LAKE STEVENS — The Lake Stevens and Curtis football teams traded scores and highlight-reel plays throughout the night, combining for 98 points and more than 1,000 yards of total offense.
But in a back-and-forth shootout filled with offensive fireworks, it was a defensive play that turned the tide.
Isaiah Harris returned a fourth-quarter interception 42 yards for a touchdown as third-seeded Lake Stevens pulled away for a 56-42 win over 14th-seeded Curtis in an action-packed Class 4A first-round state playoff game Friday night at Lake Stevens High School.
“Momentum-changer,” Lake Stevens quarterback Tre Long said of Harris’ pick-six. “It changed the whole game. We could still be playing right now if he didn’t get that.”
With the victory, Lake Stevens advanced to the state quarterfinals for the third time in four years. The Vikings (11-0) will host a quarterfinal game next Friday or Saturday against either sixth-seeded Graham-Kapowsin or 11th-seeded Mead.
“Our guys did an amazing job of not letting the emotions of the game affect them (and) just playing one play at a time,” Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said. “Keep fighting, keep scratching, keep doing your job to the best of your ability (and) trust the guy next to you is going to get it done.
“That’s exactly what we did tonight, and that’s why I’m so darn proud of our guys. … We played with great heart and emotion, especially in the second half.”
Lake Stevens’ Ian Hanson runs for a touchdown during a 4A state playoff game against Curtis on Nov. 9 in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The two teams were tied on five separate occasions and were never separated by more than seven points until Harris’ game-changing interception.
Holding a 42-35 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, Lake Stevens pressured Curtis quarterback Kyle Russell into an ill-advised pass. Harris picked off the errant throw and sprinted into the end zone, giving Lake Stevens a 14-point lead and sending his team’s sideline into a euphoric celebration.
“At halftime we talked about, ‘Who’s going to step up and make a big play?’” Tri said. “We needed one big play. … (That was) a senior all-conference outside linebacker stepping up and making a play.”
Lake Stevens forced Curtis (7-4) to punt on its ensuing possession, then put the game out of reach when receiver Kasen Kinchen took a third-and-21 screen pass down the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 56-35 with less than five minutes to play.
Lake Stevens piled up 601 yards of total offense and scored touchdowns on seven of its eight possessions, excluding the game’s final drive.
“Players gotta make plays, and I thought we made a few more than they did tonight,” Tri said. “And that was really kind of the difference in the game.”
Curtis built seven-point leads on three different occasions in the first half, but Lake Stevens responded with a touchdown each time.
After Curtis took a 21-14 lead with 1:22 left in the second quarter, Lake Stevens needed just three plays to answer. Long connected with Kinchen for a deep 40-yard pass, then scored two plays later on a 21-yard quarterback keeper to make it 21-21 heading into halftime.
Then after the teams traded a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, Long opened the fourth by sprinting up the middle for 42 yards on another quarterback keeper. Two plays later, running back Dallas Landeros rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to give Lake Stevens a 42-35 lead with 10:31 remaining.
Harris then came up with the momentum-swinging pick-six on Curtis’ ensuing possession to help Lake Stevens pull away.
TOP PERFORMERS
Tre Long, sr., Lake Stevens. Long completed 15 of 16 passes for a season-high 357 yards and three touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback also ran for 80 yards and two scores on eight carries.
Kasen Kinchen, jr., Lake Stevens. Kinchen had three receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown. The two-way standout caught deep passes of 45 and 40 yards and scored on a 66-yard screen pass to put the game away.
Ian Hanson, sr., Lake Stevens. Hanson caught eight passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas Landeros, jr., Lake Stevens. Landeros rushed for 141 yards on 20 carries.
Kyle Russell, jr., Curtis. Russell completed 17 of 25 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns, but his one interception proved costly. The speedy University of Oregon baseball commit also ran for 33 yards and a score.
BIG-PLAY PASSING ATTACK
With a dominant offensive line, Lake Stevens has leaned on the run this season more than in years past. Entering Friday, the Vikings had run on 62 percent of their plays.
But with Curtis loading the box and often leaving man-to-man coverage on the outside, Lake Stevens exploited the secondary for a handful of big plays in the passing game.
“That’s the way they were playing us,” Tri said. “They were playing man coverage with no high safeties over the top, putting six and seven guys in the box, forcing us to try to throw the ball deep. And so if that’s how (they’re) going to play us, that’s how we’re going to attack.”
Long completed five passes of 40-plus yards, including a pair of deep second-quarter throws to Kinchen.
Kinchen snatched an underthrown deep ball away from a defensive back for a leaping 45-yard reception, leading to Lake Stevens’ second touchdown. And shortly before the half, the two-way standout made a contested 40-yard catch in traffic that led to Lake Stevens’ third score.
FRESHMAN RECEIVER STEPS UP
Lake Stevens’ Drew Carter makes a catch during a 4A state playoff game against Curtis on Nov. 9 in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Due to an injury in practice earlier this week, freshman Drew Carter filled in as Lake Stevens’ fourth receiver. Carter entered the game with just two catches for 13 yards all season, but certainly made his presence known Friday night.
Left wide-open down the left sideline early in the third quarter, the 6-foot-1 freshman hauled in a deep pass from Long and eluded a defender on his way to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown. Carter finished with two catches for 69 yards.
“He learned that play yesterday at practice, because he’s never played that spot before,” Tri said. “Last night after practice we had Drew kind of run all the different routes out of that position. … So for him to catch a 50-whatever-yard touchdown as a freshman in a crucial moment just makes me really happy and puts a big smile on my face.”
INJURY REPORT
Lewis injured his right leg on a carry during the opening play from scrimmage in the second half. The senior running back remained on the ground for several minutes before being helped off the field. He didn’t return to the game.
Lewis finished with five carries for 39 yards and a touchdown. He is Lake Stevens’ second-leading rusher this season with 728 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns.
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