Lake Stevens loses to Skyline in state semi-finals
Despite close loss Viking football team keeps their heads up
Senior wide receiver Riley Krenz barrels towards the end zone before getting tackled near the 20 yard line in the first quarter. Despite ending their last high school season Saturday night the seniors on the team put a very positive spin on their loss. “It definitely was a terrible feeling knowing it was going to be the last time but as the days go on you have to look back and look at the good that you did and the good undefeated season,” Krenz said.
December 4, 2015
Saturday, November 28 Lake Stevens superfans packed into the Tacoma Dome for the state semi-final game. Even more fans watched the televised match against Skyline from the comfort of their home. Despite solid gameplay from the Vikings the game ended in the first loss of the season.
The Vikings started off with a bang with a 15 yard pass to senior wide receiver Riley Krenz and the first touchdown of the night.
“Scoring my touchdown in the Tacoma Dome was cool. Doing that in front of everyone and on TV was a cool moment,” Krenz said.
Skyline came back with an 81 yard touchdown but missed on the P.A.T. kick leaving the Vikings with a 7-6 lead. By the end of the first quarter the Viking senior wide receiver Ian Schneider scored the second touchdown. The home team had a solid lead of 14-6.
Second quarter marked the start of Skyline’s comeback with a touchdown and an unexpected two point conversion to tie 14-14. Skyline’s streak continued with a field goal but Lake countered with their third touchdown of the night by junior wide receiver Hunter Eckstrom leaving the scoreboard at 21-17. Before Lake’s defense could pick up again Skyline came back with their third touchdown of the night, ending the first half at 21-24, Skyline.
Lake came into the second half pumped and senior running back Andrew Grimes scored a touchdown but the Vikings missed the kick putting them ahead again at 27-24. Skyline’s next drive mirrored the Vikings, resulting in a touchdown without the P.A.T. and pulled ahead 27-30. To wrap up the third quarter senior running back Asi Tupua scored Lake’s last touchdown of the night, leaving the scoreboard at 34-30 with only 12 minutes in the game.
The fourth quarter turned out to be a nail biter for both sides with multiple time outs for both teams. Skyline then scored the final and winning touchdown making the final score 34-37. The Vikings never gave up. With more than five minutes left in the game, they ran for their end zone but never made it. With three minutes left in the game, Eason fumbled and dropped the ball before he could pass, giving possession to Skyline.
Lake superfans almost gave up when the Vikings turned it over to their defense, but hopes were high again when Lake nabbed the ball for the last time. In a last ditch attempt Eason threw four passes to Krenz in the endzone in hopes of scoring the winning touchdown but none made it. Eason ended his season with a total of 41 touchdowns.
“We just threw up prayers and it didn’t connect so that’s the way it was,” Krenz said. “It sucks. It was a close game, but with two good teams like that someone has to come out on top.”
Superfans watched as the clock ran out, officially ending the Viking’s 2015 season. The crowd looked on as some of their favorite seniors mourned their loss.
“Obviously all the seniors were crying. We all knew our season was over. It was an unimaginable terrible feeling, but the season was great. We put our team and Lake Stevens on the map. I felt no one really knew Lake Stevens before this season,” said Eckstrom.
