LAKEWOOD – The Lakewood High School football team won its first-round playoff game after Anacortes forfeited because of a shortage of players.

The Cougars were supposed to play a Class 2A Northwest/Sea-King Bi-District playoff game Oct. 28 in Arlington.

Anacortes (0-9) finished last in the six-team Northwest 2A Lake Division and has been outscored by 28 points per contest. The Seahawks were the lowest seed in the 12-team bi-district playoffs.

The forfeit advances fifth-seeded Lakewood (5-4) to the Week 10 playoffs, where the Cougars face a Northwest 2A Sky Division team in a winner-to-state contest.

Cougar coach Dan Teeter tweeted that their next game will be Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. likely at Burlington-Edison.

Last Friday in Marysville, Arlington already had clinched a playoff berth, so it had nothing to lose.

And it didn’t.

In a game featuring a high-powered passing game against a high-powered running game instead of a shootout it was the defenses that stood out Oct. 19 as Arlington knocked Marysville-Pilchuck out of playoff contention 17-10.

The Eagles, 6-2, already had clinched a fourth seed in the playoffs going into the game, but with the victory moved up to the No. 2 seed in the Wesco North. M-P, 5-3, had one of its best seasons in years, but fell to fifth place with the loss.

Sophomore linebacker Michael Tsoukalas led the Eagles defense, recovering a fumble and sacking M-P quarterback Jake Elwood on a fourth-and-10 play. The other linebackers – freshman Quintin Yon-Wagner and junior Kirahy Meyers – also stood out.

Arlington quarterback Anthony Whitis put the Eagles up 7-0 in the first quarter with a 1-yard run. It stayed that way until the third quarter when Whitis hit Griffin Gardoski on an 8-yard pass.

M-P bounced right back 18 seconds later when Tomahawk QB Jake Elwood passed 72 yards to Jordan Justice to make it 14-7.

Both teams could only manage field goals the rest of the game, with Cole Cramer hitting a 29-yarder in the fourth, and Edgar Martinez connecting on a 28-yarder with 48 seconds left in the game.

Whitis connected on 17 of 33 passes for 166 yards. He also was their leading rusher with 64 yards on 17 carries. Gardoski was the top receiver with seven catches for 62 yards, and Joey Stretch caught four for 50 yards.

Elwood connected on 3 of 11 passes, but for 110 yards. Trenton Hurst ran the ball 14 times for 110 yards for M-P. With the win, Arlington will play at Wesco South No. 2 finisher Shorewood. The winner claims Wesco’s overall No. 3 seed and the loser will be the No. 4 seed.

M-P actually tied Ferndale for fourth, but since the Golden Eagles beat the Tommies the previous week they advance.

The other local team that advances in the playoffs is 2A Lakewood, despite losing to Burlington-Edison Friday 39-33.

The fifth-seeded Cougars host winless Anacortes in a loser-out game this week, with the winner advancing to the Week 10 playoffs.

Against B-E, Lakewood led 19-13 at halftime, but couldn’t hold on.

The Cougars scored first on a 24-yard field goal by Alan Sepulveda, and later Sean Phillips caught an 11-yard pass from QB Jared Taylor. Ian Ware scored on a 10-yard pass before halftime.

B-E scored three TDs to go ahead before Taylor threw twice to Michai Harris for 40 and 16 yards to keep it close.

Taylor completed 29 of 43 passes for 311 yards. Harris posted his third-consecutive 100-yard receiving game, catching eight passes for 110 yards. Phillips caught nine passes for 98 yards.

Lakewood finished 4-4, but was 0-4 in the Northwest Sky Conference.

Also Friday, Marysville Getchell finished one of its better football seasons with a 28-27 upset overtime win over Shorewood. MG finished 3-5, while Shorewood went 5-3.

Shorewood scored first in OT but missed the point after. MG QB Caleb Koellmer passed 12 yards to Landyn Olson to tie it, and Cameron Hazelwood’s extra point won it for the Chargers.

MG trailed 21-13 going into the fourth quarter, but punched one in and made a two-point conversion to send it into overtime.