4 takeaways: Lincoln’s season ends short of state playoffs for first time since 2013 with 40-35 loss to Stanwood

For the first time in eight years, the Lincoln High School football season will end short of the state playoffs.

A week after reclaiming the Class 3A Pierce County League title with an undefeated run through league play, the eighth-ranked Abes (6-3) dropped a heartbreaking 40-35 loss to visiting Stanwood (6-4) in the state play-in round Friday night at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma.

Here are four takeaways from the game:

1. The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of offense and 11 touchdowns. Stanwood’s two stops in the second half ended up being the difference.

It seemed every time Stanwood scored, Lincoln had an answer.

It seemed every time Lincoln scored, Stanwood had an answer.

There were eight possessions in the first half, and all of them ended in touchdowns, leaving the two teams locked at 28-28 at the break.

Given how electric both of these offenses were, it certainly seemed the defense that came up with a stop would put its team in good position to win. Stanwood had the only two of the game on interceptions on Lincoln’s first and final drives of the second half, which ended up being the difference.

The Abes had their first opportunity to take the lead in the third quarter, on the first drive of the half, but stalled near midfield, and lined up for the game’s first — and only — punt. The punt bounced off a Spartans player, though, and Ezeshaiya Sayavong recovered for Lincoln, extending the drive. The Abes then moved quickly into the red zone, and had first-and-goal set up from the Stanwood 8, but a penalty backed them up to the 28, and on fourth-and-goal from the 19, Ryder Bumgarner intercepted Gabarri Johnson’s pass toward the end zone to end the scoring threat.

Stanwood responded with a quick scoring drive, which Ryder Bumgarner capped with his third touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run.

But, a missed extra point attempt allowed the Abes to answer with a 16-play, nearly seven-minute scoring drive that gave them their first and only lead with 5:01 to play in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Navarre Dixon pushed his way across the goal line for the 3-yard go-ahead score that made it 35-34.

The Spartans needed three plays to answer, though, with what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown moments later on Otto Wiedmann’s 35-yard burst.

Stanwood’s quick score on a short field left the Abes with 3:34 remaining to work with, but on the first play of the drive, Isaiah Hughes snatched a long pass down the sideline out of the air, setting the Spartans up to run out the final 3:25. Lincoln used its final timeouts, and had one final chance at a stop after a false start penalty forced Stanwood into a fourth-and-7 situation, but Michael Mascotti — who attempted only four passes in the game, and completed all of them — connected with Tripp Loertscher on a short pass, and the Spartans picked up enough for the first down to seal the win.

Stanwood finished with 499 yards of offense and six touchdowns. Every Spartans drive until the last, which ended with two kneel downs, ended with a touchdown. Lincoln finished with 424 yards of offense and five touchdowns.

2. Stanwood kept running … and running … and running to a win.

Running their relentless Wing-T offense, the Spartans moved the chains with misdirection throughout the game, piling up 45 carries for 431 yards and five touchdowns.

“Everything we knew that they were going to run,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said. “It’s just, we didn’t execute.”

The Spartans used seven separate ball carriers to collect 400-plus yards on the ground for the second time this season. Ryder Bumgarner accounted for more than half of Stanwood’s rushing yards, finishing with a game-high 279 and three touchdowns of 18, 26 and 4 yards on 26 attempts. He averaged 10.7 yards per carry and 10 of his attempts were for 10-plus yards.

Stanwood’s lone passing touchdown — on its opening drive after the Abes had forced the Spartans into a fourth-and-17 just outside of the red zone — was only its seventh of the season. Mascotti connected with Hughes for the 22-yard score.

3. Lincoln has plenty of playmakers — and returns some of them next season.

Lincoln’s offense was quick to respond to nearly every Stanwood score.

Four-star quarterback Gabarri Johnson was a big reason for that, finishing with three of the Abes’ five touchdowns, and consistently extending plays and drives for Lincoln with arm and legs.

Johnson finished 8-of-18 passing for 113 yards, a 17-yard touchdown throw to Deonjae Ervin with 3.2 seconds remaining in the first half that gave the Abes the tying score at that point, and the two interceptions. Three of his completions were for 20-plus yards. He added another 95 yards and touchdowns of 18 and 1 yards on 15 carries.

Johnson finishes his junior season with more than 2,200 yards passing, 700 yards rushing and 43 total touchdowns.

“He’s a super talented player and he’s football savvy, and glad to have him for one more year,” Matsumoto said. “He’s special.”

The Abes will also return their leading rusher in Dixon next season, who tallied a team-high 188 rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs of 3 yards apiece on 23 carries. The sophomore finishes his season with more than 800 rushing yards.

Lincoln also brings back five-star junior Jayden Wayne, who added two tackles for losses on back-to-back plays on Stanwood’s final drive of the first half, and had a pair of catches for 39 yards.

4. The loss stopped the Abes short of the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Friday night’s loss ended a string of six consecutive trips to the state playoffs for the Abes, dating back to the 2014 team, which made the bracket for only the second time in school history, a decade after the 2004 team advanced to the 4A state quarterfinals.

Matsumoto, in his seventh season with the Abes, led Lincoln to the state playoffs each of his first five seasons, including a program-best appearance in the 3A semifinals two years ago. (There were no state playoffs during the delayed 2020 season last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

This season’s run to another appearance in the bracket ended just short. The Abes remained together near midfield until well after Lincoln Bowl emptied.

“I wish we had a couple more weeks with these guys,” Matsumoto said. “I think we could have done something special.”

The Spartans advance to next week’s first round for the first time since 1996, when they advanced to the 3A semifinals. Stanwood’s only other trip to the state playoffs was in 1973, when they lost to Ellensburg in the 3A title game.

This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 1:21 AM with the headline "4 takeaways: Lincoln’s season ends short of state playoffs for first time since 2013 with 40-35 loss to Stanwood."