The kids can play.
Brett Arrivey and Alec Schwend, a pair of sophomores in their first varsity action, used big plays to help Woodinville bury Newport for the second-straight season-opener, as the Falcons rolled to a 42-21 victory in Bellevue.
The sophomores looked anything but inexperienced in the game; Arrivey passed for 183 yards and three touchdowns, and Schwend scored a pair of touchdowns to help the Falcons take down the Knights.
“We’ve got a great group of young guys,” said Woodinville coach Wayne Maxwell. “It’s nice to be able to plug in some of those guys and get some plays out of them.”
The Falcons and Arrivey found the end zone first in the game; the 6-foot-1 sophomore hit senior Spencer Brueske on a short pass that turned into a 26-yard touchdown as the wide receiver weaved his way through a crowd of defenders to find the end zone.
And after Newport finally countered to score on a Dan Altchech 4-yard run with just 1:38 remaining the half, Schwend quickly quieted the crowd with a 90-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Falcons a 14-6 lead at the half.
“Things are going to happen,” Maxwell said. “We have to learn how to respond to that and step up and we did tonight.”
Newport strung together a 12-play drive to open up the second half, chewing up over four minutes and finding paydirt when quarterback Ross Quarre scampered 13-yards into the end zone. The Knights tied the game with a three-yard pass from Quarre to Altchech on the two-point conversion. The touchdown came just two plays after Newport converted a 4th-and-7 on the Woodinville 21-yard line when Quarre hit James Dupar for an eight-yard pass at the sideline.
“That was an important play,” said Quarre, who passed for 117 yards in the game. “Unfortunately it didn’t matter in the end.”
What came next did matter.
After a Newport personal foul after the two-point conversion left the Knights kicking off from their own 25-yard line, Schwend returned the ball all the way to Newport 35. On the very next play, Woodinville took the lead for good when Arrivey hit Trevor Kelly on a seam up the middle, and Kelly galloped in for the score.
“When they got that touchdown, we knew we needed to get some momentum, quick,” Arrivey said. “We knew we had that play up the middle.”
Woodinville would add another touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter when Arrivey hit Ryland Longoni on a short pass, and Longoni broke multiple Newport tackles on the way to a 67-yard score.
“It’s really easy for me when I make 10-yard throws and they do everything else,” said Arrivey, who completed passes to five different receivers.
Woodinville three plays later when a Quarre tipped pass landed right in sophomore Joe Ip’s arms; with no Knights near him Ip raced 54-yards for the defensive score. The Falcons picked up their final points of the game with 1:49 left in the game when Schwend rushed 24-yards for a score. Schwend led the Falcons in rushing with 60 yards on just three carries.
The Knights were led on the ground by Quarre (65 yards and a touchdown) and junior Louie Jachim, who had 55 yards and a score.
“We came out with a ton of passion,” said Quarre, who had two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Knights. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Other games
Bellevue 62, Earl Marriott (Surrey, B.C.) 0
The Wolverines, using mostly reserve players, scored 49 first-half points against their Canadian opponents and beat Earl Marriott 62-0 in Bellevue.
Andy Boulware scored four touchdowns for the Wolverines (1-0), who also received two rushing touchdowns by Skyler Yu. Kendrick Van Ackeren passed for a touchdown and his brother Brayden returned an interception 16-yards for a score.
Freddie Levine also scored for Bellevue.
Sammamish 27, Chief Sealth 0
Zach Erickson and Taylor Ragan scored rushing touchdowns, and the Totems defense returned two fumbles for scores as Sammamish defeated Chief Sealth 27-0 in Brian Tucci’s coaching debut.
The Totems (1-0) scored 20 points in the first quarter. Jarrett Gifford and Erickson each returned fumbles for scores.
Interlake 57, Hazen 25
Interlake scored 31 points in the first quarter and held on to beat Hazen 57-25 in Bellevue. Brett Kirschner rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries; the senior also had three catches for 109 yards and a score, all coming in the first half.
Saints quarterback Matt Malos went 8 for 15 for 246 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing score.
Jordan Todd scored twice for the Saints (1-0) and Jacob Marks also rushed for more than 100 yards.
