LAKE STEVENS — What should have been a sweep for the Cougars turned into a nail-biter on Friday, Nov. 2, as they faced Sedro-Woolley at Lake Stevens High School, managing to clinch a 21-14 victory over the Cubs and advance to state.

Lakewood football was undefeated for most of the season and despite their strength, the Cubs came ready to win and gave the Cougars a bit of a scare.

“I want to congratulate Sedro-Woolley for this game,” said Lakewood head coach Dan Teeter. “They out-coached us, they out-played us. They deserved to win this game more than us.”

Coach Teeter and other members of the coaching staff told the team after the game that they will have to make some changes if they are going to be competitive in the state tournament.

“We are going to play Capital or W.F. West. W.F. West beat us last year and Capital were state champions,” Teeter told the team. “We can’t make these mistakes.”

Some of the issues that had coaches rattled were turnovers, fumbles and interceptions — had only one or two plays gone differently it could have changed the outcome of the game.

Teeter noted that a few players missed practice because of colds.

“They are going to need to suck it up and practice,” he said.

Despite the close call, the Cougars still made some great plays, with running back Donovan Evans rushing more than 160 yards during the game and scoring two of their three touchdowns. Quarterback Justin Peterson scored a touchdown in the first quarter as well and threw a 63-yard pass to Evans for the first touchdown of the night.

Lakewood’s defense had a good night as well, keeping the Cubs from scoring in the first quarter.

“We are the first team in Lakewood history to go to state in back-to-back seasons,” said Teeter. “I’m proud of them for how they’ve played so far, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

The team now faces Capital in the first round of the state tournament on Nov. 10 at Goddard Stadium in Everett at 7:30 p.m. For updated schedules visit www.cascadeathletics.com.