Adopting a collegiate postseason mindset for motivation, a spirited Mountlake Terrace Hawks jumped on the Lynnwood Royals early and then rode that high to a 30-13 victory in the 2019 football season finale for both teams on Thursday.

Terrace reached the end zone on each of its first two possessions to build a 14-0 lead over the Royals, an advantage that the Hawks would not lose in the game played at Edmonds Stadium.

Senior running back Seydou Traore capped off a 71-yard nine-play opening drive with an 8-yard touchdown run for the Hawks. Four minutes later sophomore Cole Waldrup threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Dahlman and Terrace had built a two-score lead.

While the Hawks were mounting a pair of first-quarter scoring drives, the Royals struggled to move the ball early on. Lynnwood gained just five yards of total offense in the first quarter compared to Terrace’s 159 yards.

Hawks’ Coach Tony Umayam credited his team’s mentality going into the season-ending contest for the quick start and the win.

“When we don’t make the playoffs like this year, we have to treat this like a bowl game,” Umayam said. “And it had a little extra juice because we have a nice rivalry with Lynnwood.”

With the game being the last for Terrace this year, Umayam explained that there is not only motivation to end the season on a winning note, but the coaching staff was more adventurous with the preparations and game-planning.

“We do treat it like a bowl week to where we can try some new things,” Umayam said.

The game was the first this season for Dahlman, who had started the previous eight Terrace games at quarterback, split out wide as a receiver.

The other Terrace touchdowns in the game were scored in the fourth quarter by running backs Dylan Breuer (a 16-yard TD run) and Jordan Sims (a 1-yard TD run).

The Hawks also picked up two points on a safety when a center snap went over the head of Lynnwood punter Miguel Hurtado and through the Royals’ end zone in the second quarter.

Lynnwood scored its first touchdown of the game when a seven-play, 89-yard drive ended with a 2-yard TD run by senior Daniel Tran. The big play in the drive was a 64-yard pass-and-run connection from quarterback Nate Killen to Adrian Morgan.

The only other Royals’ points of the game came with :03 to go in the game when quarterback Julius Heudorf found Tanner Fahey for a 16-yard TD reception.

“We just couldn’t get things going on offense quite how we wanted to,” said Lynnwood Coach Keauntea Bankhead.

Despite the loss, Bankhead was positive when reflecting back on a season that included four victories by his Lynnwood squad.

“Overall, I’m proud of my guys,” Bankhead said. “After going 1-19 over two years, just to come out and win some games I am very grateful. From week one to week 10 I’ve seen progress from everyone on the field. To me that means their learning, their being coachable … we’ve got a good group of guys.”

While Bankhead was addressing his squad in the Lynnwood locker room following the game, the Hawks celebrated their victory out at the base of the grandstands with their fellow Terrace students, their friends and family.

“It’s nice; it’s really great for the seniors,” Uyamam said after the win. “It’s a nice springboard for the next year. But just being able to come out and play as well as we did — and be able to play in all three phases — it’s pretty rewarding. It’s a way you want to end the year.”

Prep Football: Mountlake Terrace at Lynnwood, Nov. 7

Terrace 14 2 0 14 — 30
Lynnwood 0 6 0 7 — 13

First quarter scoring:
8:21 — Seydou Traore (Mountlake Terrace) 5-yard TD run; Alberto Paredes PAT kick is blocked
4:18 — Cole Waldrup (Mountlake Terrace) 20-yard TD pass to Elijah Dahlman; two-point conversion run is good

Second quarter scoring:
6:53 — Daniel Tran (Lynnwood) 2-yard TD run; Andrew Archide PAT kick is blocked
1:31 — Lynnwood snaps ball out back of own end zone, resulting in safety

Fourth quarter scoring:
4:42 — Dylan Breuer (Mountlake Terrace) 28-yard TD run; Alberto Paredes PAT kick is good
:56 — Jordan Sims (Mountlake Terrace) 1-yard TD run; Noah Thompson PAT kick is good
:03 — Julius Heudorf (Lynnwood) 16-yard TD pass to Tanner Fahey; Andrew Archide PAT kick is good

Records: Mountlake Terrace 4-5 overall; Lynnwood 4-6 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: 2019 season completed

— By Doug Petrowski