Lake Stevens stuns Eastlake in quarterfinals, 50-21

Ranked among the state's best all season, the Wolves had a chance on their home field to lock up the program's first ever trip to the state semifinals.

But Lake Stevens proved Saturday night, they were just as hungry to reach school's their first semifinal since 1994.

Backed by roughly 1,000 purple and yellow clad fans, the Vikings used an explosive first half to propel themselves to a 50-21 victory in Sammamish.

"It sucks because we played an awful first half, just terrible, said disappointed Eastlake quarterback Keegan Kemp.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Wolves' offense was stalled on a three-and-out. Set to kick the ball away, the snap sailed over punter Zach Steinberg's head through the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 deficit.

It took Lake Stevens just over a minute to pad that lead after quarterback Jake Nelson capped off a four-play, 60-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run.

The Wolves countered on their next drive, making it look like the contest could turn into a shootout.

After a 55-yard kickoff return from Bryan Cassill, Kemp capped a six-play, 37-yard drive with a 6-yard run for a TD. The score cut the deficit to 9-7 with 6:04 left in the first quarter.

That's as close as it ever got.

The Vikings blindsided the Wolves with a 27-0 run to close the first half, grabbing a 36-7 halftime lead.

Nelson was unstoppable in the first half, connecting 12 of 13 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns. He hit Christian Gasca for a 37-yard strike, Quincy Carroll for a 7-yard score and Gasca again for a 32-yard TD.

Two of those touchdowns were set up by pooch kickoffs recovered by Lake Stevens in Eastlake territory.

Vikings' head coach Tom Tri just implemented the designed short kickoff the day before in practice. He said he saw his own players were having a hard time fielding the ball in a walkthrough.

"I told our special teams coordinator let's just try it tomorrow night and let's see what happens," Tri said. "Two recoveries later, we obviously made the right decision on that."

The fielding miscues came as a surprise to Eastlake head coach Gene Dales, whose squad has shined on special teams all season.

"The kickoff recoveries were really momentum killers for us," he said. "We sure dug ourselves a big hole."

Offensive woes also plagued the Wolves in the first half — and for most of the night. They turned the ball over on downs five times — twice inside the Vikings' 20-yard line — and fumbled once.

Eastlake's defense stepped up in the second half, intercepting Nelson (17-for-24, 227 yards) three times, but the Wolves failed to find a rhythm on offense.

Kemp finally helped the Wolves break onto the board on the first play of the fourth quarter, scampering up the sideline for a 53-yard TD. The score cut the deficit to 36-14 with nearly a whole quarter to play.

Lake Stevens extinguished hopes of a comeback on the next series, however, marching 48 yards on three plays. They eventually scored on a 15-yard reverse from Gasca.

Ryan Lewis (15 carries, 84 yards) added a 27-yard TD later in the game.

Kemp ended the game, completing 15 of 29 passes for 130 yards. He also carried the ball 11 times for 106 yards and the two touchdowns.

"(It's) a sucky way to go out, but I couldn't have asked for better coaches, fans, parents, students and a heck of a team," Kemp said.

Eastlake ended its season with a 10-2 record, becoming the third team in school history to make it as far as the state quarterfinals.

"We've got tremendous senior kids, and obviously this hurts a lot for our guys, but it was a great year for us," Dales said.

Lake Stevens (12-0) advanced to the Tacoma Dome to face Skyview (10-2) in the state semfinals.