For anyone who has ever paid attention to the Lake Stevens Vikings football team, especially in the past few years, the past couple of weeks almost looked like a waking nightmare, as they lost their first game in three years, then barely sneaking one out of the hands of Mariner at home. But this week, they got back to their old selves again – with a little extra on the side.

Led by the arm of senior Conor Bardue, the rushing attack of juniors Jackson Grafe and Tom Lewis, and, once again, the stout defense, the Lake Stevens Vikings pulled off a blowout of exponential proportions, as they beat the Mount Vernon Bulldogs 72-14 at Mount Vernon High School.

The game started off pretty well for Lake Stevens.

On the first offensive play for Mount Vernon, junior running back Seth Tercero fumbled the football, and was recovered by senior defensive back Riley Eberlein on Mount Vernon’s 35 yard line.

To make things worse for the Bulldogs, on the first offensive play for Lake Stevens Bardue threw a deep ball to his right to senior wide receiver Austin Murren for a 35-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in the first 33 seconds of the game.

After a Mount Vernon punt, the Vikings are back at it again when after a 23-yard pass play from Bardue to senior Tyler Owen, and a 14-yard run by Grafe. The Vikings score again, this time on a 1-yard touchdown (TD) pass from Bardue to junior Ian Hanson for a 14-0 lead. But even when things started to get good for Mount Vernon, somehow it came back to bite them.

After a 10-yard run by Tercero, and senior defensive end Matthew Sevao put the hurt on junior quarterback Reilly Olmstead as he sacked him two  times. The latter resulting in a safety, bringing his total up to five sacks this year, and increased the Vikings’ lead to 16-0 with 8:03 left in the first quarter.

Therefore, because of the safety, Mount Vernon kicked it off to Lake Stevens. It didn’t take long before the Vikings scored again, this time from 15 yards out on a run by Grafe to take a 23-0 lead with 7:00 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession for Lake Stevens, after an interception by junior Austin Lucas, the Vikings  got the ball to the 2 yard line before the ball popped out of the arms of Grafe and into the arms of a Mount Vernon defender to end the first quarter.

On Lake Stevens’ first possession in the second quarter, Bardue threw a 39-yard pass down the right sideline to the 3-yard line. Shortly after the pass play, junior Jackson Grafe punched it in right down the middle for his second touchdown of the game, increasing their lead to 30-0.

After the Bulldogs turned the ball over, the Vikings scored on their first play of the drive with a 56-yard run by junior Thomas Lewis. It was his first touchdown of his varsity career, increasing the Viking’s lead once again to 37-0 with 7:32 left in the first half.

The Vikings would score on their next two possessions, taking a 51-0 lead. The first possession on a 19-yard pass from Bardue to Murren, then, after a blocked punt by sophomore Austyn Rembold-Hyde, another touchdown pass from Bardue to Murren, this time for 7 yards.

Then, after almost a full half of the game, the Bulldogs finally get on the board with a 9-yard pass from Reilly Olmstead to senior wide receiver Dylan Cyr that trimmed the lead to 51-6, after a missed two-point conversion, to end the first half.

Lake Stevens was only able to get  one touchdown in the third quarter with a 32-yard run by Lewis, his second touchdown of the night, to increase their lead to 57-6 after three quarters. It wasn’t until the final quarter started when the Vikings decided to go into uncharted territory.

After another interception, this time by Devin MacWatters, Lake Stevens reaches the 60-point mark with a 8-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Skyler Reyna, taking a 65-6 lead with 9:18 left in the game.

To add to the scoring, after Mount Vernon turns the ball over on downs again, the Vikings score on another touchdown run from Reyna, this time from 9 yards out, to take a 72-6 lead with 6:13 left. The Vikings’ chances for 80 points were taken away by a 72-yard kickoff return by senior Coby Calvin to the Vikings’ 30 yard line.

Mount Vernon would later score on that drive when, after a sack shared by Mateo Eberharter and Jager Hill, and an 18-yard pass play from Olmstead to junior Ian Baisch to the 2-yard line, senior running back Gabe McGuire ran it in for six.  He  later ran it in for the two-point conversion to end the scoring with a 72-14 Lake Stevens win. For the Vikings, this win was the 26th straight conference victory, dating back to September 21st, 2012, when they lost to Monroe 9-7 at home.

Bardue finished the night going 16 for 19 for 196 yards and 4 touchdowns. Grafe, Lewis and Reyna led the workload, combining for 221 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. Murren had a career night with 3 catches for 61 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Hanson had 5 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Your Vikings will continue their quest for their fifth Wesco championship on September 29, against the Jackson Timberwolves at Lake Stevens High School.