It took a while for Meadowdale to figure out what Renton was doing defensively in Friday night’s non-conference football game.

The Mavericks took a 14-0 lead into halftime and then made some adjustments in the locker room. The offense came out firing, scoring three quick touchdowns in the third quarter en route to a 41-0 victory at Edmonds Stadium.

“They were slightly lined up differently than we thought they were going to be and it really threw the offensive line up front off in the first half,” Meadowdale coach Mike Don said. “I thought we played really well in the second half.”

The defense recorded its first shutout of the season. “We had some little lapses here and there,” Don said. “We’ve got to do some things better.”

Renton again presented a somewhat different look than what the Mavericks (6-1 overall) were expecting.

“Their kids played real hard in the first half,” Don said. “I think they came out and hit us in the mouth early and kind of threw our kids off. But our kids really rallied and got back after it in the second half. I thought we played pretty lights out.”

Don would like his team to be able to make adjustments during the game quicker and not be confused by slight differences in what the defense is presenting.

“Our kids have got to do a better job by understanding what the defense is doing,” Don said. “Right now they’re relying on us to say this is what you do. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches helping them to understand the entire scheme and the process.”

Even though Meadowdale has wrapped up the Wesco 3A South title and Renton (3-4) was a non-conference opponent, Don had no intention of resting his starters.

Most of starters played well into the second half. “We’re not going to rest kids,” Don said. “We’re going to play guys until the game is in hand and then we’ll go from there. … Our kids need opportunities to get better by playing in the game.”

Friday was senior night and every senior on the Meadowdale roster got into the game. Don liked what he saw.

“It was really cool to see some guys out there getting in that don’t normally get in,” he said.

Running back Rory Spillum scored on a 3-yard run to give Meadowdale a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Caleb Tingstad then connected with Harrison White on a 17-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

Tingstad threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Malik Braxton on the first drive of third quarter. On the next offensive possession, Tingstad ran the ball in from the 9 for a score and then Spillum scored a 4-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Spillum scored his third touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run.

Don spent the first quarter and part of the second quarter up in the coaches’ booth.

“We were trying something new. I was going to see how it worked to see something up top,” Don said. “It really wasn’t working. We weren’t able to make the adjustments we wanted to make. I came down to make some adjustments. It was a lot better with me on the sidelines.”

Don declined to comment on why he did not coach in last week’s game against Lynnwood.

“We’re moving forward,” he said. “Our kids played well. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”

–By David Pan