Peninsula football shuts out Mountain View to advance to 3A state quarterfinals

The Peninsula High School football team is on to the next round of the Class 3A state playoffs after beating Mountain View, 17-0 on Saturday in Vancouver.

Peninsula running backs Cameron Lewis and Blake Cantu scored touchdowns in the second quarter and Danny Jackson added a field goal in the fourth quarter. The Peninsula defense notched its third shutout of the season.

“We’ve been great against high-scoring offenses all year,” Blake Cantu told The Columbian newspaper. “The shutout is momentum for the next game. It’s confidence, and confidence in the playoffs is everything. We just hope to keep going.”

Cantu also plays defensive line for the Seahawks, who will travel to Edmonds Stadium on Friday (Nov. 18) to face Meadowdale at 7 p.m. A win for the Seahawks would get Peninsula to the 3A state semifinals, where they would face the winner of the Lincoln versus O’Dea game.

Meadowdale is coming off a 24-20 win over Kelso in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Peninsula is now two wins away from its first state championship game appearance since the 1978-79 season, when the Seahawks beat Pullman, 35-34, to win the 3A state title.

Of course, given the steady “1-0 every week” mindset that Peninsula coach Ross Filkins has consistently preached to his team over the course of the season, it’s safe to assume he’s not looking that far ahead yet.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Peninsula football shuts out Mountain View to advance to 3A state quarterfinals."