MARYSVILLE — High school rivalries don’t get much bigger.
Almost any game between Marysville-Pilchuck and Snohomish is highly anticipated as it matches one of the area’s largest schools against one of the area’s most athletically prolific.
But the rivalry has a lopsided record — since 1958, no Tomahawk football team has defeated Snohomish in front of a home crowd.
So when M-P went into halftime with a 14-0 lead, fans had reason to be nervous. How would Snohomish get back in the game? When the lead extended to 20-0 and the Tomahawks showed their running game could eat up the clock, was it really happening?
The Panthers prevented the shutout by returning a kickoff for a touchdown, but they couldn’t prevent the jubilation at Quil Ceda Stadium Sept. 12 as the Tomahawks pounded away on the ground, defeating their nemesis 34-7 to improve to 2-0.
For the second week in a row, Tomahawk running back Austin Denton proved unstoppable. In his second 200-plus yardage game, the junior put up 218 yards and two touchdowns.
“The best defense is a good offense,” said M-P coach Brandon Carson, whose offensive drives of five to eight minutes as much sealed the Panthers’ doom as the defensive effort by the Tomahawks that held Snohomish to just two first downs.
Denton and senior running back Caleb Posey carried the ball for Marysville, setting up almost all of the Tomahawks’ scoring drives. The running game delivered the team’s first points, with Denton and senior Travis Sanderson finding the end zone in the second quarter.
Snohomish tried to answer with some points of their own before halftime, airing the ball out on the last play. Instead, it was picked off by defensive back Chris Larson, who had two interceptions in the game.
As the Panther offense continued to struggle after the half, Marysville went to the air for a rare pass, extending their lead by six as quarterback Devin Peterson found Levi Cartas for a touchdown. Snohomish scored their seven on the ensuing kickoff, but would muster no more points.
Marysville started their next drive on their own 24-yard line, scoring from about midfield as Denton broke free down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown run as time expired in the third quarter.
With time not on their side, Snohomish tried to convert on fourth down and two at the top of the fourth quarter, but the Marysville defense held on. Posey would go on to score one last time for the Tomahawks on a drive that began at the Snohomish 39-yard line.
“I think this is a key, pivotal game in our program,” Carson said, after leading to the first win over Snohomish since 2004. “To put 34 (points) on a really good team says a lot. I’m jacked.”
Peterson was 3-for-3 through the air with Cartas on the receiving end of all three passes.
“It’s amazing,” added Denton after the game. “In 100 years of Tomahawk football, we beat them four times.”
He added that the team is hoping to make Marysville’s landmark 100th season of football unforgettable.
“It’s an inspiration,” Denton said.
At Quil Ceda Stadium
M-P 0 14 13 7 34
Snohomish 0 0 7 0 7
