In a hard fought, seesaw July 14 affair, the Snohomish County Vikings could not maintain the momentum of their strong third quarter and hold on to victory over the visiting Willamette Valley Raiders.
The final 35-28 score does not capture the disappointment that Snohomish felt after conceding 13 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes to give the game away.
From the outset, the game looked tightly contested. A scoreless first quarter saw both teams struggling for field position. Snohomishs opening drive looked promising after several successful Marquise Moses runs, but quarterback Daimino Lewis first pass was picked off on the Willamette 30 yard line.
The Vikings defense held its ground early on, using a fierce pass rush to sack Willamette QB David Littleton on several occasions. Willamette did produce some yards on the ground and managed to stay out of poor field position.
Willamette broke through first in the second quarter with a nine-yard touchdown pass between Littleton and receiver Bobby Bridges. However, right before halftime the Vikings answered back with a touchdown of their own behind the quick legs of Daimino Miller. Miller snuck in from two yards out and an extra point by Jason Skahan evened up the score. Both teams headed to the locker room with plenty to prove, tied 7-7.
The third quarter saw an offensive explosion from both sides. The teams combined to score 36 points in the period, many of which came behind the explosiveness of Snohomish receiver Davie Beeks. Beeks finagled his way into the end zone on two long scoring passes, one from 17 yards and one from 22 yards out. His impressive display put Snohomish on top and a Daimino Miller 15-yard TD run gave them a 28-22 lead headed toward the last 15 minutes.
Then things fell apart for Snohomish. A 46-yard TD pass from Littleton to Kyle English pushed Willamette back in front 29-28 and they added a huge 43-yard Kenny Roberts punt return for a touchdown to give them a 35-28 advantage.
Despite plenty of time remaining in the game, Snohomish could not mount another charge and they fell short of victory.
The Vikings play their next home game Aug. 11 at Edmonds High School Stadium.

At Edmonds:

Willamette Valley Raiders
0 7 15 13 35
Snohomish County Vikings
0 7 21 0 28