4 games you should not have missed in Week 11 of Washington high school football

Kolton Matson, Jayshon Limar rally two-time defending 4A champion Lake Stevens to 52-49 first-round playoff victory over Mead

Lake Stevens quarterback Kolton Matson was SBLive WA's state offensive MVP and Gatorade state player of the year in 2023. / Photo by Glen Moffitt

Quarterback Kolton Matson was flooded with all kinds of emotion.

The reigning Gatorade player of the year from Lake Stevens High School knew Saturday could potentially be the final home game of his illustrious career.

But then, as the two-time defending Class 4A champions were locked in a high-scoring thriller with Greater Spokane League runner-up Mead, trailing much of the game, thoughts of "This could be my final game, period!" flashed in his head.

Matson and the Vikings just couldn't let that happen.

After getting a key defensive stop with 2:15 remaining, Lake Stevens drove nearly the entire length of the field for Lucas Mooring's game-winning 21-yard field goal in a wild 52-49 come-from-way-back victory over the Panthers in the opening round Saturday of the WIAA Class 4A playoffs.

The Vikings now must head east in the state quarterfinals - to Pasco to face Chiawana.

But first, digesting this wild victory, rolling up a program-record 676 yards of offense, was on Matson's mind following the game.

"There was just some adversity we knew we had to overcome," Matson said. "The first half was super tough. They had some explosive players ... and we were taking things too seriously, I think.

"In the second half, it was all of us about performing."

Tyce Tuggle gave Mead a 42-28 lead early in the fourth quarter on his 22-yard touchdown run, but Matson answered with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kekoa Okiyama.

And after Lake Stevens recovered an onside kick, Jayshon Limar tied the game at 42-42 with his 4-yard score.

Mead wasn't done, retaking the lead, 49-42, on Keegan Mallon's 3-yard touchdown midway through the quarter. But Limar tied it once again on his 2-yard score.

After Keegan Howard stopped the Panthers on third down to force a punt, Matson and the offense did the job, setting up Mooring's heroics.

Matson finished with 370 passing yards - and his first career 100-yard rushing effort (130 yards).

"A lot of mixed emotions ... and I had to calm myself down at times," Matson said. "We just went one drive at a time, one play at a time. And we just got the job done."

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LIFE CHRISTIAN NEEDS FURIOUS FINISH

Down 14-0 in the first few minutes, and unable to slow down visiting King's, Life Christian Academy's promising outlook in the Class 1A playoffs appeared headed for a dim conclusion.

But in the end, what took a little from the Eagles - shaky special-teams play - gave back at the most opportune time.

Life Christian scored the final 16 points, including a pair of touchdown runs from quarterback Jabez Boyd, to stun the Knights, 46-41, on Saturday at Harry E. Lang Stadium.

Boyd's game-winning 2-yard touchdown run came with 30 seconds remaining.

"Just crazy," Eagles coach Hershel Dennis said of the frantic finish.

It was all set up by a perfectly-executed onside kick by Julian Roso, who saw an opening in the middle and dragged a pooch kick the needed 10 yards, and recovered it himself with 21/2 minutes to go.

"It was an ambush coverage, and five guys went to the ball," Dennis said. "It needed to be the perfect moment, and it was."

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ADNA KNOCKS OUT 'B' CHAMPION

Adna coach Aaron Cochran wasn't sure how his gritty, determined defense would match up with Liberty Bell's dynamic offense - but he could not have been more pleased with the result.

The visiting Pirates did something nobody had been able to do for two-plus seasons - hold a Paz-led offense out of the end zone.

And sophomore Beau Miller's 6-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes remaining proved to be the game winner in Adna's 8-3 victory over the host Mountain Lions in the first round of the Class 2B playoffs.

Liberty Bell threatened to regain the lead late, driving to the Pirates' 25. But defensive end Jackson Knittle tipped a Lucien Paz pass attempt, and noseguard Noah Hellem came down with the game-sealing, big-man interception.

Adna also stuffed two-time reigning Class 1B champion Liberty Bell's fourth-and-inches rushing attempt at midfield that set up Miller's touchdown.

"We have a really young defense, but we get better every week," Cochran said. "I thought there was no way we'd keep them to zero touchdowns, but the kids played hard. I am really proud of them."

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TRI-CITIES PREP WINS AT FINAL HORN

Good and bad, 2B EWAC champion Tri-Cities Prep is used to games coming down to the final seconds.

And its Class 2B first-round encounter Saturday with Toledo did just that.

Converting a late fourth down, and getting set up for one final play by a Riverhawks' offsides penalty, Jake Sherfey won it for the Jaguars with his 1-yard touchdown run, 13-10, at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland.

Now in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2019, the Jaguars will face defending 2B champion Okanogan.

After Toledo kicked a go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 1:25 remaining, the Jaguars took over near midfield - and eventually faced a fourth-and-5 from the Riverhawks' 23 with 39 seconds to go.

Quarterback Jarrett Garza was flushed out of the pocket and collided with two Toledo defenders right at the first-down marker on the right sideline.

"I was runing 10 yards down the sideline to get a better angle on seeing it," Jaguars coach Kyle Carins said. "If you looked at (Garza's) body, you would not have thought so. But he reached out for it and got it."

With no timeouts, a Garza completion had the Jaguars near the goal-line with the final few seconds ticking away. Noticing a Toledo player scrambling to get back on his side of the line of scrimmage, the quarterback took a snap and spiked it on fourth down, inducing a penalty.

That set up Sherfey's run off left guard as he waltzed in for the touchdown.

"These kids have seen so much ... and had five or six games this year come down to the final minute or two," Cairns said. "It helps in those moments like this."

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