Before tonight, the Lake Stevens Vikings home games have been dominated by defense as they allowed only 3 points and 302 total yards on offense from opponents at LSHS Stadium. Tonight was no different.

The Vikings’ defense committed 7 sacks and forced 2 interceptions from Jackson quarterback Ben Oleson, both of them to senior Ryan Sander, as Lake Stevens stays undefeated in conference play by beating Jackson 49-7.

On the first play from scrimmage for Jackson, the pass from Oleson was tipped by senior Jevon Morris and intercepted by Sander at Jacksons’ 9 yard line. The short drive would end with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Bardue to senior wide receiver Austin Murren to take a 7-0 lead with 10:49 left in the first quarter.

The 7-point lead wouldn’t last that long as, after a Jackson punt, they converged an 8-play, 51-yard drive, which ended with another touchdown pass from Bardue to Murren, this time for 8 yards, to take a 14-0 lead with 5:33 left. But it wouldn’t take long before Lake Stevens would get the ball back. After a fumble by Jackson junior Nick Walsh was recovered by the Vikings, Bardue decided to take to the ground and ran the ball in from 1 yard out to take a 21-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession for Jackson, they go into Lake Stevens territory for the first time in the game. But unfortunately, their chances were dashed as they turned it over on downs at the Vikings’ 34 yard line as the game goes into the second quarter.

From there, the Vikings converge another 8-play drive, this time for 66 yards, ending in the third touchdown connection from Bardue to Murren, this one for 5 yards, as the Vikings take a 28-0 lead with 8:51 left in the first half.

But unlike any of the other drives Jackson has conducted, this next one was quick and painless for the Vikings, as the Timberwolves score on two plays, both catches were from Oleson to Jackson senior Daniel Arias, to trim the lead to 28-7 with 8:28 left.

Fortunately for the Vikings, they came back and increased the lead again, this time it was a 2-yard run by junior Thomas Lewis to take a 35-7 lead with 5:14 left in the half.

But the half doesn’t end there for the Vikings. On the next possession for Jackson, deep in their own territory, the ball thrown by Oleson was tipped and intercepted again by Sander, bit this time he runs it in from 23 yards out for the pick-six to go into halftime with a commanding 42-7 lead.

Lake Stevens wasn’t done, though. On the first drive of the second half, Bardue throws the ball deep to junior Tre Long wide open for a 49-yard touchdown pass to increase the score, and make the eventual final score, to 49-7.

Bardue finished the night going 12 for 18 for 179 yards and 4 touchdowns, putting him over 1,000 yards passing for the second straight season.

Lewis led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown, playing for junior Jackson Grafe, who didn’t play due to a medical issue.

For the second straight week, Murren leads the team in receiving, catching 5 passes for 79 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the past two weeks, in Murren’s last 8 catches, 6 of them have been touchdowns.

The defense is led by Sander and senior defensive end Matthew Sevao, who has 3 of the 7 sacks made by the Viking defense. They also kept Jackson’s running game in check, allowing only 15 yards rushing from the Timberwolves.

Your 4-1 Lake Stevens Vikings aim to stay undefeated in conference play by playing their next two games on the road, starting with the Glacier Peak Grizzlies at Veterans Memorial Stadium on October 6, who went down to 3-2 after losing to the Monroe Bearcats 57-0 on September 29.