On Saturday, November 7, High School Cover 2 travelled to Edmonds to watch the first week playoff contest between Meadowdale and Renton. Following are two accounts of the game:
Meadowdale Eliminates Renton
Watching Renton High School play Meadowdale in a state 3A playoff game at Edmonds stadium held special interest for me. When I did my student teaching (in the winter quarter of 1971 for my degree in English at the UW), that student teaching was done at Meadowdale High School. At the time the head coach was Ron Bates, a Hall-of-Fame caliber guy who ran a powerful program. I volunteered to help coach the sophomore team and was immediately struck by the poise and preparation of the entire varsity team, and…they had fun. Ex-University of Washington star and former Minnesota Viking Mark Stewart is the Maverick’s head coach now, and he has taken the program even higher. Playing in a league that is a mixture of 3A and 4A teams, his team is usually vying for the league lead. Involved in every aspect of his program, Stewart can be seen patrolling the sidelines at his freshman and JV games as well as coaching his varsity. An academic star in high school and at the UW, he brings intellect, passion, and perseverance into his program as well as a larger-than-life personality.
This Meadowdale team is possibly most representative of Coach Stewart’s personality. They play smart, executing with precision and making few mistakes. They are fast and they are tough. Their QB Danny McDonald could be a starting running back, and their split end Connor Hamlett has great hands and at 6’7” is close to unstoppable. As a wise old coach once told me, “when everyone else is tired, he’s still 6’7”. As with the Terrace game, there were no programs to put names with uniform numbers. We would like to give a shout-out to individual players, but without a program, it becomes impossible.
Renton is coached by one of the greatest athletes to ever play in the state of Washington. I watched Terry Metcalf at the Seattle Metro track championships in 1969, where he won the long jump and high jump. He might have won the 100 too (I can’t remember), but Larry Booker (a future teammate of mine) was in there as well. After high school Terry played at Everett Community College, and that is where our paths first crossed. Terry, Larry and I were freshmen at the same time, they at age 18 and I at 28. In our first game, Terry and I were the only two to start both ways. That lasted one game before my age and lack of conditioning showed, and I was soon playing only on offense at guard (The guy who took my place on defense, Randy Shipley of Lake Stevens, I think later played for the Dallas Cowboys). I had the pleasure of helping open holes (all Terry needed was a crease) for a future three-time All-Pro running back and Olympic long-jump hopeful. I believe that at Long Beach State, where he played after leaving Everett, he jumped close to 26 feet. At Long Beach he also played defensive back in critical situations, kicked field goals, and probably sold popcorn at halftime. I know that at Everett he was a great defensive back, equal to his prowess as a running back. It must run in the family because I had the pleasure of playing for fifteen years with Ted Metcalf. Ted and I were teammates with the old Seattle Cavaliers, and I thought that he was Terry’s equal as an all-around athlete.
Terry’s Renton team showed that he eventually is going to belong in the upper echelon of state coaches. His team played with power and passion, and he had them well-prepared. They were athletic and quick, but in the first half, they couldn’t get untracked. They evened things out somewhat in the second half, but the damage was done. Renton had a middle linebacker who could lower a center’s or running back’s IQ by a few points every time he hit someone, but the Renton defense was susceptible to the outside, sweeps and quick tosses to wide receivers. The Renton QB, number 38 (again, no program) set up in a short punt-Wildcat-shotgun offense ran hard and with power, and he had a good arm and good receivers but Meadowdale was geared to stop him.
Renton’s defensive backs played the pass extremely well, and they were coached well to provide run support, so, again, the Renton offense was stalled. However, Renton will be back. In the second half, they showed that they can play head to head with one of the best programs in the state. They have a taste of it and understand what it takes to win in the playoffs, so they will want to come back. They had a great year, one to take pride in and to build upon. Highschoolcover2 wishes them good luck in their coming years, and we wish Meadowdale the best of luck in their quest for the Big Prize, a State Championship. Jim O.
The Kicker and the Cheerleaders
To better put the 2009 High School Football season playoff picture in perspective; High School Cover 2 attended the play-in game last Saturday between undefeated Meadowdale and 6-3 Renton. Both teams are headed by former NFL players and Northwest legends. This fact alone seemed worth the price of admission. It was obvious from the very first drive of the game that Mark Stewart’s Meadowdale squad was the better team, at least on this night. Renton, led by Terry Metcalf, was game and put on a valiant effort; but they were clearly outgunned and their season ended on Saturday. This is the way the early rounds of the playoffs usually go. As a result of a superior record, one team is usually a heavy favorite and moves on. But it is sometimes difficult to gauge and compare league strengths, so surprises do happen occasionally. This was not one of those times.
It is apparent that Meadowdale has the talent to go farther in the playoffs. I don’t believe they can win it all, but how can you argue with a perfect record? The fact that many of their games have been close shows that they have mastered the art of finishing strong. In senior Danny McDonald, they have a scrambling, elusive quarterback with a good arm. Their bevy of wide receivers, led by 6’7” Connnor Hamlett, all can catch the ball and run after the catch. Their defensive line is fast and they are big on the offensive side of the ball. Running back Naji Moore-Taylor, a transplant from New York, runs hard. Against a stout Renton run-defense he picked up 144 hard-fought yards on 22 carries. It was a workman-like performance by the entire team that only slowed to catch its breath in the third quarter before, once again, finishing off their relentless foes.
And then, there was the kicker. I don’t know how far his first couple of kickoffs travelled but I’d judge they didn’t go much farther than 20 yards. In fairness, there was a breeze blowing and he was kicking into it. Nevertheless, I had already told myself that Meadowdale needs to find a kicker if they want to compete with the elite teams later in the playoffs. Then, something strange happened. Meadowdale’s offense was finally stopped and they lined up for a 42 yard field goal. Was this a joke? A motion penalty brought the ball five yards further back. It was now a 47 yarder but Meadowdale’s kicker remained on the field. This had to be a fake. There is no way this guy, presumably the same one who had kicked those 20 yard kickoffs, was going to make a 47-yard field goal. Not only did he make it, he rocketed it straight between the goal posts. It would have been good from 57 yards. A left-footed kicker, he hammered his next kickoff into the end zone. I can’t remember ever, seeing someone turn around their game so drastically. Maybe he had forgotten to eat his Wheaties before the game and had managed to find a bowl after those first couple of kickoffs. Whatever happened, the transformation was sure fun to watc. I don’t usually like to highlight kickers, old player prejudice that I know is juvenile; but in this case I’d just like to say: “Way to go, Sam Werner.”
But enough about the action on the field of play – let’s spend a little time discussing school spirit. Specifically, how much does it influence the players and the game itself? The Meadowdale side of the grandstands was full of people – students, parents and fans. The Renton side was very sparsely populated with just an occasional spectator and one leather-lunged supporter. To be sure, Renton is an hour down the freeway, so it was much more difficult to travel to Edmonds Stadium for the game. Almost certainly, the current economic climate meant that the Renton school administration decided not to supply rooter buses for those students who wanted to attend, eliminating most of them from the mix. Would Renton have fared better on the field if their stands had been full of loudly cheering fans? I doubt it because they tried hard from the opening kickoff, but it sure makes the struggle seem more worthwhile when your fans are cheering you on. It seemed a difficult way to go out for a team that had accomplished so much during the regular season.
One final word on cheering. The Renton cheerleaders were incredible. They performed non-stop, always with a continuous smile on their faces, and seemingly unaware that there was no one in the stands to lead cheers for. It kind of reminded me of those actors who work in front of that blue screen and must pretend that there is action going on behind them. These girls were leading an invisible group in non-stop cheers. The Meadowdale group was equally talented but they had an audience. Renton gets my award for best cheer squad of the year with the smallest supporting cast. Dick K.
