ANACORTES - Lynden football coach Curt Kramme gave the Lions' defense an unsettling statistic during practice leading up to Lynden's conference-opening clash with Anacortes.

"Coach told us 42 points is the most a Lynden team has given up since 2005, I think it was," Lions defensive end Caleb Newman said, referring to Lynden's Week 1 loss to Class 1A power King's. "That hurt us a little bit. We take pride in our defense."

Newman and the Lynden defense translated its pain by putting a hurting on Anacortes' offense for four quarters.

The secondary limited the Seahawks to 51 yards passing, and Lynden's front seven held Anacortes to 3.3 yards per carry, as the Lions rolled to a 42-0 Northwest Conference win Friday, Sept. 7, at War Memorial Stadium in Anacortes.

"That was great to see," said Newman of the shutout. "A lot of the guys showed what they can do tonight. Guys like Jaremy Martin, Jose Martinez and (Trent) Postma have filled in great for guys we lost last year."

Anacortes picked up only two first downs in the first half, and its most successful play occurred on a Lynden fumbled punt, which netted the Seahawks 35 yards.

Linebackers Martin and Martinez played a huge role in filling gaps and stuffing the run. Derek Chase, Anacortes' No. 1 running back, finished with 96 yards on 20 carries, but roughly half of those yards happened in the fourth quarter against Lynden's second- and third-string defenders.

The Lions' defense made its presence felt quickly, as defensive back Dak Shagren picked off an errant pass on the second play of the game.

Four plays later, quarterback Josh Kraght delivered a quick ball to Shagren in the slot, and the shifty wideout maneuvered his way through the Anacortes defense for a 15-yard score to put Lynden up 7-0.

Following an Anacortes punt, Kraght navigated Lynden's offense on a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive, which was capped by a 19-yard Luke Christianson touchdown run.

The Lions needed just one play during their third series to add their third first-quarter TD of the night.

Kraght hooked up with a streaking Jalani Phelps on a 55-yard go route down the right sideline. Kraght lofted a spiraling ball that found the hands of Phelps in perfect stride, the Lynden receiver took the ball the rest of the way to put the Lions in front 21-0 and the rout was on.

Christianson added his second score on Lynden's fourth possession with a 1-yard TD run midway though the second quarter, and Christianson's backup, Postma, added an 8-yard TD run to put Lynden in front 35-0 at the break.

"Postma struggled a bit on defense last week, but we went over the film with him and showed him some things," Kramme said. "He showed what he can do on offense tonight."

By the 7-minute mark in the third, a handful of Lynden's No. 1's were wearing ice packs and had their shoulder pads off.

Even with its second-string defense, Lynden held Anacortes' offense in check.

"We take a lot of pride in our defense," Kramme said. "We had a tough week last week, and some of that was due to the circumstances. But we had a full week to prepare for Anacortes, so we were able to get back to more of a routine."

Backup Lynden quarterback Cameron Wainwright gave the Lions a glimpse of the future during the second half. He also led Lynden on a scoring drive in the first half. The sophomore signal-caller ran the offense well, leading Lynden on substantial drives a number of times, including a seven-play, 55-yard drive ending in a 10-yard Wainwright TD run to put the Lions up 42-0.

Postma carried the ball 10 times for 106 yards, and Kraght and Wainwright combined were 20 of 25 for 254 yards and two TDs.

Reach Andrew Lang at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-756-2862.

Lynden 21 14 7 0- 42

Anacortes 0 0 0 0- 0

First quarter

LYN - Dak Shagren 15 pass from Josh Kraght (Shagren kick)

LYN - Luke Christianson 9 run (Shagren kick)

LYN - Jalani Phelps 55 pass from Kraght (Shagren kick)

Second quarter

LYN - Christianson 1 run (Shagren kick)

LYN - Trent Postma 8 run (Alex Otano-Guenther kick)

Third quarter

LYN - Cameron Wainwright 10 run (Otano-Guenther kick)

Fourth quarter

Lyn Ana

First downs 15 5

Rushing Att-Yards 34-210 28-93

Comp-Att-Int 20-25-0 4-10-2

Passing yards 254 51

Penalties-yards 3-20 4-27

Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-0

Individual leaders

RUSHING - Lynden: Trent Postma 10-106, Luke Christianson 6-46, Cameron Wainwright 8-32, Josh Kraght 2-5, Alex Otano-Guenther 3-12, Colby Spady 1-3, Ryan Mouat 2-6, Jesse Fremolaro 1(-2), Jonah Wilson 1-2. Anacortes: Derek Chase 20-96, Zach Hiles 4-6, Tristen Hayes 2-(-13), Nick Monroe 1-2, Andrew Medalia 1-2.

PASSING - Lynden: Josh Kraght 9-12-0-127, Cameron Wainwright 11-13-0-127. Anacortes: Tristen Hayes 3-8-1-23, Andrew Medalia 1-2-1-28

RECEIVING - Lynden: Hudson Gratton 7-72, Dak Shagren 3-36, John Shine 3-24, Jalani Phelps 3-67, Luke Christianson 1-5, Scooter Hastings 1-31, Jordan Sterk 1-18, Jacob Boland 1-1. Anacortes: A.J. Yost 4-51.

Reach ANDREW LANG at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call ext. 862.