Twenty-four minutes of terror preceded 24 minutes of ecstasy for John F. Kennedy Catholic High School as two behemoths with matching 4-0 league records and 6-0 overall marks clashed to determine the one true titan of Seamount League football Friday at Highline Memorial Stadium in Burien.

Overcoming an error-filled first half, the No. 3 state-ranked Lancers erupted for 30 third quarter points to erase a 27-7 deficit en route to a 51-33 win against eighth-ranked Evergreen.

By virtue of its victory, JFK secured its 15th consecutive playoff berth and wrapped up its 36th consecutive Seamount League regular season win.

"Give Evergreen credit," said Kennedy head coach Bob Bourgette. "They came out with a lot of emotion. At halftime we just talked about if we are as good as we are and as tough as we are, we need to play our game. It was good for us to show we could come from behind against such a good team."

Lancer running back Nate Williams, who rushed for 173 yards -- 104 in the third quarter -- agreed completely.

"Props to Evergreen," he said. "It was a great game. I'm glad it was a tough game. We're definitely ready for the playoffs, now."

In the first half, Williams was held to 42 yards on the ground.

Counting fundamentally on its bludgeoning ground attack, the Wolverines muscled their way down field to score 27 unanswered points in the half after Kennedy took a 7-0 lead on Bobby Gentry's 90-yard interception return for a touchdown. Even that Lancer touchdown was preceded by a time-consuming Wolverine drive that featured a dropped pass by a wide open receiver who had gotten behind the secondary coverage on the play before.

Undaunted Evergreen tied the score on a Tobias Togi 3-yard touchdown plunge after a 66-yard drive. Togi would earn 105 yards on eight carries in the first half, but little else in the second half.

At this point, the evening turned into fright night for the Lancers.

"The team was making mistakes and I was making foolish mistakes," said Kennedy running back/linebacker Jesse Roe. "We had to eliminate our mistakes and play our game."

A 63-yard interception return by the Wolverines' Nuve Kongaika sent Evergreen ahead 14-7 as the second quarter began.

With 2:10 remaining in the half, running back Kirt Terry-Springs snared a 14-yard touchdown reception and Evergreen extended its margin to 21-7.

Four seconds before halftime, Randal Henderson intercepted an ill-advised dump off pass from Bobby Gentry and took it 34 yards to the house for the Wolverines. Despite a blocked extra point, Evergreen sailed into the break with a 27-7 lead.

The Wolverines had converted five Kennedy turnovers into three touchdowns.

"Mistakes," said JFK assistant coach Donny Moore. "You can't make that many mistakes and expect to win. In the second half we didn't make those mistakes. It was like two different games."

Coming off the ball more strongly on both sides of the ball, Kennedy shot out of the chute quickly by reverting to basics. Running out of a renewed and explosive Wing-T attack, Nate Williams capped a five-play, 70-yard drive that consumed less than two minutes by romping 43 yards for a touchdown.

As the suddenly electrified home fans matched the energy of the Lancers, D'Mario Carter put the lightning Lancers into business again on the ensuing kickoff.

Evergreen let a short kickoff bounce and Carter imitated a baseball infielder by running downfield and sliding on the loose ball for what amounted to a long onside kick recovery on the Wolverine 22.

Five plays later, Williams ripped around right end for a 2-yards and his second of four third quarter touchdowns as Kennedy trailed only 27-21 with 7:57 remaining in the quarter.

Now, Wolverine fortunes resembled a huge snowball rolling downhill as miscue upon miscue gathered into major disaster. A high snap over the punter's head and out of the end zone gave the Lancers two points and the score became 27-23.

Nolan Washington's long kickoff return set up a 9-yard Williams touchdown. An Evergreen fumble on the next play gave Williams his fourth touchdown opportunity from 11 yards out, and quickly it was 37-27 for JFK with 2:31 left in the third.

"Kennedy came out stronger than us in the second half and exploited our weaknesses," Wolverine head coach Shaun Tarantola explained. "We controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half, but you can't keep making mistakes against a quality team like Kennedy. They stuck to their game plan. We didn't rise to the challenge, but we'll learn a lot from this and get better. It may have been a blessing in disguise. We're looking forward to meeting them again, because it would be in the state semifinals."