Edmonds Stadium hosts overtime thriller as Meadowdale claims Wesco 3A South crown
Mountlake Terrace’s ground attack dominated early, with the Hawks consistently finding success against Meadowdale’s defense throughout the night. Senior quarterback Mason Wilson and running back Owen Boswell spearheaded the offense, combining for 228 rushing yards on 40 carries, a 5.7-yard average. Wilson accounted for 111 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while Boswell added 117 more, along with 49 receiving yards.
Meadowdale surged ahead late in regulation, taking a 21–14 lead early in overtime after a swift opening drive. However, Wilson and Boswell responded immediately, each picking up roughly 10 yards to push the offense inside the five-yard line. A penalty erased Wilson’s initial four-yard touchdown run, but he made up for it with a powerful 14-yard plunge moments later, putting Mountlake Terrace up 20–21.
Coach Archie Malloy kept the offense on the field despite a missed field goal at the end of regulation, a missed opportunity that now gave the Hawks another shot at victory. On the two-point conversion, Wilson took the snap and pushed forward through the middle, but Meadowdale senior Jamier Perry delivered the decisive blow. Wrapped up near the goal line and dragged down by converging teammates, Wilson was stopped just shy, sealing a 21–20 win for the Mavericks.
The victory clinched the Wesco 3A South title for Meadowdale, improving its record to 7–0 overall and 4–0 in league play. Mountlake Terrace fell to 5–2 (2–2). After the final play, the entire Meadowdale squad flooded the field, half heading toward the student section, the other half toward Perry, who rose last from the pile, his effort emblematic of the team’s collective effort. It marked the program’s first league title since 2016.
“I saw him coming up the middle, and I knew I had to get him,” Perry remarked. “We came together as one unit and just brought him down.”
Head coach Antwoine Gambles, in his third season at the helm, guided Meadowdale to the top of the division after finishes of second in 2025 and fifth in 2024. The team knocked off the reigning league champions in a hard-fought contest.
“That took every ounce of togetherness,” Gambles said. “I was praying, being honest. It just took everything that the team has put together since June, the coaching staff, the players believing, and we did it for our community. Our community needed that. It just means a lot for us to be able to come out and persevere through that.”
Offensively, senior Zekiah Gamble contributed 128 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Cayden Rivera added 98 scrimmage yards for the Mavericks. Mountlake Terrace opened control with a methodical 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive, capped by Wilson’s one-yard touchdown plunge. The Hawks’ offensive line created running lanes early, and Wilson’s 25-yard keeper moved the ball into Meadowdale territory. A miscue on a direct snap to Boswell, bouncing off the turf before he scooped it up, sparked a 14-yard gain before Wilson finished the drive with a short-yardage score.
The Meadowdale defense forced a turnover after an interception by Mountlake Terrace senior Andrew McBride. The Terrace offense had driven to just outside the opponent's red zone before the pick-six occurred. Although the Hawks' ground game remained potent, accumulating 95 rushing yards in the opening quarter, a penalty disrupted their subsequent possession and resulted in a punt.
Mountlake Terrace survived the turnover, but penalties again hindered their offensive rhythm. Zekiah Gamble connected with senior Jackson Greene on a 26-yard pass to move into Meadowdale territory. However, a pass breakup by a Terrace defender and a significant tackle for loss by senior Zachary MacDonald forced the Mavericks into a fourth-down situation. Meadowdale's defense succeeded in stopping the drive with an incompletion, securing a possession change with seven minutes and two seconds remaining in the first half.
Both defensive units prevented their opponents from gaining significant momentum during the final stretch of the second period. The Hawks started a drive from their own 18-yard line with one minute and 29 seconds on the clock but could only advance to midfield before the half concluded. The score stood at 7-0 at halftime, leaving the outcome uncertain.
Rivera noted that the team had prepared all week for this specific contest, emphasizing the need to execute their game plan.
In the third quarter, the Mavericks' rushing attack, which had managed only 56 yards in the first half, exploded for 76 yards on their initial drive. The team consumed more than six minutes of game time with 14 consecutive rushing plays. Rivera gained over 10 yards on three separate carries, setting up a one-yard rushing touchdown for Gamble to tie the game.
Antwoine Gamble explained that the Mavericks intentionally slowed the pace of the game to limit the time of possession for a team he described as dynamic and confident, noting that the opposing squad can move the ball quickly. He acknowledged that the strategy did not prevent the game from reaching overtime.
Mountlake Terrace answered with a lengthy scoring drive that consumed the remainder of the third quarter and extended nearly three minutes into the fourth. Wilson and Boswell exchanged carries throughout the sequence. After Wilson lured the Meadowdale defensive line into an encroachment penalty on fourth-and-one from the 11-yard line, he faked a handoff to Boswell before rolling right for a five-yard rushing touchdown.
The Mavericks adhered to their time-consuming approach on their next possession, eating over eight minutes with a 17-play, 57-yard march. The drive included successful fourth-down conversions by Rivera and junior Alexander Wilson. Boswell recorded a tackle for loss to push Meadowdale back from the goal line to the three-yard line, allowing Gamble to find senior Owen Fulford for a tying touchdown with 59 seconds remaining, making the score 14-14.
Rivera stated that the team needed to start the second half with intensity and proper execution to improve their rushing performance.
Meadowdale edged past Sequim in a tightly contested matchup, advancing from their own 17-yard line with just 52 seconds remaining to set up a potential game-winning drive. The Hawks used all three of their timeouts and strategically sent receivers out of bounds to preserve time, eventually reaching the Mavericks’ 20 with five seconds on the clock. A 24-yard hook-and-lateral connection between junior Trey Marshall and Boswell opened the door for a score, and a subsequent 15-yard personal foul against the defense pushed the ball into field goal range.
A 38-yard attempt for the win sailed wide, clipping the outside of the upright but missing the crossbar entirely, forcing the contest into overtime.
“We knew it wasn’t over once we lined up,” Perry noted. “It’s never truly finished until the last whistle blows. As long as the ball was still in play, we were prepared to give everything we had.”
Meadowdale drew the first possession in the extra period. After gaining nothing on their initial two offensive snaps, quarterback Zekiah Gamble connected with senior Jack Baker along the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown. Holden Johnson’s subsequent point-after attempt extended the lead to 21–14.
“That wasn’t just about me catching the ball,” Baker explained. “It was a collective effort, the linemen held the line, Taylor Brown sold his routes perfectly, and Zekai delivered the ball on time. That play belonged to the whole group.”
Following the offensive surge, the Mavericks’ defense sealed the outcome with a critical two-point stop in the final minutes of overtime.
“We keep pushing each other forward,” Rivera said. “There’s still a lot more ahead of us.”