Interlake’s high-powered offense propelled the ninth-ranked Saints past North Mason, 47-23, in the Class 2A West Central District football state play-in game Tuesday night at Curtis High School.

North Mason trailed at halftime, 27-17, but running back Tommy Renne closed the Bulldogs to 27-23 on a 5-yard scoring run with 1 minute, 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

But that would end the scoring for North Mason.

Interlake would answer, though, with running back Brett Kirschner breaking off a 21-yard touchdown run before the end of the quarter to regain a double-digit lead.

Kirschner, who has given an oral commitment to play at WSU, ran for more than 100 yards and also scored on an 18-yard run.

North Mason’s Josh Lopez also topped the 100-yard plateau and gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead when he scored on a 50-yard run in the first quarter.

Interlake quarterback Matt Malos threw three touchdown passes to receiver Dylan Arnell.

The Saints (7-3) play at seventh-ranked Mark Morris (9-1) in the first round of the 2A state playoffs. North Mason finishes 9-2.

CLASS 1A

Nooksack Valley 42, Vashon 20: The sixth-ranked Pioneers scored 35 unanswered points after trailing 14-7 and ended the No. 10 Pirates’ season in a Class 1A state play-in game in Bellingham.

Vashon quarterback Quinn Holert completed 22 of 39 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown. Adrain Arcero had eight catches for 102 yards and Matt Kerns finished with nine receptions for 130 yards.

Vashon ends its season at 8-3. Nooksack Valley (9-2) will play La Center in the first round of the state playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground.

After a sluggish start, Nooksack Valley switched to a no-huddle offense and scored touchdowns on five of its next seven possessions.

“We feel like we have more energy when we run the no-huddle,” said running back Nick deGrasse, who finished with 101 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and threw a 64-yard option pass for a touchdown in the third quarter. “Things just seem to move a whole lot quicker when we run it. We feel comfortable running it.”

Nooksack Valley piled up 408 yards of total offense, including 233 yards on the ground.

Meridian 25, Port Townsend 0: The Trojans eliminated the Redskins from the postseason. Meridian will face top-ranked Montesano (10-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Tumwater.

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