4A Football | Vikings flattened by Shaw and L-C

BOTHELL — It didn't matter which side of the field he ran to. There were never enough Inglemoor players to take on Lewis and Clark running back Alex Shaw.

Shaw gained 260 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown, leading the Spokane team to a 35-0 Class 4A quarterfinal football victory over Inglemoor Saturday at Pop Keeney Stadium. The victory sends the unranked Tigers (9-2) into the semifinals against Edmonds-Woodway (12-0) Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Inglemoor, the fourth-place team from the KingCo Conference, finished 7-5.

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Shaw had 91 yards at halftime and never slowed down in the second half. When it seemed Inglemoor had him corralled, Shaw simply lowered his head and ran for more yards. He had another 169 in the second half, including a 26-yard touchdown run in which he wasn't touched, outracing the Vikings' secondary to the end zone.

"The big kid is tough to bring down, especially in the fourth quarter," said L-C coach Tom Yearout. "People have their hands full when they try to take him on. He just wears teams down."

And if Shaw's running wasn't enough, Lewis and Clark quarterback Steven Eglet was on target, completing 14 of 18 passes for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Lewis and Clark finished with 470 total yards against an Inglemoor defense that had allowed only 12 points and 211 yards per game.

"They were just knocking us off the line," said Inglemoor coach Frank Naish. "And when that happened, the big kid would just run right on by us. You need some big horses to deal with what they have up front."

The Tigers' defense was also punishing, holding the Vikings to 209 yards. Lewis and Clark also forced three fumbles, recovered one, and intercepted two passes.

L-C won despite being called for 13 penalties for 120 yards. It was the third shutout in the past four games for the Tigers.

"It all comes down to whether our front line is going to block, and they did," said Shaw. "Our front line is amazing. It was really easy to run behind them."

Inglemoor had hoped to continue its magic run through the playoffs. The Vikings knocked off Rogers of Puyallup and Mariner while allowing only 13 points. But then came the offensive juggernaut of Lewis and Clark.

"They've got everything you need," said Naish. "They can run, pass and are physical. You'd better be on your game when you play them."