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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Late field goal lifts Hawks to win

By David Pan
Enterprise Sports editor

For the second year in a row, Mountlake Terrace pulled a major upset.

Nate Ryals kicked a 22-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Hawks to a 24-21 victory over Glacier Peak in a non-conference football game Sept. 25 at Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Grizzlies came into the game ranked in the top 10 of a statewide Class 3A poll. Last season, the Hawks beat district rival Meadowdale, who also was a statewide ranked team, in overtime.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Mountlake Terrace coach Tony Umayam. “You know they came out and played hard. You could tell that they were a well-disciplined team. Winning games like that can really be used as a benchmark to move this program.”

With the score tied at 21, Mountlake Terrace took over the ball on its own 47 with five minutes left to go in the game. Senior quarterback Brandyn Eckhart then connected on a touchdown pass to wide receiver Hunter Rook but the score was called back due to a holding penalty. Eckhart then engineered a drive that ended on the Glacier Peak 5-yard line.

“The kick wasn’t kicked as solidly as I know our kicker can do it,” Umayam said. “It punched its way over the crossbar.

“Brandyn did a nice job of improvising on a couple of plays. He was able to break containment and use his legs. He also had a nice night throwing.”

Eckhart completed 11 of 19 passes for 146 yards. Senior Casey Ellersick caught five passes for 62 yards.

The Hawks (3-1 overall) had a field goal attempt blocked earlier in the game.

“We knew we had to shore up the protection,” Umayam said. “I used a timeout there to just make sure that we had the protection. We reminded the players to protect their gaps.”

Glacier Peak took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 13-yard pass from Zach Richter to Jack Bonner. Mountlake Terrace responded with a 1-yard touchdown by running back Ellersick and then took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Eckhart. The Grizzlies cut the deficit to 14-13 at halftime on field goals of 22 and 29 yards by Jackson Miller.

“I was pleased with the way the defense especially hustled and got around the football,” Umayam said. “They have some excellent skill players. Their quarterback, wide receivers and running backs are all dangerous.”

Glacier Peak took a 21-14 lead on a 11-yard touchdown pass from Richter to Bonner, but the Hawks responded with a 25-yard scoring strike from Eckhart to Zach Karels to tie the score at 21.

“It was pretty back and forth,” Umayam said. “The offense, defense and special teams all had to play a part.”

This week the Hawks take on Cascade at 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2 at Everett Memorial Stadium.

“We’re going to have to continue to play physical football,” Umayam said. We’re going up against a big physical football team that has multiple quick running backs. On offense we’re going to have to protect the football, stay out of third and long and defensively we’re going to have to stay disciplined and trust our reads against the Wing-T.”