#7 Snohomish Panthers Upset #2 Lake Stevens White 6-0 In 89ers Division Playoff Shocker

In a gritty, hard-nosed first-round playoff game, the #7-seeded Snohomish Panthers pulled off a stunning upset over the #2 Lake Stevens White team, shutting them out 6-0 on Saturday in the 89ers Division of the North Sound Junior Football League.

Snohomish came in as the underdog with a 3-4 record, while Lake Stevens entered the postseason 6-1 and one of the favorites to advance deep. But from the first snap, it was clear the Panthers came ready to fight—and they never backed down.

Both teams opened the game with heavy doses of the run game, trying to establish control in the trenches. On Snohomish’s opening series, standout rusher Kasen Clarke was met with immediate resistance. He was dropped for a 4-yard loss on first down and hit again for a 3-yard setback later in the drive. Quarterback Cannon Boyle tried to find daylight but was quickly bottled up, and the Panthers were forced to punt.

Lake Stevens responded with a drive built around physical running. Henryx Woods picked up a short gain on first down and then tried to catch the Panthers off guard with a pass, but the ball fell incomplete. On third down, quarterback Graham Dennis was stopped at the line. Facing a fourth-and-short, Dennis kept it himself and lunged forward, but was brought down short of the sticks. Snohomish had held.

The Panthers soon found their footing. Clarke broke free up the middle for a 36-yard gain, giving the visitors their first big momentum shift. On the next play, he followed it up with a 19-yard carry that had Snohomish knocking on the door. But Lake Stevens’ defense held strong. A tackle for loss by Easton Bos and a series of short-yardage stops pushed the Panthers into a fourth-and-long, and Boyle’s pass attempt fell incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.

The second quarter was more of the same—two defenses trading stops, and neither offense able to punch through. Midway through the quarter, Lake Stevens appeared to seize momentum when Clarke fumbled and Brody Britt jumped on it for the recovery. The Vikings fed off the energy, with Britt ripping off an 11-yard gain, followed by a 7-yard carry from Woods to move the chains. Kaiden Tu chipped in a short run, and Dennis kept the drive alive with a 13-yard strike to Maddex Snyder. But just as the Vikings crossed into scoring position, the Snohomish defense stiffened. A series of tackles for little to no gain and an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the threat.

After halftime, Snohomish finally broke through. A key 34-yard run by Brantley Greene on a sweep play swung momentum again. The Panthers pounded the ball inside the red zone with short runs from Boyle and Clarke, eventually setting up a third-and-goal from the 7-yard line. Clarke took the handoff off-tackle, cut inside, and barreled into the end zone to give Snohomish a 6-0 lead. The extra point attempt was no good, but the Panthers had landed the first blow in a game where every yard mattered.

Lake Stevens pushed back with urgency, but the Snohomish defensive front continued to wreak havoc. Bentley Hutt, Benjamin Towers, and Cannon Boyle all made stops behind the line of scrimmage, pushing the Vikings into repeated long-yardage situations.

The Vikings mounted one final push late in the fourth quarter. After a short gain from Woods and a quick pass from Dennis to Snyder, they moved the ball to the Snohomish 27-yard line. But on third down, Woods fumbled the ball. Though Lake Stevens recovered, the drive lost valuable yardage. A fourth-and-15 pass attempt fell incomplete, and with it, so did the Vikings’ hopes of pulling off a win.

Snohomish drained the remaining clock with a run-heavy drive that included a clutch 13-yard conversion by Boyle on fourth-and-one, allowing the Panthers to kneel out the game.

Clarke finished with 12 carries for 60 yards and the game’s only touchdown. Greene added 36 rushing yards, and Boyle contributed 23 more on 10 carries. For Lake Stevens, Britt led with 18 yards on 7 rushes, while Woods ran 5 times for 13 yards. Dennis completed 2 of 6 passes for 28 yards, including the 13-yarder to Snyder.

On defense, Britt stood out with 3 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries, while Hutt recorded 2 sacks of his own for Snohomish. Probst and Clarke also came up with crucial fumble recoveries to halt Lake Stevens drives.

Final Score: Snohomish Panthers 6, Lake Stevens White 0

Player Stats

Snohomish Panthers (Offense):

Kasen Clarke: 10 rushes, 61 yards, 1 TD

Brantley Greene: 3 rushes, 36 yards

Cannon Boyle: 8 rushes, 20 yards

Snohomish Panthers (Defense):

Bentley Hutt: 2 tackles, 2 sacks

Benjamin Towers: 1 sack

Cannon Boyle: 1 tackle, 1 sack

Theodore Ensley: 1 tackle, 1 sack

Kasen Clarke: 1 fumble recovery

Kamdyn Probst: 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

Lake Stevens White (Offense):

Brody Britt: 6 rushes, 18 yards

Henryx Woods: 4 rushes, 13 yards

Graham Dennis: 1/4 passing, 13 yards

Maddex Snyder: 1 rush, 13 yards; 1 reception, 13 yards

Kaiden Tu: 1 rush, 1 yard

Mason Gergich: 1 rush, 3 yards

Lake Stevens White (Defense):

Brody Britt: 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery

Ryan Adrian: 1 tackle (TFL)

Easton Bos: 1 tackle (TFL)