Woodinville History -- Football Team Earns Berth At State

-- BOTHELL

Todd Pickering's voice boomed above the din from Woodinville High football players who gathered spontaneously for a group picture.

"Woodinville history!" He yelled.

Confusion. Emotion. Din. History.

The scene at Pop Keeney Stadium embodied all of these and came by way of Woodinville's 19-16 victory over Redmond in a KingCo Conference game last night.

"Woodinville hasn't been known to be a superpower in football, until last year," said Peter Finstuen, who led the Falcons with 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns. "This is the division championship. No one can take that away from us."

The victory gave Woodinville (5-0 in Crown, 6-3 overall) its first division title and first state playoff berth in the school's 10-year history.

The Falcons, who came within one game of qualifying for state last year, play No. 2-ranked Puyallup (8-0) next Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup in a Class AAA playoff opener.

"We're in the state playoffs," said Finstuen, who scored on runs of 27 and 25 yards. "We have absolutely nothing to lose to play those guys. We'll just go play our game and whatever happens happens."

What happened last night was not expected when the season began. Redmond was the unanimous preseason pick by opposing coaches to win the division. And by the time it happened, many felt the Crest Division runner-up, No. 7-ranked Bellevue (7-1), more deserved the league's second playoff berth.

"They got tired of guys saying we don't deserved where we're at, that Redmond and Woodinville aren't as good," third-year Woodinville Coach Terry Agnew said. "You saw two teams give it everything tonight."

Finstuen, behind exceptional line play much of the night, gave the Mustangs (3-2, 4-5) more than they wanted to see.

He followed the lead block of guard Evan Metz to break free on both scoring plays, bouncing off the back of tight end Cody Leckner to evade another defender on the first TD, in the second quarter.

Late in the third quarter, with Woodinville leading 12-10, Finstuen followed Metz's block for a 50-yard gain to open the drive he ended with his second touchdown.

"He means a lot to us," Agnew said of Finstuen, who missed the first four games of the season recovering from the effects of a summer bout with mononucleosis.

His platelet level, which is associated with blood-clotting ability, was too low for doctors to allow him to play.

Finstuen has averaged 91 yards per game since returning. He undergoes weekly blood-count tests.

"Now that he's healthy, he makes a big difference in our offense," Agnew said. "His teammates really like him and respect him and play really hard up front for him."

Falcons junior Chris Jensen, who added 76 rushing yards on 17 carries, scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter.

Woodinville led 19-10 before Redmond (3-2, 4-5) scored on a 51-yard flea-flicker play on the last play of the game. Matt Banks took the lateral from Jesse Travis and threw a bomb to Pete Gordon for the touchdown as Woodinville students poured onto the field.

Elsewhere

-- Mariner 48, at Edmonds-Woodway 9 - Shane Fortney completed 8 for 21 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 116 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown run on a called rollout-pass, as the Marauders (6-1, 6-3) all but guaranteed themselves a spot in the state playoffs. If Cascade beats Oak Harbor tonight, Mariner is the No. 2 WesCo AAA seed into the Class AAA playoffs and will play the winner of tonight's North Thurston-South Kitsap game in a first-round game. If Oak Harbor wins, the three teams will be tied for the WesCo AAA championship and will force a mini-playoff to determine playoff seeding. Edmonds-Woodway finished its season 3-4, 4-5.

-- At Monroe 41, Mountlake Terrace 7 - The Bearcats (4-2, 6-3) secured a playoff berth. Chad Edlebrock had touchdowns runs of 54 and 19 yards. Terrace scored its touchdown with no time left on the clock and kicked its point-after after the opposition and the game officials had left the field.

Monroe will play Anacortes Tuesday at Mariner High in a preliminary-round playoff game, with the winner advancing to the Class AA state playoffs.

-- Lynnwood 35, Meadowdale 13 - The Royals (3-3, 4-5) unveiled a new offense in their season finale, using a wing-T to run past the Chiefs (3-3, 4-5). Trevor Michaelis hauled in a 32-yard pass for one touchdown and returned an intercepted pass 63 yards for another.