EDMONDS — Stung in the season opener by a powerful Monroe team, a sobering 55-9 defeat, the Meadowdale football could have lost heart and maybe the opportunity for a special season.
Instead, said head coach Matt Leonard, the Mavericks got busy getting better.
On Friday night Meadowdale took another step in its resurgent season, rolling past Lynnwood 55-28 in a Wesco 3A South game at Edmonds District Stadium. The Mavericks scored touchdowns on five of six offensive possessions in the first half, added a second-quarter defensive TD, and then turned the game into a running-clock romp with two early third-period touchdowns.
Despite two turnovers “and a couple of penalties I’d like to clean up … I thought we played sensational,” Leonard said. Meadowdale led 55-14 after three quarters and at that point “we played a bunch of (reserve) kids,” which allowed the Royals to score two late touchdowns.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Mavericks and the winning streak, Leonard said, is the result of what happened after Week 1.
“We just challenged them after the Monroe game to go back to the basics,” he explained. “Practice has not been fun for the kids because we’ve really been after them about the details … and they’ve responded. We keep getting better and that’s what you want to see. We just keep getting better each week.”
Leading the way for Meadowdale was quarterback Drew Tingstad, who shredded the Royals defense for 282 passing yards by completing 13 of 19 attempts with three touchdowns. All but 7 of Tingstad’s yards came in the first half.
“He was phenomenal,” Leonard said. “We’ve put so much on his back. I’ll bet if you ask him how hard he gets coached, he’ll say he gets yelled at every single day. When a running back fumbles, it’s his fault. When a guard misses a block, it’s his fault. We put that pressure on a quarterback because when (the media) want to talk to him and he gets his picture in the paper, that’s why. You’ve earned that.”
“We came out really strong … and we were able to continue that for four quarters,” said Tingstad, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior. “That’s been really a point of emphasis for us. We’ve got to play a four-quarter game. Every minute counts.”
Meadowdale also got a big game from running back Jashon Butler, a 5-8, 165-pound junior, who carried 11 times for 162 yards. He had touchdown carries of 18, 31 and 68 yards, and from his cornerback position added a 24-yard interception return for a TD.
Butler got hurt against Monroe and missed some games, which was a big loss for the Meadowdale offense, Leonard said. “He’s a spark plug for us. He gives us kind of a wiggle that we don’t have with (running back Kela Marshall). Kela’s going to run you over and grind out gains, but Jashon’s electric. … He’s pretty special.”
When the running game clicks, added Tingstad, “a lot of that is due to our offensive line. They’ve really made huge strides.”
The Mavericks, 4-0 in league, have remaining games against Shorecrest, Edmonds-Woodway and Snohomish before the crossover finale and then, perhaps, the postseason.
“We’re going to keep the pedal down,” Tingstad said. “I can’t tell you off the top of my head how much better we’re going to be (in the season’s second half), but I know we’re going to progress every single day, we’re going to take it one game at a time, and hopefully that results in a league championship.”
Lynnwood, which opened its season with four consecutive victories, suffered its second straight defeat. The Royals are 2-2 in the Wesco 3A South.
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