OAK HARBOR — Malik Braxton and the Mavericks overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit to beat Oak Harbor in a Wesco 3A crossover game 22-14.
“We just obviously were a little flat (to start the game),” said Meadowdale head coach Mark Stewart.
After the first quarter, and some tweaks to the defense designed to contain Oak Harbor, the Mavericks’ defense woke up. “Once we made those adjustments, I mean, we were in pretty good shape,” said Stewart. Meadowdale kept Oak Harbor off the board the rest of the game.
On offense, Braxton connected with Ryan White in the end zone in the second quarter, then rushed for a touchdown himself. The Mavericks went for a two-point conversion and Charlie White ran the ball in to make it 15-14. The game was back and forth after that, with neither team scoring until Braxton’s second rushing TD with about eight minutes left in the game.
“We were able to come up with some big plays, some big stops on defense down the stretch,” said Stewart.
The biggest was probably when Oak Harbor got the ball with less than a minute remaining and completed a pass down to the 18. After an incomplete pass, Oak Harbor dropped back to attempt one more pass but the Mavericks came up with a sack to end the game.
They were just more physical than we were.” said Oak Harbor head coach Jay Turner. “On offensive line and defensive line they controlled the line of scrimmage.”
The win earns Meadowdale the right to play Eastside Catholic, the Metro league’s No. 1 seed, in the upcoming 3A quad-district playoffs.
With the loss, Oak Harbor plays Peninsula, the South Puget Sound league’s No. 1 seed. “It’s got to get better,” said Turner. “They out played us tonight. We want to improve this next week. This is the real deal now.”
At Oak Harbor H.S.
Meadowdale01507—22
Oak Harbor14000—14
OH—Sinchak from Kolste 19 pass (Grecco kick)
OH—Sinchak from Kolste 31 pass (Grecco kick)
M—R. White from Braxton 34 pass (C. White run)
M—Braxton 3 run (Schafer kick)
M—Braxton 10 run (Schafer kick)
Records—Meadowdale 7-2 overall. Oak Harbor 6-3.
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