MARYSVILLE – Edgar Martinez’s field goal sent the game into overtime then Dylan Carson scored as Marysville-Pilchuck won one of the most-exciting games in school history 37-30 last Friday.
M-P led most of the game, but then visiting Prairie made a huge comeback, eventually taking the lead. But Martinez kicked a 39-yard field goal as time ran out to knot the score at 30-30.
Getting the ball first in O.T., M-P again faced a desperate situation at 4th and 14. But QB Jake Elwood lofted a pass to the end zone that drew a pass-interference call. Carson scored from 2-yards out.
However, M-P then had to stop Prairie’s powerful balanced offense. It did when their dual-threat QB, A.J. Dixon, was stopped short on fourth down.
With the first-round state playoff win, M-P advances to the state quarterfinals to take on third-ranked Lincoln in Tacoma Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Abes have another high-powered offense, as they beat Seattle Prep 49-28 in an opening round matchup.
Lincoln is led by quarterback Caden Filer, who hit 23 of 28 passing attempts for 320 yards and four touchdowns against Seattle Prep.
Leading receivers are Julien Simon, who caught 8 passes for 124 yards; J. Snow-Marshall, who had 5 for 93; and Jeddiah Hayes, who nabbed 5 for 61. They can run the ball, too, as Abner Sio had 13 carries for 168 yards and 3 scores.
Against Prairie, M-P’s Dillon Kuk opened the scoring with a 22-yard run, but Prairie answered with a 7-yard score by Devante Clayton.
The host team took a 14-6 halftime lead when Jordan Justice scored on a 70-yard burst.
In the third, after Prairie scored a safety, Justice made it 21-8 after an 8-yard run. But the game quickly changed.
The visitors closed the gap with a 15-yard TD pass from Dixson to Nickolas Lawhead late in the third period.
And early in the fourth Prairie took its first lead with a 64-yard pass from Dixson to Dustin Shelby. The 2-point conversion put Prairie up 22-21.
M-P responded with Elwood scoring on a 2-yard quarterback sneak to make it 27-22.
But Prairie wasn’t done.
Dixon passed 21 yards to Ian Davis, and with another two-point conversion it looked like M-P’s season might be over, as the Tommies trailed 30-27 with just 25 seconds to play.
But M-P wasn’t done.
A penalty and squib kick gave the Tommies great field position, setting up Martinez’s heroics.
