The stakes couldn’t have been higher on Newport’s homecoming for either team.

The Knights were looking to clinch a playoff berth. Eastlake was playing to keep their hopes alive.

When it was all said and done, Newport had to watch the Wolves crash their party on a rainy Bellevue night as Eastlake lived to fight another day with a 27-14 win over the Knights.

“It seems like a long time since we’ve been happy,” said Eastlake coach Gene Dales.

They had every reason to. The Knights had no answers for the Eastlake (4-3, 1-3 KingCo 4A) offense, helmed by quarterback Kelby McCorkle and running back Cameron Hunt. The duo combined for 168 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

“We have a lot of threats,” McCorkle said.

Newport stormed out to a 7-0 lead, completing a 16 play drive that chewed up over eight minutes of the first quarter and came to a culmination when Louie Jachim broke loose for a 17-yard score.

But after that drive, Newport seemed to lose its magic.

It took just seven plays for Hunt to dive in from three yards out to even the score at seven. Newport’s next drive stalled, and the Knights elected to attempt a fourth-and-two from their own 28-yard line. That left a short field for the Wolves, after their defense stuffed Eric Rodan at the line of scrimmage for no gain.

Just four plays later, McCorkle scored on a four-yard run around the right side. The Knights next two drives ended in punts, and Hunt scored again, giving Eastlake a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter.

With the ball at their 38, Eastlake looked to score again, instead fumbling the ball on a handoff. Newport’s James Burch recovered, and four plays later, Ross Quarre hit a wide-open Nick Clifford for a 20-yard touchdown.

“We dropped that ball, and I just had a bad feeling,” Dales said. “Sure enough, they got into the end zone.”

The Knights (4-3, 2-2) would get no closer. Their four second half possessions ended with a punt and three turnovers on downs.

“We started bringing safeties into the box and that helped slow them down,” said McCorkle, who also starts at safety for Eastlake. “We wanted them to try to beat us with their pass, because that’s what we’re good at.”

The Wolves limited Quarre to just 57 yards on 10 attempts.

The nail in the coffin came with just over 8:56 left in the third quarter. Newport had a shot to get back into the game, with Eastlake facing a 1st and 43 situation after a series of penalties pushed them back all the way to their own 40 yard line. After Hunt picked up 12 yards on a run up the middle, McCorkle hit Riley Hill for a 40-yard touchdown.

“We were thinking ‘man, this doesn’t look good’,” McCorkle said. “They all ran verticals, I just dropped back and let it fly and he made a great catch.”

With the loss, Newport will need to beat Issaquah next week to assure itself of a playoff berth. The Eagles lost 42-0 to Skyline Friday. With a win next week, Eastlake can force a three-way tie for third place between Redmond, Newport and the Wolves. That three-way playoff would be played on the first Tuesday after the regular season concludes.

“All we can do is take care of business,” Dale said. “We’re hoping for that mini playoff.”

Other games

No. 3 Bellevue 50, No. 8 Juanita 7

Bellevue scored three times on their first five plays and rolled to a 50-7 win over the Rebels on homecoming night at Wolverines Stadium.

Sean Coley scored just 52 seconds into the game, breaking free for a 65-yard touchdown run on Bellevue’s second play. Coley finished with 72 yards rushing and two touchdowns on three carries.

After Joe Joe Conner recovered a fumble on the Rebels first series, Joey Mangialardi scored on a 25-yard run.

Conner scored on two rushing touchdowns, Freddie Levine had a third and Coley caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Van Ackeren as the Wolverines (5-2, 4-0 KingCo 3A/2A) led 44-0 at halftime. Robert Golden scored on a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Wolverines final points.

Cole Graves scored the only touchdown for Juanita (5-2, 2-2) on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Mount Si 54, Sammamish 13

The Wildcats built a 48-0 lead before Sammamish scored in the third quarter, as Mount Si rolled over the Totems 54-13 in Bellevue.

Six different Wildcats scored touchdowns in the win. Donny Hendickson scored two rushing touchdowns for Mount Si (4-3, 2-2).

Sammamish fell to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in conference play with the loss.