Speedy duo leads West to win
EVERETT – Coaches often name one element that sets the Class 4A/3A East-West All-Star Football Game apart from other gridiron contests: speed.
Both 2007 teams were stacked with dozens of fast athletes. It was a pair of West team speedsters, though, that made the difference by generating two huge plays down the stretch.
Wide receiver Eric Greenwood and free safety Nate Williams turned on the jets and combined to score two touchdowns in a game-changing span of 57 seconds, launching the West to a 27-17 come-from-behind victory Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Greenwood, a 6-foot-6 University of Idaho recruit out of Edmonds-Woodway High School, finished with six receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The University of Washington-bound Williams, from Kennedy High, returned one of his two interceptions for a score, helping the West overcome a 17-6 third-quarter deficit.
“With Eric Greenwood, I knew nobody was going to catch him,” West head coach Dave Ward said of the receiver’s 90-yard, catch-and-run touchdown on the left sideline.
“And then (Williams), when he gets the ball, he’s hard to catch,” Ward said of the 6-1, 210-pound defensive back. Williams picked off East quarterback Nick Williams’ short pass and zoomed to the end zone, giving the West an 18-17 lead with 6 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
West quarterback Marshall Lobbestael, a Washington State University recruit, was impressive all day. He went 13 for 18 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, both to Greenwood.
“Eric broke it deep and he just streaked down the sideline,” Lobbestael said of their second touchdown connection. “And then (Nate Williams), oh man, he stepped in front (of a pass). That was a great read and he just picked it and went for six (points). It was fun watching him.”
The West, plagued by early penalty woes and special-teams gaffes bounced back in the second half. Its defense intercepted five passes and held the East scoreless over the final 17:58. The East forced just two turnovers – a fumble in the second quarter and an interception in the third.
“(The West) did a nice job of coming back, made some plays and took advantage of some turnovers,” East head coach Bob Lucey said.
Brian McPeters padded the West lead with a 3-yard touchdown burst midway through the fourth quarter. Another West standout was receiver Brady Locker (six catches, 71 yards).
East running back Micah Lape (13 rushes for 88 yards, two touchdowns) was named Offensive Most Valuable Player. Nate Williams got the Defensive MVP award.
The West won the annual contest for the second straight year and the fourth time in five years.
“We just rallied on all the mistakes they made and made our own plays, so it worked out,” said Lobbestael, who also completed six of his first seven passes. He was intercepted once, a pass that bounced off Greenwood’s hands into the arms of East defensive back Nick Proen.
Lobbestael had one regret – a second-quarter sequence in which he led Greenwood too much on a post route that likely would have been a touchdown.
But all in all, Lobbestael and the West squad had few complaints.
“We had a great time the whole week,” he said. “And we ended it good with a win.”