On a cold, frustrating night in the rain at Lake Stevens High School, 14 seniors on the Lake Stevens Vikings football team were honored before their matchup with the Cascade Bruins, with two of those players, Tyler Owen and Ryan Sander, being crowned in homecoming royalty at halftime.

But during the game, it was nothing but daylight for the Vikings as the balanced offense of quarterback Conor Bardue, running backs Tom Lewis and Kayshawn Mounarath, and wide receiver Anthony Hutchinson ran all over the opposing defense in a 55-7 drubbing of the Bruins.

The Vikings gained some life early in the game with a 40 yard punt return by junior Ian Hanson to Cascades’ 23 yard line. 3 plays later, they get on the board first with a 5-yard touchdown (TD) run by Mounarath to give the Vikes a 7-0 lead with 9:12 left in the first quarter. Shortly after a second Cascade punt, the Vikings got on the board again, this time with a 15-yard pass from Bardue to senior Austin Murren to take a 14-0 lead with 4:45 left in the first quarter. It was Murren’s only catch of the night.

After the Bruins turned the ball over on downs deep on their own 22 yard line, Lewis made quick work of their defense, running it in from 16 yards out to end the first quarter with a 21-0 lead. Ten seconds into the second quarter, the Vikings concluded with an 8-play, 81-yard drive with a 9-yard strike from Bardue to Hutchinson to increase the lead to 28-0.

The constant pattern of “Cascade punt-to-Lake Stevens touchdown” continues with another touchdown run by Lewis, this time from 20 yards out, to add the gigantuous lead to 35-0 with 4:53 left in the first half. The Vikings will conclude the scoring in the first half with another amazing run by Mounarath, this time from 26 yards out, and after a missed extra point, to make the score 41-0, but that’s not where it ends.

With 2 seconds to go into the half, Cascade quarterback Brett Gillis heaves a jump ball to the end zone that’s intended for wide receiver Donelle Merriwether. It was ruled incomplete, but a penalty on Lake Stevens gives the Bruins another chance with no time on the clock. The Bruins were at the Vikings’ 20 yard line when Gillis throws the ball down the middle for an incomplete pass. That’s when another flag was thrown for another penalty on the Vikings and gave the Bruins another chance, giving deja vu to anyone who watched the NFL game the night before, which ended the game on two plays with no time on the clock. The first half was officially over when another incomplete pass was thrown and no flags were seen on the field, officially making it halftime.

When the second half started, the Vikings didn’t skip a beat, as Lewis ran for his third touchdown of the night, a career high 69 yards, to make the lead increase once again to 48-0, ironically enough, only 48 seconds into the third quarter.

After the Bruins turn the ball over on downs again, the Vikings brought their second team starters in, and took care what the starters left for them, as sophomore running back Dallas Landeros ran it in from 1 yard out to make it a 55-0 lead with 5:03 left in the third quarter. Cascade got on the board late in the fourth quarter when Gillis completed a 15 yard pass to senior tight end CJ Wade to trim the lead, and end the game, with a 55-7 Vikings lead.

Bardue finished the night completing 9 of 10 passes for 180 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Through 8 games, he’s completed 122 of 191 passes for 1,800 yards and 24 touchdowns, while his counterpart, Gillis, was only 1 for 4 for 15 yards and a touchdown. So far, the rushing attack has been the top story this year for the Vikings, and tonight, they didn’t disappoint, with Lewis, Mounarath and Landeros combining for 284 yards and 6 touchdowns.

For the third straight week, Hutchinson lead the team in receiving with 5 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Since his return from injury, he has caught 21 passes for 459 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 21.9 yards a catch.

On the other side of the ball, the defense excelled in many different ways, highlighted by an interception by senior Domynic Rivas, and that they allowed 104 yards of total offense from Cascade during the first half. The win also equals a milestone for head coach Tom Tri, as he won his 100th career game with the Vikings.

With the win, the Vikings are 6-0 in conference play and tied with Monroe, their next opponent, for first place, making next week’s matchup on October 27 at Monroe High School the 2017 Wesco 4A Championship game for the second straight season.

Because of where the Vikings are placed in the Wesco standings, they will play at home on November 3 for the first round of the state playoffs. The winner of next week’s game will determine who gets to play their first two state playoff games at home and who plays the first game at home, and the next one on the road.