The Winlock football team dipped into its bag of tricks to start and rode a blanched offense the rest of the way Saturday, beating Tulalip Heritage 26-20 in a crossover matchup to return to the 1B state tournament.
Landen Cline finished his night 10 for 14 for 126 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he started the scoring on the other side of the air attack, catching a 53-yard pass from James Cusson on a trick play to put the Cardinals on the board.
That touchdown would stand up as Winlock’s one scoring in the first half, going into the break tied 6-6. In the second, though, Cline went to work, giving the Cardinals the lead on a 10-yard pass to Mason Ruiz and stretching it in the fourth quarter with a 36-yard strike to Carter Svenson.
Tulalip Heritage scored to tie the game up at 20-20, and Cline broke the deadlock once and for all with his legs, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 47-yard scamper.
Winlock finished with 175 rushing yards to go along with 179 passing yards. Cusson led the ground game with 125 yards on 33 carries, while Svenson had four catches for 81 yards.
