Devon Nofoa-Masoe scores three first-half touchdowns, leads Lakes over Snohomish and in to 3A state tournament
Things didn’t start out the way the Lakes football team had hoped in Friday’s 3A state preliminary game against the Snohomish Panthers.
Lakes threw an interception on its second drive of the game and the Panthers took advantage of the turnover by scoring the game’s first touchdown.
From that point forward, the Panthers got a heavy dose of the Lancers’ sophomore running back Devon Nofoa-Masoe, and they had no answer. Nofoa-Masoe rushed for 152 yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns in the first half to help the Lancers take momentum en route to a 31-7 win, which propelled them to the first round of the state tournament, which begins next week.
“It’s always our goal, to get into the tournament,” Lakes head coach Dave Miller said. “You have to come to a hostile environment on the road, and play a tough and scrappy Snohomish team, we’re excited that we battled through and came out with the victory.”
The Lancers have a lot of young players on their roster, which Miller said could’ve contributed to the slow start, but to his delight, they quickly figured it out.
“I think we had some jitters, and we needed to work through that,” Miller said. “When we got through the first quarter, we got in our rhythm and started to pound the football a little bit. I thought the (offensive) line started getting off and giving Devon some room. Devon ran real hard tonight, and we needed him to.”
Nofoa-Masoe finished the game with 182 yards on 19 carries to go along with his three touchdowns.
“He’s a great runner and he’s a great linebacker,” Miller said. “He didn’t play last week. We kind of held him out because he was a little banged up. He’s back to health now, and he’s a guy that has to touch the ball because he’s hard to tackle. He means a lot to our team.”
Nofoa-Masoe’s longest run of the game was a 60-yarder in the second quarter. He nearly turned it into a touchdown, but was dragged down from behind at the 4-yard line. It appeared the official might have got in his way on the play and when Nofoa-Masoe tried to miss him, it allowed the Snohomish defender to catch up to the play.
“I should’ve just trucked him,” Nofoa-Masoe said with a laugh. “But I’m not going to do that to the man. I should’ve just out-ran him anyway.”
It’s pretty clear that the young running back has a bright future, but many of his opponents throughout the season and the playoffs might say the future is now. With him at full strength going into the tournament, the Lancers figure to be a tough out.
“We found our rhythm,” Nofoa-Masoe said. “Now that we found our rhythm, we’ve just got to keep going, keep pushing and keep fighting, no matter what team it is.”
BOX SCORE
At Veterans Memorial Stadium (Snohomish H.S.)
Lakes 0 18 6 7 - 31
Snohomish 7 0 0 0 - 7
SCORING PLAYS
S – Joshua Vandergriend 16 run (Kyler Hammer kick)
L – Devon Nofoa-Masoe 2 run (kick failed)
L – Nofoa-Masoe 40 run (pass failed)
L – Nofoa-Masoe 2 run (kick failed)
L – Howard Golden 1 run (kick failed)
L – Rafi Mbuja 8 pass from Justin Brennan (Luke Washburn kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing: L – 10-18-2-97. S – Kale Hammer 4-13-3-63
Rushing: L – Devon Nofoa-Masoe 19-182-3; Abel Patu 7-36; Justin Drayton 7-48; Howard Golden 1-1-1; Justin Brennan 3-16. S – Tyler Larson 14-57; Josh Vandergriend 14-27-1; Kyden Gaffney 1-1; Caden Keithly 1-7; Kale Hammer 5-6.
Receiving: L – Tyler Mackay 2-18; Raji Mbuja 7-77-1; Abel Patu 1-2. S – Kyden Gaffney 1-1; Jacob Branvold 2-50; Josh Vandergriend 1-12.