PREP FOOTBALL: Hannah's big night leads Ferndale to opening win

"Any one of us can bust a big play, no matter who it is," Hannah said. "I surprised myself a little bit. I just tried to come out and play as well as I could."

And did he.

Hannah scored back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter. He capped the Golden Eagles' opening possession with a 30-yard run, and then recovered a fumble and ran it back 45 yards for another score.

Locker later connected with Hannah for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Hannah racked up 73 yards rushing on just four carries.

"Spencer, he's a guy that can make big plays," Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said. "We try to give him the ball in different ways."

But like Hannah said, he wasn't the only Golden Eagle making plays.

Locker posted big numbers on his own, scoring on a 53-yard run before hitting Hannah with a touchdown pass. Locker then followed up by punching in a 2-yard run to cap his two scores in the second quarter.

Locker was working on the ground and in the air. The senior finished with 79 yards rushing on seven carries and also threw for 108 yards, going 5 for 9 with an interception.

"Our goal is to make them defend the whole field," Plenkovich said.

And that's just what the Red Raiders did. Once the Golden Eagles settled their early-game nerves, they put up 41 first-half points, and Bellingham had no answer.

But after the half, the Red Raiders had a different attitude.

"They rallied internally," Bellingham coach Doug Trainor said. "We knew we had lost the game at that point (in the locker room), so we refocused our goal to win the second half. So when we watch film on Monday, we'll see something that we're proud of."

What the Red Raiders will see is a defense that held Ferndale to a single second-half touchdown, while their offense put them on the board in the final quarter.

After Bellingham senior Jon Asplund recovered a Ferndale fumble, senior Reid Chivers ran six yards for a touchdown to prevent the shutout with 4:32 left on the clock. Chivers, who led Bellingham with 79 yards rushing, then converted the extra point by flipping into the end zone.

Ferndale's damage was finalized by junior Bo Brudwick's 20-yard scoring run with 2:44 left.

"We really wanted to come out and make a statement," Hannah said. "That we've come ready to play this year, and we're ready to go. We came out with a lot of fire. We all wanted to come out and play big."

Reach Somer Breeze at somer.breeze@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2268.

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