POSTED: Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008
PREP FOOTBALL: Pioneers' basketball helps in win on football field
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closeNOOKSACK - Nooksack Valley quarterback Wade Rediger seems to have scored a verbal 3-pointer, so to speak, for talking junior basketball player Anthony Reese into coming out for football.
With junior defensive end Jon Charroin, a basketball center, already a dominant and dedicated member of the football program, Rediger and coach Robb Myhre set out to lure more hoop types for the offense.
Reese, a 6-foot-1 wide receiver, and sophomore basketball player Kyle Handy, a 6-4 wide receiver , combined to catch 11 passes for 119 yards, giving Rediger the help he needed to produce Nooksack's 28-14 victory over Friday Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The matchup of Class 1A teams left Nooksack 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Class 1A. Friday Harbor, not a Northwest Conference team but part of the NWC field for Class 1A seeding, is 2-2 and 0-2.
"We put in this new offense (the spread) to help get more guys out from basketball," said Myhre, explaining why Nooksack throws more than in the recent past.
Rediger couldn't be happier, since his elusive running is made so much more effective with capable receivers to balance the attack.
"I couldn't ask for a better offensive line or receivers," said Rediger, who scored on runs of 8, 32 and 6 yards, the latter for the game's final score with 9:25 to play.
Rediger ran for 120 yards on 20 carries and completed 14 of 24 passes for 133 yards, with three interceptions. Trevor Arnason scored Nooksack's other touchdown on a 10-yard second-quarter run, putting the Pioneers ahead for good at 14-7.
"This is the first time I've ever played receiver. I haven't played football since eighth grade, but I really like our new offense," said Reese, who caught seven passes for 70 yards, giving the newcomer 21 catches for 258 yards. "It was mostly Wade and (lineman) Dante Aure who talked me into playing football again. Now I'm glad they did."
Charroin, a 6-1, 200-pounder who was in on more than a dozen tackles, impressed the public-address announcer so much that he shouted, "And Jon Charroin is everywhere " after an especially hard hit in the fourth quarter.
"Jon is an excellent player," Myhre said. "I believe he has a chance to become one of the best defensive players ever at Nooksack."
Charroin made the game's biggest defensive play, recovering a fumble with eight minutes remaining after fellow junior defensive end Jessie Salmonson stripped the ball from the runner.
Caleb Cragle soon followed with his first varsity interception and Nooksack had the victory. In the second quarter, linebacker Levi Stuit came through with his first interception, setting up Rediger's 32-yard scoring scramble and a 21-7 Nooksack lead.
Friday Harbor was still in the game after Zach Hayes caught a 53-yard fourth-quarter pass from Michael Ausilio, representing nearly one-fourth of Friday's 226 total yards. But with Friday on the Nooksack 25, Charroin made a big stop, Arnason and Stuit threw a runner for a 4-yard loss, and Cragle followed with his vital interception.
The next time Friday got the ball, still hoping for a miracle, junior defensive tackle Devin Dykes returned after having an injured ankle taped and immediately made a 10-yard sack of Ausilio. That inspired the announcer to say, "a host, no maybe a herd, of tacklers" helped out for Nooksack.
Rediger, a lanky 6-1, 160-pounder, continued to baffle opponents with his running style. Time after time he seemed trapped behind the line or tackled for a short gain, only to break loose for more yardage while consistently aided by center Josh Larson along with Charroin, Salmonson, Aure and Dykes on the line.
Rediger's 27-yard pass to Reese set up Rediger's 8-yard run for Nooksack's first score. Reese's 23-yard catch and Nick deGrasse's 4-yard burst preceded Arnason's score.
Friday's first touchdown, a 14-yard pass from Ausilio to Eddie Nash, came after Nooksack lost a fumble on its 21 on its first possession. Nooksack's also surrended a fumble late in the third quarter to give the Wolverines a chance to drive 48 yard and to score on Ausilio's 12-yard strike to Jordan Nash.
Linebacker Drew Oliver and defensive back John Nolasco also came up with numerous defensive stops. The Pioneers lost linebacker/kicker Martin Zavala to a knee injury and aren't sure how long he'll be out.
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