The Interlake Saints football team’s perfect season is a thing of the past courtesy of the Mercer Island Islanders football team.
Interlake, which bolted out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, saw the team’s four-game winning streak snapped as Mercer Island rallied for a 42-34 victory on Sept. 30 in Mercer Island. The Islanders improved their overall record to 3-2 while Interlake dropped to 4-1. Mercer Island running back Jordano Mark, who scored three touchdowns in the game (two rushing, one receiving), hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nikhil Nayar with 11:47 left in regulation, giving Mercer Island a 35-34 lead. Nayar hit Will Krause on a 13-yard touchdown strike with 7:09 left in the game, extending the lead to 42-34. The Mercer Island defense, which surrendered 34 points in the first three quarters, came through in the clutch in the fourth quarter. The Islanders forced the Saints to punt on their only two offensive possessions in the final 12 minutes. The Saints punted with 10:58 left in the game and punted once again with 5:18 left in regulation. The Islanders, who relied on Mark and its sturdy offensive line, kept the chains moving and ran out the clock in the final five minutes of the contest to seal the victory. Mercer Island head coach Brett Ogata was thrilled with the way his team performed in the fourth quarter.
“The defense made big plays when they had to. Football is a game of timing. Our defense and our offense really made some big plays when they had to at the right moments of the game. The defense really played awesome at the end when it really mattered,” Ogata said.
Mercer Island sophomore wide receiver Cole Miller also had two touchdown catches (56 yards, 33 yards) in the contest. Miller’s 33-yard touchdown catch with 8:36 left in the third quarter gave Mercer Island a 28-21 lead. It was an unlikely touchdown as Miller was double covered on the play. Nayar tossed the ball up the right sideline, which occurred on third down with 20 yards to go, and Miller came down with the ball in the endzone. Officials initially didn’t rule on the play but after about five seconds signaled that it was indeed a touchdown. Interlake coach Jonas Lawson said his team will recover from the first setback of the 2016 season.
“One game won’t define our season. We got to keep our heads up, come to practice Monday (Oct. 3) ready to turn the page and move on,” Lawson said.
Interlake quarterback Duncan Varela hit Dylan Riel on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 8:23 left in the first quarter, giving Interlake a 7-0 lead. Zenon Moses scored on a 2-yard touchdown run extending Interlake’s lead to 14-0 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter of play. With the Saints trailing the Islanders 28-21, Naoki Harmer intercepted Nayar with 6:25 left in the third quarter. On Interlake’s first offensive play of the drive, Varela connected with Harmer on a 56-yard touchdown reception tying the game at 28-28 with 6:15 left in the third period. On their next offensive possession, Varela hit Harmer on a 27-yard touchdown strike on a perfectly executed slant pattern, giving Interlake a 34-28 lead with two minutes left in the third period. The Saints didn’t score on their final two possessions in the fourth period but Harmer’s abilities were undeniable nonetheless.
“He is a special player,” Lawson said of Harmer. “He is a kid who only comes along once in a great while. We lean on him a lot and he delivers every time. He is a special kid and he is a lot fun to coach.”
Harmer came up huge for Interlake but the night belonged to the comeback kids from Mercer Island.
“This group of kids have been battling all year. They are so good about being resilient. We had some early losses but these guys just kept learning and built off of that. Tonight we showed our resilience. We never give up and we believe in each other,” Ogata said.
Ogata was particularly impressed with the gutsy showing by the Islanders’ top running back.
“He is a special kid and a special running back,” Ogata said of Mark. “Usually the first guy is never going to take him down. Usually it is going to take the second or third tackler to take him down or something like that. It is great to have him at the end of the game. We were able to run the clock out (on final drive) because of him.”
The Islanders will face the Redmond Mustangs in their sixth game of the regular season at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in Redmond.
“We haven’t played them for awhile. We played them two or three years ago. The coach over there is a great coach. He is going to get them ready. I know one thing they preach is toughness,” Ogata said. “It is going to be a tough game for us. It will be a physical battle. We got to go to their place and we haven’t won a game yet on the road. That is going to be a challenge for us to go over there and try to beat these guys.”
The Saints will host the Bellevue Wolverines at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Interlake High School.
“We just got to play tough and get back to what we do. In the first couple of games we were the more physical team and in the last two we kind of have taken a step back. We need to get back to the basics and get back to the fundamentals,” Lawson said.