Photo taken by Hunter Darnall
Dan Baerwald
BOTHELL, WA – The Woodinville Falcons shined again under the Friday night lights, taking down the rival North Creek Jaguars 30-14 on Senior night.
Woodinville (6-2, 3-2 KingCo) scored the final 17 points in the game after falling behind in the third quarter, using a field goal by Aiden Erickson and two fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Dylan Jewell and Chase Rudin to hold off North Creek (3-4, 1-4 KingCo). In the short history between both schools, Woodinville has won each of the seven matchups against North Creek.
It was a collective effort defensively for Woodinville, with 21 players making contributions. Trevor Larson led the team with 8.5 tackles and a sack, Dylan Jewell recovered a fumble, Ryan Bowles, Alex Torgensen, Casey Larson, Cooper Angellar, and Aidan Erickson all had multiple tackles, and Makoa Peneku, Jon Pacak, Cadan Van de Wege, Nate Pickering, Gavin Watts, Max Flack, Gabe Porter, Nour Elgohary, Finley Bragg, Adrian Calozza, Enzo Calozza, Levi Grothen, Brayden Howell, and Mauricio Toloza all assisted in the tackling effort.
On offense, Woodinville ran the ball successfully by controlling the line of scrimmage, thanks to the efforts of linemen Tenzin Stull, Evan Gaylord, Alex Wenzel, Alex Kromann, and Sam Allyn. Chase Rudin led the offense with 158 yards rushing on 21 carries, Casey Larson got the Falcons on the board in the second quarter with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, and Adrian Calozza and Dylan Jewell together added 26 yards on the ground. Levi Grothen finished 13-23 for 152 passing yards and one touchdown, a 27-yard strike to Finley Bragg in the second quarter. Bragg led Woodinville with 62 receiving yards, with Rayan Salameh, Ryan Bowles, and Dylan Jewell catching eight passes for 90 yards combined.
Unfortunately, the injury bug bit the Falcons, as senior kicker, receiver, and defensive back Finley Bragg left the game with a broken collarbone in the third quarter. Bragg kicked an extra point before his injury, and Aidan Erickson stepped in for Woodinville, kicking a 28-yard field goal and two additional extra points. Casey Larson had a great return game, returning five punts for 90 yards and three kicks for 41 yards. Cadan Van de Wege and Levi Grothen had strong punts, with five combined punts totaling 123 yards.
Woodinville’s seniors will be missed, and the following were celebrated on Senior night: Everett Ratliff, Dylan Jewell, Finley Bragg, Ryan Bowles, Sean Choquette, Mark Yang, Aidan Erickson, Chase Rudin, Makoa Peneku, Jon Pacak, Muhamed Wadda, Sam Allyn, Alejandro Garcia, Adrian Calozza, Hudson Lund, and Nate Pickering. Woodinville would not be where it is now without the contributions of these seniors, and their efforts are greatly appreciated.
The Falcons hit the road next week for another 7 o’clock Friday night kickoff against the Skyline Spartans (5-3, 3-2 KingCo) at Skyline High School in the final game of the regular season.