The Edmonds-Woodway Warriors and Meadowdale Mavericks met for their storied cross-town football rivalry Friday night at a packed Edmonds Stadium. With three lead changes in the second half, the Stadium Jam game turned out to be one of the most thrilling chapters ever between the two gridiron programs.

For the Mavericks, the night turned out to be stupendous.

With just 1:03 remaining in the game, Meadowdale senior Grayson Campbell recovered a blocked punt in the Edmonds-Woodway end zone for a touchdown, giving the Mavericks a rousing and dramatic 34-27 victory over the Warriors.

The win was the first of the season for the Mavs and it drove the Meadowdale student section to storm the field and celebrate with the team after the final whistle.

Campbell’s heroics were made possible when teammate Brian Mills broke through the center of the E-W line trying to protect kicker Tyler Yates and got his right hand on Yates’ punt attempt. After sailing high in the air, the ball bounced through the hands of numerous players, then ended up beneath Campbell for the Meadowdale score.

“The ball went like 45 feet in the air,” said Campbell, explaining what he saw after Mills blocked the punt. “It then slipped out of a Woodway guy’s hand and it went right at my stomach. I just recovered it for a touchdown.”

With the Mavericks holding a seven-point lead, E-W had one last offensive possession in the game’s final minute to try to mount a late comeback. But the Warriors couldn’t get out of their own half of the field and the game ended with the Mavs celebrating their heart-stopping victory.

A Meadowdale win seemed improbable earlier in the game after the team fumbled the ball away on each of their first two possessions of the second half. In all, the Mavericks had four giveaways (three fumbles and an interception) in the contest, a pattern that has stymied them during their three-game losing streak to open the 2024 season.

“We’ve been struggling with our turnovers,” said Coach Antwoine Gamble. “To have three (fumbles) and then be able to get over the hump still against a huge rival (tonight) … it means so much to our team. It means so much to me as a first-year head coach.”

Despite their struggles holding on to the ball, the Mavs earned the victory on Friday by finishing off three of their final four offensive possessions with touchdowns. 

Sophomore quarterback Ki Gamble threw a pair of TD passes in the game: a 27-yarder to Andre Titus in the third quarter and a 6-yarder to Kealoha Kepo’o-Sebate with 2:15 to go in the game.

The Kepo’o-Sebate late score tied the game at 27-27 and set the stage for its dramatic finish.

Seniors Jordan Joyce and Luis Partida Del Rosario rounded out the Meadowdale scoring with touchdown runs: Joyce for 12 yards in the first quarter and Del Rosario for 2 yards early in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks’ win overshadowed a big night for the Edmonds-Woodway quarterback-receiver duo of Cruz Escandon and Zach Gizzi. Escandon threw a pair of TD passes to Gizzi: an 8-yard toss in the third quarter and an 11-yard throw in the fourth.

Edmonds-Woodway’s Lukas Wanke provided one of the most electrifying moments of the night when the junior ran back a Meadowdale kickoff for 96 yards and a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Even though his Mavericks (1-2 in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 1-3 overall) began the year 0-3, Coach Gamble saw a spark in his team that he felt would turn their fortunes around.

“I know those boys in (the locker room) are beaming with light and hope and passion,” Gamble said. “One thing we keep talking about is being a family and persevering through it all. And tonight I think we showed that.”

For Campbell, a win after three straight losses to start the season was something to yell about.

“It feels amazing,” he shouted. “And we beat Woodway!”

Edmonds-Woodway (0-3 in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 1-3 overall) will next host the undefeated (4-0) Sedro-Woolley Cubs in a rare Thursday night game at Edmonds Stadium Oct. 3. The Mavericks will next face the 3-1 Shorewood Stormrays the following night, again at Edmonds Stadium.

Prep Football: Edmonds-Woodway at Meadowdale, Sept. 27

Edmonds-Woodway 0 7 7 13 – 27

Meadowdale 0 7 7 20 – 34

Second quarter scoring:

– Carmelo LaRocca (Edmonds-Woodway) 2-yard TD run; Tyler Yates PAT kick good

– Jordan Joyce (Meadowdale) 12-yard TD run; Beckett Cruz PAT kick good

Third quarter scoring:

– Cruz Escandon (Edmonds-Woodway) 8-yard TD pass to Zach Gizzi; Michael Hernandez PAT kick good

– Ki Gamble (Meadowdale) 27-yard TD pass to Andre Titus; Beckett Cruz PAT kick good

Fourth quarter scoring:

– Luis Partida Del Rosario (Meadowdale) 2-yard TD run; Beckett Cruz PAT kick good

– Lukas Wanke (Edmonds-Woodway) 96-yard kickoff return for TD; Tyler Yates PAT kick good

– Cruz Escandon (Edmonds-Woodway) 11-yard TD pass to Zach Gizzi; Tyler Yates PAT kick no good

– Ki Gamble (Meadowdale) 6-yard TD pass to Kealoha Kepo’o-Sebate; Beckett Cruz PAT kick no good

– Grayson Campbell (Meadowdale) recovery of blocked punt in end zone for TD; Beckett Cruz PAT kick good

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 0-3 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 1-3 overall; Meadowdale 1-2 in 2A-3A Wesco League South Conference, 1-3 overall

Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus Sedro-Woolley; Thursday, Oct. 3; 7:30 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium

Meadowdale next game: versus Shorecrest; Friday, Oct. 4; 5 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium

— By Doug Petrowski