Credit: Woodinville Football
Dan Baerwald
SAMMAMISH, WA – It was a frustrating night for the Woodinville Falcons last Friday, who watched the Skyline Spartans slowly pull away in the fourth quarter for a 13-3 Woodinville loss.
Some early missed opportunities left Woodinville (6-3, 3-3 KingCo) wondering if it could have been a different game, as Skyline (6-3, 4-2 KingCo) stopped Woodinville on fourth and goal twice inside the Skyline 2-yard line in the first half.
The injury-battered Woodinville offense fought hard, with Levi Grothen finishing 10 of 21 for 158 passing yards and Chase Rudin rushing 20 times for 60 yards. Casey Larson led the team with 5 catches for 118 receiving yards before leaving with an injury in the second half and Ryan Bowles, Dylan Jewell, Muhammed Wadda, and Bernard Moore helped fill in on offense. Up front, the Woodinville line held their own against a physical Skyline team thanks to the efforts of Alex Kromann, Sam Allyn, Alex Wenzel, Evan Gaylord, and Tenzin Stull.
A strong defensive effort kept Woodinville in the game despite missing some key players due to injury. Dylan Jewell had a significant impact, leading the team with 15.5 tackles. Nour Elgohary did a fantastic job filling in for the injured Casey Larson in the secondary, finishing with 4.5 tackles and locking up one of Skyline’s best receivers for most of the second half. Makoa Peneku, Ryan Bowles, Sean Choquette, Alex Torgenson, Casey and Trevor Larson, Cooper Angellar, Max Flack, and Aiden Erickson all had multiple tackles, including a sack for Trevor Larson and tackles for loss by Peneku, Casey Larson, Flack, and Erickson. In addition, Adrian Calozza, Jon Pacak, Gabe Porter, and Alex Wenzel assisted with tackles.
Aiden Erickson was responsible for the lone three points on the day for Woodinville, knocking through a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter to tie the game. With the injury to Casey Larson, some new faces entered the return game, including Dylan Jewell, Alex Torgensen, and Chase Rudin. Cadan Van de Wege booted 3 punts for 80 yards, and Levi Grothen pinned Skyline with a 37-yard pooch punt to round out the effort on special teams.
Due to injury, Woodinville is now down three starting receivers and main cornerbacks, as well as its starting kicker. The Falcons will have to battle through adversity and play as a team from here on out. Woodinville hung tough despite the injuries, still having chances to take the lead throughout the game, showing the grit and toughness this team will need to play with in the future.
The season is not over yet for Woodinville, who finished fourth in KingCo, which is high enough to earn a playoff berth. Woodinville will be back in action next Friday for a 7 o’clock matchup against the Decatur Golden Gators (8-1, 5-1 NPSL) at Federal Way Memorial Stadium for the first round of Washington 4A playoffs.