For the first time in many years, the Lake Stevens Vikings football team was seen by the general public as the underdogs, especially against the Monroe Bearcats team who has won all of their games and is ranked fourth in the state in the latest Associated Press (AP) 4A football rankings.

But the Vikings’ performance tonight shows that being the underdog doesn’t matter in high profile games like this one, as the Vikings dominated Monroe on both sides of the ball to win their fifth straight Wesco championship with a 38-12 final score.

In the first quarter, the Vikings struck first once again with a 34 yard touchdown (TD) pass from quarterback Conor Bardue to Austin Murren, who broke a couple of tackles in the process, to take an early 7-0 lead with 10:14 left in the first quarter.

After Monroe turns the ball over on their first drive, the Vikings conduct a 13-play drive into the red zone, before it was foiled by Monroe senior Ricky Baker, as he intercepts a Bardue pass at Monroe’s own 5 yard line to conclude the first quarter with a 7-0 Lake Stevens lead.

But when the second quarter began, the Vikings were once again in the red zone and score on the first play of the quarter with a 5-yard run by senior Kayshawn Mounarath to increase the lead to 14-0 with 11:52 left in the second quarter.

When the Vikings got the ball back after Monroe turns the ball over again, they are once again halted with another defensive stop by the Bearcats, as Monroe senior Isaiah Cole intercepts another Bardue pass, but this time it was on an overthrown pass intended for senior Anthony Hutchinson at Monroe’s 4 yard line with 6:14 left in the second quarter.

Shortly after a Monroe punt that ends that drive, the Vikings quickly took care of the Bearcat defense, as Bardue throws his second touchdown pass to Murren, this time from 15 yards out, to make it 21-0 with 2:53 left.

Before the first half ends, Monroe gets on the board with a 7-yard run by senior Isaiah Lewis, and after a missed two-point conversion, to end the first half on a 21-6 Vikings lead.

The second half began on a bang for the Vikings, as they force their first turnover of the game on a interception by Hutchinson on Monroe’s 46 yard line to start the half.

On the ensuing drive, the Vikings got on the board on Bardue’s third touchdown pass of the night on a 23-yard pass to Hutchinson. Just like a ghost in the night, the ball goes through the hands of a Monroe defender in the back of the end zone to make the score 28-6 Vikes with 8:46 left in third quarter.

On Monroe’s next drive, it looked like the Bearcats had another chance at scoring, but not before the ball was intercepted by sophomore Kasen Kinchen in the end zone. On the play, Kinchen leaped in the air for an unreal, unimaginable, Odell Beckham-like one handed catch to end the threat.

The ensuing 7-play, 80 yard drive ended in another Conor Bardue touchdown pass, this time from 5 yards out to Mounarath, to conclude the scoring in the third quarter with a 35-6 lead for the boys from Highway 9.

After a Lake Stevens field goal by junior Brock Widmann to make it 38-6, Monroe came storming across the field for another touchdown run by Lewis, highlighted by a big kick return by Monroe sophomore Efton Chism, with 5:33 left in the game to make the final score 38-12.

Bardue finished the night completing 17 of 31 passes for 259 yards, throwing for 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. In the regular season, he has completed 139 of 222 passes for 2,131 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Mounarath led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 21 times for 104 yards with a score. He also caught 3 passes for 36 yards, including another touchdown. Throughout the regular season, he has carried the ball 73 times for 605 yards with 8 touchdowns.

Anthony Hutchinson led in receiving with 7 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. Since his return, Hutchinson has had 29 catches for 604 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 20.8 yards a catch.

Austin Murren also helped with the cause by catching 3 passes for 58 yards, with 2 of those catches being touchdowns. Throughout the regular season, he has caught 37 passes for 592 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 16 yards a catch.

In almost what looks like a usual occurrence, the Vikings defense once again shined, this time against “The Great Wall of Monroe” that is their offensive line, forcing 2 interceptions and 2 sacks by senior Austin Calvin and a sack shared by senior Ryan Sander and Matt Sevao. That shared sack gives Sevao the new school record for sacks in a season with 16 sacks.

Your 8-1, and reigning Wesco 4A champion, Lake Stevens Vikings will start their journey for their first state championship on November 3 against the Kentlake Falcons, who finished the regular season 5-4 after losing to the Kentwood Conquerors 43-29 on October 27. The winner of this game will play the winner between Todd Beamer and Graham Kapowsin in the next round of the playoffs.