Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

PREP FOOTBALL: Pioneers claim at least a tie for conference Class 1A title with win over Lyncs

LYNDEN - Nooksack Valley doesn't usually run the "Wildcat" offense, even with its frequent direct snaps to running backs, but the Pioneers are often wild.

Nooksack's former quarterback, its current quarterback and perhaps its future quarterback all had an overflow crowd cheering constantly as the Pioneers beat Lynden Christian 45-14 on Friday, Oct. 23, to claim at least a tie for the Class 1A title in the Northwest Conference.

Senior running back Nick deGrasse, who was Nooksack's quarterback as a sophomore, scored on a 90-yard run and a 61-yard pass from junior Tyler Perry.

"I'm happy where I am now," said deGrasse, who finished with 141 yards on eight carries and is well built for running back at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds. "I'm glad I had the experience at quarterback, but I like playing running back."

The game's most significant play, however, was sophomore Trevon Myhre's first varsity touchdown pass, a 35-yarder to Anthony Reese in the end zone as time expired in the first half.

Reese, who caught 12 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns, gave the Pioneers an 18-14 advantage with a spectacular grab in traffic. LC had taken a 14-12 advantage on Daniel Ten Broek's scoring throws of 8 yards to Jacob Knibbe and 18 yards to Reid Bode, the latter only 19 seconds before Reese's back-breaking catch.

"Trevon really has a golden arm," Perry said of Myhre, who already can pretty much play any backfield position on offense or defense.

Perry's arm, as usual, was also pretty impressive, and so were his legs as the Pioneers improved to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the NWC and 5-0 in Class 1A, with a rematch coming up against second-place 1A team Meridian to finish the regular season. LC is 2-6, 1-4, 1-4.

Perry, who also threw a 34-yard scoring pass to Reese in the fourth quarter, completed 15 of 20 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 1,127 yards for the season. He also rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries, including scores of 15 and 4 yards, and now has 661 yards on the ground, meaning he's closing in on 2,000 yards total offense.

Nooksack's Tito Nolasco, a sophomore reserve, scored on a 23-yard run with a minute remaining. That gave the explosive Pioneers 262 yards on its seven touchdowns combined on the way to 441 total yards.

Ten Broek completed 14 of 28 passes for 140 yards, with Knibbe's 22-yard catch the longest.

Reese, who got the wind knocked out of him on his end-zone leap, wobbled into the locker room at halftime, happy he had adjusted his pass pattern.

"It was supposed to be three (steps) and out, but I went deep," Reese said. "Trevon did a great job of finding me."

"I was definitely pumped," said Myhre, the son of coach Robb Myhre. "I like throwing long because it gives us a chance for big plays."

Perry said he had the best seat in the house, since he had switched places with Myhre as the slot back.

"We tried that play against Sedro-Woolley and it didn't work, but we thought it might work this time," said Perry, who praised his line for one of its best efforts.

Nooksack Valley 6 12 13 14- 45

Lynden Christian 7 7 0 0- 14

First quarter

LC - Jacob Knibbe 8 pass from Daniel Ten Broek (Reid Bode kick)

NV - Tyler Perry 15 run (kick blocked)

Second quarter

NV - Nick deGrasse 90 run (pass failed)

LC - Bode 18 pass from Ten Broek (Bode kick)

NV - Anthony Reese 35 pass from Trevon Myhre (pass failed)

Third quarter

NV - Perry 4 run (Travis Benner kick)

NV - deGrasse 61 pass from Perry (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

NV - Reese 34 pass from Perry (Benner kick)

NV - Tito Nolasco 23 run (Benner kick)

NV LC

First downs 21 15

Rushing Att-Yards 31-278 29-128

Comp-Att-Int 16-22-0 14-29-0

Passing yards 263 140

Penalties-yards 6-37 6-55

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Individual leaders

RUSHING - Nooksack Valley: Nick deGrasse 8-141, Tyler Perry 12-65, Anthony Reese 2-6, Trevon Myhre 5-34, Jon Charroin 1-4, Caleb Cragle 1-4, Tito Nolasco 2-24. Lynden Christian: Jake Harkness 10-49, Daniel Ten Broek 8-7, Drew Vander Meulen 1-1, Steven Heystek 8-64, Chris Jackson 1-3, Michael Vree 1-4.

PASSING - Nooksack Valley: Tyler Perry 15-20-0-228, Trevon Myhre 1-1-0-35, Nick deGrasse 0-1-0-0. Lynden Christian: Daniel Ten Broek 14-28-0-140, Steven Heystek 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING - Nooksack Valley: Anthony Reese 12-176, Kyle Handy 2-23, Nick deGrasse 1-61, Luke Vander Vliet 1-3. Lynden Christian: Chris Jackson 3-44, Jacob Knibbe 2-30, Reid Bode 3-28, Drew Vander Meulen 4-27, Jordan Beld 1-11, Steven Heystek 1-0.