While the new turf and lights at Edmonds Stadium were eye-catching, it was the new offense of Mountlake Terrace that really dazzled Friday night as the Hawks pulled out a dramatic 34-31 win over the visiting Mariner Marauders to open the 2015 prep football season.

A balanced attack of both run and pass by the Hawks compiled 312 total yards in the game, but it took a 7-yard touchdown run with 4:56 to go by senior Jordan Bishop to put Mountlake Terrace ahead for good and secure the victory.

Down 31-27, the Hawks were facing a fourth down and two at the Marauders 12-yard line late in the fourth quarter when Bishop came up with the heroic run. After taking the handoff from Hawk quarterback Mikey Jenson, Bishop soon felt the Mariner defensive line collapsing around him and giving him doubts that he would even gain a first down. “Actually, to be honest, I didn’t think so, but then I saw a hole and cut back,” Bishop said. “Then I felt that no one could touch me.”

In actuality, four Mariner defenders did touch Bishop around the goal line, but the senior bowled them all over for the winning score.

Bishop had 18 carries for 103 yards in the game to lead the Hawks in rushing. “I love my team very much. They all were on me and kept me going,” he said.

First-year Mountlake Terrace coach Kelly Dougan liked the way Bishop ran the ball Friday. “He just keeps his feet moving,” Dougan said. “He stays low and keeps those feet moving and that makes for big yards and big gains when we need it.”

Dougan also had praise for Jenson, who prior to this year had only handled linebacker and kicking duties for the Hawks. “That was the first game he had ever played in his life at quarterback and he was outstanding,” Dougan said. “Great leadership; he couldn’t have done it better.”

Jenson rushed for 79 yards on 25 carries and passed for 155 yards and three touchdowns in his quarterback debut. The senior completed 8 of 10 pass attempts and had no turnovers in the game.

Much of Mountlake Terrace’s rushing yards came from runs over the right side of their offensive line through holes created by senior linemen Drew Klippert and Ilai Wilson. The Hawks found success running to the right early and continued to pound the ball that way throughout the tilt.

“We were looking for our strengths and their weaknesses, and that’s how it turned out,” Dougan said. “If it’s working we don’t stop doing it.”

The Hawks found success early in the game through the air also; two of Jenson’s three TD throws came before Mariner even touched the ball on offense. Jenson threw a 34-yard TD pass to junior Daniel Johnson to end the first possession of the game, then five plays later Jenson found Johnson again for a touchdown with a 20-yard pass.

The Hawk’s second possession came after the team surprised Mariner with a short kick on the kickoff following the first score.

“I suspect on that kickoff that we recovered, yeah, absolutely; they didn’t expect that,” Dougan said.

After jumping out to the 14-0 lead, Mountlake Terrace was outscored 24-6 over the next 20 minutes of game time, falling behind to the Marauders 24-20 early in the third quarter. “We were a bit flat,” Dougan admitted as Mariner grabbed the lead and the momentum with a 65-yard TD punt return by Darius Brown. But halfway through the quarter Brown left the game with a leg injury and did not return; then 1:30 later the Hawks’ defense held the Marauders to no gain on a fourth down and one at midfield; the Mountlake Terrace offense took over and began to regain game momentum.

The Hawk comeback was stalled in the first minute of the fourth quarter after junior defensive back Nick Fisher suffered what was suspected to be a dislocated left ankle and was taken to Swedish Edmonds Hospital in an ambulance. Mariner quarterback JJ Walker scored on a 7-yard TD on the first snap after play resumed to give the Marauders a 31-27 lead.

But the Hawks responded with an 11-play, 66-yard drive that cumulated with the winning Bishop 12-yard TD run. Mountalke Terrace’s defense then stopped Mariner on their final possession of the game to preserve the win.

“We didn’t expect it to be easy,” Dougan said.

– By Doug Petrowski

Prep Football: Mountlake Terrace versus Mariner

Mariner             7          3        14        7          —          31
Terrace           14          6          7        7          —          34

First Quarter
  7:30 Mikey Jenson (MTHS) 34-yard TD pass to Daniel Johnson; Jenson 3-yard pass to Riley Morrin for the two-point conversion
4:39 Mikey Jenson (MTHS) 20-yard TD pass to Daniel Johnson; two-point conversion attempt failed
2:52 Anthony Smith (Mariner) 36-yard TD run; PAT kick converted

Second Quarter
  8:25 Alex Angelos (Mariner) 26-yard field goal
:44 Tanner Munnis (MTHS) 1-yard TD run; two-point conversion attempt failed

Third Quarter
11:59 JJ Walker (Mariner) 65-yard TD pass; PAT kick converted
9:03 Darius Brown (Mariner) 65-yard TD punt return; PAT kick converted
:53 Mikey Jenson (MTHS)  32-yard TD pass to Riley Morrin; PAT kick converted

Fourth Quarter
11:05 JJ Walker (Mariner) 7-yard TD run; PAT kick converted
4:56 Jordan Bishop (MTHS) 12-yard TD run; PAT kick converted

Records: Mountlake Terrace 1-0; Mariner 0-1

Mountlake Terrace next game: vs. Meadowdale, Friday, Sept. 11, 8 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium