Credit: Woodinville Football
FEDERAL WAY, WA – Defense, adept special teams and gritty rushing yards won the game for the Woodinville Falcons in a 13-6 victory over the Decatur Golden Gators in the first round of the Washington State 4A football playoffs.
Despite falling behind after the first quarter, Woodinville (7-3, 3-3 KingCo) shutout Decatur (8-2, 5-2 NPSL) for the remainder of the game with four second-half turnovers, including a red-zone interception and two fumbles forced by Woodinville special teams.
Ryan Bowles led the way for the Woodinville defense, totaling 9.5 tackles, and many others also made key contributions. Nour Elgohary had a crucial interception for the Falcons that ended a Decatur scoring threat, Adrian Calozza recovered two fumbles, and Sam Allyn recovered one fumble. Makoa Peneku, Dylan Jewell, Alex Torgenson, Nate Pickering, Cooper Angellar, and Elgohary all had multi-tackle games, with Sean Choquette, Bernard Moore, and Alex Wenzel assisting for tackles. The Woodinville defense kept the Decatur run game in check despite the physical size and strength of the opposing offense, who could only muster 141 yards of offense for the entire game.
Chase Rudin dominated for the Woodinville offense, carrying the ball 26 times for 109 yards and a second quarter touchdown that gave Woodinville the lead. Levi Grothen finished 9-18 for 72 yards passing and a touchdown to Bowles, also in the second quarter. Bowles led all Falcon receivers with 3 catches for 38 yards, with Casey Larson, Rayan Salameh, Adrian Calozza, and Chase Rudin all contributing receiving yards. The Woodinville offensive line battled against Decatur, and the efforts of Sam Allyn, Evan Gaylord, Alex Wenzel, Alex Kromann, and Tenzin Stull helped the Falcons establish their run game.
Woodinville struck gold on special teams, recovering an onside kick to open the second half and forcing and recovering fumbles twice. Center Alex Wenzel forced a key fumble that Woodinville recovered late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Aiden Erickson was 1-2 onextra points due to a blocked attempt just before halftime, and the low, skipping punts of Cadan Van de Wege and Levi Grothen were huge contributions in the almost nonstop downpour.
The season continues for Woodinville, though it only gets tougher from here. The Falcons will face the defending state champion Lake Stevens Vikings (9-1, 4-0 WesCo) in the first round of the 4A state playoffs. The game will be at 7 o’clock next Friday, November 10 at Lake Stevens High School.