On paper, it appeared Saturday’s matinee between Eastlake and Woodinville would be an offensive shootout.
Instead, the Falcons eked past the Wolves, 10-7, in a defensive showdown at the Best of the West High School Football Classic at Qwest Field.
“Offensively, both teams aren’t used to running their punt teams out there that much,” Eastlake head coach Gene Dales said.
Opportunity knocked multiple times for the Eastlake and Woodinville teams, which scored a combined 79 and 71 points, respectively, in their first two contests.
It was the Falcons, however, who came through in overtime to nab the victory when kicker Connor Jones booted a 28-yard field goal through the uprights. The kick was set up after Woodinville quarterback Tim Ip found receiver Trevor Kelley on a fourth and 12 from the 28 yard line.
Eastlake had an opportunity to score first in the overtime, but quarterback Drake Furcini was sacked on a fourth-down play from the 22 yard line.
Furcini said Woodinville had the toughest defense Eastlake had faced this season, hands down.
“They’d fly around. It was hard to predict what defense they were running with them flying around right before you snap the ball,” he said. “Constant change of formations on defense kept us guessing a lot.”
The Wolves could have ended the game with two seconds remaining in regulation, but a 32-yard field goal from Kelly Rockey came up short and to the right.
“Our kids played hard,” Dales said. “It definitely was low scoring, which means we have to learn to play under pressure. And I think that’s going to be something we can take away from this is that we’ve got to execute. We’ve got to execute for four quarters.”
Missed chances were the story of the game as the Wolves turned the ball over on downs three times. The most crucial of those came in the third quarter, when Eastlake recovered a muffed punt from Jordan Tedesco at the Woodinville 24. The next four passes from Furcini fell incomplete. Eastlake also missed two field goals and was forced to punt twice.
“Both teams had lots of chances. Both teams played real well defensively I thought,” Dales said.
The Wolves got on the board first early in the second quarter when Furcini ran in a 2-yard score on a fourth-down play. The touchdown completed a 14-play drive that ate up nearly seven minutes of clock.
Woodinville tied the game up with 2:08 remaining in the second half when Ip broke free on a fourth-down play, scoring from 35 yards out.
Furcini carried the ball 14 times for 87 yards, while completing 13 of 22 pass attempts for 112 yards. Steven Nasca rushed 14 times for 73 yards.
Eastlake fell to 2-1 with the loss. The Wolves play Redmond (0-3) at home tonight. The game will be crucial as Eastlake prepares to enter a tough league schedule.
“Our opponents are not going to get easier,” Dales said. “That’s what I talked to the kids about. This is what it’s going to be like for the next five weeks. We go Redmond, Issaquah and Skyline. We’ve got to get some wins in there because that’s what the playoff seeding is all about.”
Furcini is confident the Wolves will get back on track sooner than later.
“We’ll bounce back,” he said. “We’ll get our revenge next week against Redmond.”
Eastlake vs. Redmond
Kickoff: 7 p.m. tonight at home
Quick look: Redmond is hungry for a victory after starting the season off at a surprising 0-3. The Mustangs most recently fell 42-0 to Bothell. Senior quarterback David Gilbertson leads an offense that focuses primarily on passing.
Prediction: Both teams will be prepared for this rivalry contest. Redmond needs a win, but so does Eastlake as the next two opponents on its schedule include Issaquah and Skyline. Expect a shootout. Final score: 37-30 Eastlake.
