a six-yard loss, setting up a 3rd and 12 with :36 to go. Coach Mark Stewart made a gutsy decision, and had Marty try to throw a deep ball to R. White. It worked perfectly. White caught it around the MTHS 40-yard line, and was eventually taken down at the MTHS 19-yard line with just :19 to go. Diemond got eight yards on second and 10 after a spike, taking the ball to the 11-yard line, and Stewart called time out with :09 to go. The kicking team was sent out, and Schafer made the 29-yard field goal look easy, splitting the uprights with the power of a 40-yard kick to give the Mavericks a 17-14 lead.

Since six seconds were left after the field goal, the Hawks had one last chance. Stone received the ball at his own 10-yard line, and got to the 35 before being taken down by Cummings with no time left in the game.

With the win, the Mavericks stay undefeated at 6-0 (3-0 in conference). They play next Friday against Eastlake High School at home at 8 p.m. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 2-4 (0-2 in conference), and play at Shorecrest next Friday at 7 p.m.

Quint Turner is a junior at Meadowdale High School.