Lakeside shuts out Omak in playoff opener 42-0

The crowd at Union Stadium Friday night saw Lakeside’s defense pitch a perfect game on the scoreboard and a near-perfect game on the stat sheet in the Eagles’ 42-0 win over the Omak Pioneers.

Lakeside moves on to the State 1A quarterfinals against the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Zillah and King’s.

The shutout was Lakeside’s third of the season.

“Our defense played really well and had a great week of practice,” Lakeside head coach Devin Bauer said. “Make no mistake, Omak is a good team, too. They’re leaving everything on the field.

“We’re just excited for our whole team.”

Lakeside (11-0) is giving up an average of just 9.5 points a game. The Eagles only gave up one explosive play – a 44-yard run by Omak running back Kessler Fjellman in the third quarter. The possession ended with the Pioneers turning the ball over on downs.

Lakeside got on the board on its second possession of the game when Calvin Mikkelsen grabbed an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kole Hunsaker. The touchdown came after a nine-play, 57-yard drive.

That was the only scoring of the first half, as the Eagles needed their defense to bail out the offense.

Lakeside threatened three times, only to squander the opportunities. Lakeside missed a 24-yard field goal on its first possession. Hunsaker was picked off twice on other drives in Omak territory, including one on the goal line.

But the Eagles’ defense forced punts on three of Omak’s four first-half possessions. Omak’s fourth possession ended when the half did.

The Eagles’ offense came alive in the second half.

Lakeside needed just six plays to reach the end zone when Oz Melzer ran toward the goal line, only to fumble and see teammate Donny Reed recover in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

Lakeside surprised everybody with an onside kick and Kaden Cecil recovered to give the Eagles another possession. Lakeside needed just two plays to extend its lead. Sadahiro Patterson grabbed a 21-yard pass, then Mikkelsen had a 27-yard catch-and-run for a score to make it 21-0.

“We just had to clean up some mistakes,” Bauer said of his team’s second-half offensive turnaround. “It was all on us.”

The Eagles made it 28-0 on their next possession when Patterson ran in from 3 yards out. After Hunsaker threw his third interception, Kreuch picked off Omak quarterback Beau Sackman on the ensuring play and returned it for a score to give Lakeside a comfortable 35-0 lead.

Dawson Tobeck added a 17-yard touchdown run to give Lakeside a 42-0 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Hunsaker leads the Eagles’ offense and Bauer said he trusts both his arm and his legs. Hunsaker scrambled out of trouble throughout the night, keeping drives alive. Despite his three interceptions, he moved the offense and picked up crucial first downs.

“He’s a great athlete. He can make plays both running it and throwing it,” Bauer said. “He’s the commander of our offense, a total leader.”