Motivated Bothell wins 2023 Lakewood Cougars Championship 7-on-7 Passing Tournament

ARLINGTON, Wash. - Tom Bainter watched his boys in blue at Bothell jump up and down and celebrate a well-earned title at the 2023 Lakewood Cougars Championship 7-on-7 Passing Tournament on Saturday to close out the summer football season.

It brought a smile to his face.

It also reinforced that his program's offseason changes might be paying off.

Bothell upended top-seeded and 2022 event finalist Kennedy Catholic in the semifinals (41-24), then knocked off two-time defending event champion Lake Stevens in the championship finals (26-21) to capture its first Lakewood 7v7 Passing title since 2018. The Cougars also won it in back-to-back years in 2013-14.

"It's fun to win in anything you do. It gives you confidence," Bainter said. "These things are great because they have ups and downs, and you play well and you don’t play well but have to overcome things.

"It helps you grow as a team and be cohesive."

Which isn't something Bainter saw enough off as the Cougars posted their first losing season during the longtime coach's 23 seasons in 2022, losing to Emerald Ridge in the district round of the Class 4A playoffs.

The off year gave Bainter a lot of heartache.

"I tell you what, it was a lot of sleepless nights and staring at the ceiling, wondering what it was," Bainter said. "And it wasn’t one thing. It was five or six or seven things."

The root issue? "We weren't committed last year," he said.

So, Bainter and his coaching staff put out plenty of motivation for the returners to invest in this team's next journey. They purchased new uniforms. They changed the color of the helmets - and the look of the facemasks.

They even booked an opening-week trip to New York for a non-league game.

"We did a lot," Bainter said. "We wanted no excuses to not want to have the incentive to do this."

One area the Cougars have improved is quarterback play. Transfer Jaylen Viars, a junior, has the look of somebody who can open up the passing game with his strong and accurate arm.

"I am getting comfortable working with them," Viars said. "It is way faster than what was going on at my old school (Shorecrest)."

Lake Stevens held a 14-10 halftime lead in the championship game Saturday, but backup quarterback Jacob Aki led Bothell immediately on a scoring drive, tossing a 20-yard touchdown to Tyson Brown.

Minutes later, Tyson Hoke intercepted a Kolton Matson pass to give the Cougars a 20-14 lead.

And on Bothell's next drive, Viars connected with Hoke on a 10-yard fourth-down touchdown to cap a run of 16 unanswered points for a 26-14 lead.

 "Last year ... we knew we were better than what we showed," Hoke said. "I feel like we just want to win now."