Through the first half, South Whidbey and Lakewood seemed destined to go tit-for-tat for the duration of the Cascade Conference football game Friday.

The third-place Cougars (5-1 conference, 5-3 overall) were fighting for the playoffs, however, and burst from a 31-22 lead at halftime to win 53-22.

With the threat of a rainstorm looming, Lakewood appeared content establishing its running game early. The first score came on a 34-yard dash by Cougar senior Curtis Patton. South Whidbey (1-5 conference, 1-7 overall) answered with its own strong runs by senior Deven Damerau and the passing game dished out by senior quarterback Parker Collins. The Falcons connected on passes to sophomore Connor Antich, junior Charlie Patterson and senior Mo Hamsa to get near the Cougars’ end zone, setting up Collins’ 2-yard touchdown run. Falcon junior Anthony Eveland tied the game with the extra point kick.

On the ensuing possession, Lakewood’s run game moved the ball in chunks. Led by senior quarterback Blake Watts, the Cougars charged from their own 20-yard line before Cougar junior Tyler Courtney punched in a 3-yard score. Employing a bit of trickery, the Cougars faked the extra point kick with a two-point pass from Cougar senior Brett Bustad to junior Joshua Dickey.

South Whidbey put together a long drive – long in the number of plays, not in yardage. The Cougars attempted an onside kick that was quickly recovered by the Falcons near midfield. Collins’ passing was on point. He completed five consecutive throws to Antich and Patterson before an incompletion in the end zone, intended for Antich, was flagged for a defensive penalty. Collins tried to find Antich for the score again, but the pass was defended by Watts. The drive resulted in a missed field goal by Eveland.

Lakewood built its lead from there on a field goal, a 6-yard run by Watts and a 75-yard pass from Watts to Dickey.

The Falcons punctuated the Cougars’ possessions with a touchdown drive of their own. Collins threw a dart to the middle for Hamsa, who shook off the defender and strolled into the end zone.

South Whidbey’s final score came in the last minute of the first half. The Falcons took the ball on their own 40-yard line after another onside kick attempt by Lakewood. Collins heaved a deep pass that was tipped by a Cougar defender, popped behind them to the awaiting arms of Patterson, who marched unchallenged into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown catch with 5 seconds left before the break. Collins connected with Hamsa for the two-point conversion.

Defensively, Lakewood put on the clamps in the second half. The Cougars chewed time in the third quarter on their scoring drives: a 3-yard run by Bustad followed by another fake extra point kick and two-point pass from Corey Glover Jr. to Courtney; a 4-yard scamper by Courtney and a 1-yard dive by Watts.

South Whidbey hits the road for its final regular season game against fellow 1A league team Sultan (1-5 conference, 2-6 overall) on Friday, Oct. 31.