Prep Football Roundup: Lions gain experience, confidence in loss at top-ranked Anacortes
ANACORTES — Defending state 2A champion Anacortes demonstrated why the Seahawks deserve to be No. 1 for now. But Lynden showed why the Lions might well earn a shot at the top spot.
Top-ranked Anacortes (4-0 overall, 3-1 Northwest Conference 2A) was definitely the better team in the Seahawks’ 35-21 win over No. 2 Lynden (3-1, 1-1) before a packed house Friday.
But Anacortes was not so much better that it left little hope for Lynden.
The Lions, in fact, still have a lot of potential not only to return to the state tournament, but also to make a deep run.
“Now it begins,” Lions coach Blake Van Dalen said to begin an inspired post-game talk to his team.
“You’ll have to earn it … I didn’t question our heart. We’re going to come back and have a great week of practice.”
There’s no question the Seahawks have three great weapons. The University of Montana-bound Beaner brothers, Brock and Brady, combined for 344 yards rushing and receiving and four touchdowns, which was more than Lynden’s 322 total yards and three scores, all on passes from quarterback Brant Heppner.
The third weapon? Sophomore Ryan Harrington, one of the best young players the NWC has ever seen, completed 19 of 28 passes for 270 yards and two scores, with no interceptions.
“Lynden hit hard,” Harrington said. “They came out strong and it was a tough fight. We just had to grind.”
Grinding is exactly how the Seahawks put away the game on their last two drives. However, between those drives, Heppner completed five of nine passes on Lynden’s final possession for 73 yards and a 23-yard touchdown to Isaiah Oudman, who made a marvelous catch over a defender in the end zone with 2:53 to play for the game’s final score.
Before Oudman’s great grab, the Seahawks held the ball for 13 plays, including nine plays after Brock Beamer made a first down with a 5-yard burst on a fake punt on fourth-and-three from his own 32-yard line. The remaining nine plays of the drive ate up nearly six minutes and the Lions did not get the ball back until five minutes remained and they trailed 35-14.
After Malachi Koenen’s 14th conversion kick in as many tries this season at the 2:53 mark, the Lions never saw the ball again. The Seahawks used eight plays, only one of them as long as 10 yards, to grind out the clock.
Anacortes finished with 474 total yards and scored on five of its first seven possessions — a 33-yard catch by Brock Beaner, an 8-yard run by Brady Breaner, a 21-yarc run by Brock, a 4-yard run by Brock, and Harrington’s 17-yard pass to stellar receiver/defensive back Rylin Lang, who is one of 16 Seahawk seniors.
Heppner cut Anacortes’ lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter with an 11-yard scoring pass to sophomore Samm Puello Arango
After the Seahawks took a 28-7 advantage, Heppner found Arango for a 29-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Arango totaled five catches for 135 yards and Heppner wound up 13 for 33 for 261 yards, with three throws to Oudman for 81 yards.
With Anacortes up 14-7, Lang’s interception set up Brock Beaner’s 21-yard score.
Three of the few seniors who start for Lynden — Heppner, Oudman and defensive back Jaidin Oaks — expressed faith in their team.
They were well aware that the NWC 2A will be allocated at least four berths in the state qualifying Round of 32 in Week 10, which will be a new way to produce the 16-team state tournament field.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll bounce back from this loss,” Heppner said.
“We have a talented young team,” said Oudman. “It’s definitely a benefit to have four allocations” (for the Round of 32).
“One hundred percent,” said Oaks of his team‘s playoff chances. “We will put in the hard work.”
The Lynden seniors are well aware of how hard they’ll have to work against talent like the Beaner brothers. Brock had 121 yards rushing and 67 yards receiving along with three touchdowns and Brady finished with 77 yards rushing and 79 yards receiving and one score.
Lynden’s final five regular-season opponents will be (in order) Sehome, Squalicum, Archbishop Murphy, Lakewood and Burlington-Edison.
Elsewhere Friday
Lynden Christian 49, Lakewood (Nine Mile Falls) 14: Junior quarterback Eli Maberry completed 21 of 27 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, including scoring passes of 34 yards to Trey Bosman. 40 yards to Boyce Robertson and 12 yards to Jayden Huleatt.
Standout defensive back Mick Owen made his first full-time appearance at running back for the Lyncs (2-2), with brother Hollis Owen out with an injury but expected back soon. Mick scored LC’s first three touchdowns on runs of 3, 23 and 6 yards and finished with 73 yards on 20 carries.
“I think Mick is running great!” Hollis Owen said.
Sophomore Chris Kooiman made the most of playing time with seven carries for 37 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown.
Maberry and his receivers gave a passing clinic. Bosman, who set the tone with outstanding defense at linebacker, also caught two passes for 54 yards and Robertson snagged five for 91. Trey Blair had his top effort with five catches for 68 yards against the Eagles, who were state 1A finalists last year after beating Nooksack Valley 24-23 in the semifinals.
The Lyncs limited Lakeside to 135 total yards, with only a net of four yards rushing. Huleatt, Gunner DeKoster and Jacob Penner made interceptions to help the Lyncs take advantage of 404 total yards.
“They sent the house after Eli and I was impressed with how well he improvised,” LC coach Greg Terpstra said.
“They beat us last year, but we just put everything together,” Bosman said.
Squalicum 40, Lakewood 12: The Storm improved to 3-1 in the NWC 2A and looked very much like a state playoff possibility.
Junior quarterback Cole Burke improved his four-game touchdown pass total to 11 with 12-for-16 accuracy for 191 yards and scores of 49 yards to Marcus Nixon, 35 yards to Ansen Asbjornsen and and 5 yards to Malakai Smith. Asbjornsen caught six passes for 100 yards.
Nixon, who has verbally committed to Eastern Washington University, also scored on a 29-yard run on a wildcat formation on the Storm’s opening series of the second half.
Nixon finished with 101 yards on 17 carries and didn’t run the ball any more after his second score, which made the score 40-0 and produced a running clock.
Asbjornsen also scored on a 51-yard interception return on the second of his two pass thefts. Smith also tallied on a 2-yard run. Sophomore kicker Slade Kaiser converted four times.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” said defensive coordinator Jordan Chalfant. “They worked their butts off this week and it showed” as the Storm mounted a 273 to 79 yard advantage in the first half alone.
“What I liked was how well our team competed,” said coach Nick Lucey. “Cole was great at how he handled different defensive looks.”
Blaine 47, Granite Falls 22: The Borderites improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1979, according to county historian Tyler Anderson.
Jaiden Paez scored five touchdowns on the road, giving him 14 scores in only four games, and rushed for 186 yards on 21 carries. He scored on runs of 1, 31, 5 and 1 yards along with a 30-yard interception return.
Standout linebacker Colby Shipp made the most of more carries than usual at running back and finished 17 for 110- yards and a 2-yard touchdown burst.
Quarterback Colin Davis completed eight of 12 passes for 106 yards and ran seven times for 64 yards. He scored on a 1-yard burst
Kai Kerwin led Blaine’s receivers with five catches for 38 yards and Blake Koreski grabbed two for 57 yards.
“I like our kids’ commitment to continuous improvement and toughness,” said Blaine coach Andy Olson. “This group enjoys the process and always competes to be their best selves every day.”
Meridian 54, Forks 7: Jaeger Fyfe completed 19 of 30 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns to help fashion a 41-0 advantage in the first half on the road for the Trojans (3-1).
Landen Downey scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 1 and 18 yards and kicked both extra points. Fyfe then scored on a 35-yard run Trey Alexander then caught scoring passes of 7 and 18 yards and Fyfe found Ross Driscoll for a 6-yard touchdown, all in the first half.
Xavier Perrin, also a defensive standout, scored from the 2 and Cooper Marum provided the final score with a 23-yard fumble return.
Alexander caught seven passes for 118 yards and also completed all three of his passes for 44 yards. James Hedahl caught five passes for 61 yards and Kasey Brennan snagged four for 65 yards.
Downey improved his totals to seven touchdowns and 14 conversions for 56 points. He rushed 11 times for 62 yards and Kelley Gray carried 11 times for 56 yards.
“Carson Campbell led our strong defensive effort with several tackles at the line and behind the line,” Trojans coach Patrick Ames said, expressing pride in his team’s development on both sides of the ball.
Sehome 28, Burlington-Edison 20: Junior quarterback Nolan Wright scored on a 58-yard run for the Mariners’ final score and threw touchdown passes of 13, 28, and 13 yards to Andre Watson, who improved his school career record to 29.
Grady Evans kicked all four conversions and Logan Rogers blocked Burlington’s final conversion attempt with 4:35 left, preserving Sehome’s lead at 21-20.
Then Wright’s long run removed doubt for the Mariners (3-1 in the NWC 2A). Wright ran 11 times for 155 yards and completed 13 of 22 passes for 215 yards while shaking off four interceptions.
Wright increased his career touchdown pass total to 45, a school record.
The Mariners overcame three touchdown runs by Jackson Granger for the Tigers of 43, 80 and 2 yards.
Watson caught nine passes for 166 yards and improved his total to 28 catches for 335 yards, according to statistician Anderson. He also made an interception.
Mount Baker 45, Sultan 0: Dylan Moa rushed 12 times for 101 yards and scored from the 9, 4 and 10 on the road as the Mountaineers improved to 4-0 for the first time in many years.
Luke Smith attempted only three passes, but completed two for touchdowns of 42 yards to Darius Gilstrap and 46 to Shawn Dugger, who also ran for a score.
Brady Bruland scored from the 11 for Baker’s first score.
“We scored on our opening drive and we did what we needed from there while everybody contributed,” Baker coach Ron Lepper said.
Jet Ross and Moa had interceptions on a night Lepper described as “another example of a real good team defensive effort.” The Mounties allowed only 42 total yards, according to the Whatcom Preps website, which is the school’s stat source.
Freshman kicker Enoc Smith made all six of his extra points and improved to 21 for 22 on the season. He also kicked his first high school field goal, a 19-yarder for the game’s final points.
Ferndale 28, Mount Vernon 21: Talan Bungard scored from the 2 on the first possession of a Kansas tiebreaker, and the defense held on for the Golden Eagles (2-2, 2-1) as they retained their Wesco North 3A hopes.
Bungard finished with 25 carries for 171 yards and scored Ferndale’s second touchdown on a 53-yard run.
Junior quarterback Nolan Boleak threw nine passes and completed four for 82 yards, but he made good on two of them for touchdowns of 14 and 58 yards to Eli Kennerley, whose three catches accounted for 73 yards.
Linebacker Jacob Gandy had 13 tackles to lead the Golden Eagles, according to Whatcom Preps.
Tumwater 49, Nooksack Valley 12: The perennial 2A state playoff qualifier Thunderbirds (4-0) were too much for the Pioneers (3-1).
Junior quarterback Evan Brown completed 10 of 18 passes for 124 yards, with a first-half touchdown pass of 60 yards to Cole Coppinger and a 4-yard scoring throw to Cole Bauman for the game’s final points.
Coppinger finished with four catches for 89 yards. The T Birds focused on containing rushing star Colton Lentz, who was limited to 40 yards on 16 carries.
The five-team 1A division in the NWC is 16-4 after the first four weeks, facing competition from outside Whatcom County. The teams have scored 737 points in the 20 games.
Archbishop Murphy 54, Bellingham 13: The Bayhawks (0-3, 0-4) switched quarterback Joe Harward to receiver in the second half, and he finished with 167 yards on four receptions from sophomore Ben Leonard, including a 79-yard touchdown.
In his debut at quarterback, against an unbeaten potential conference champion, Leonard completed 6 of 11 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for a 12-yard score to Gabe VanHofwegen.
Harward completed 7 of 14 passes for 88 yards as Bellingham fell behind 40-0 at the half.
“Tough game. Archbishop Murphy is another stellar ranked team,” said Bellingham coach Adam Leonard. “We made some adjustments at halftime “
Tulalip Heritage 36, Lummi Nation 16: Landon LaFontaine threw touchdown passes of 48 yards in the first half and 7 yards in the second half to Trevon Lee.
LaFontaine threw a 2-point conversion pass and Joe Pantalia scored on a 2-point conversion run.
“The Blackhawks (0-3) played hard and physical all game,” said coach Watiko Leighton. “Tulalip led 16-8 at halftime. With the young core we have, I was very proud of the resilience they brought against adversity in the second half.
“A couple of simple mistakes on our end in the second half enabled Tulalip to capitalize. It was a tough battle but I’m proud of our kids for never giving up.”
Upcoming games
Friday
- Concrete at Lummi Nation, 6 p.m.
- Nooksack Valley at Mount Baker, 7 p.m.
- Lynden Christian at Blaine, 7 p.m.
- Squalicum at Anacortes, 7 p.m.
- Sehome at Lynden, 7 p.m.
- Stanwood at Ferndale, 7 p.m.
- Granite Falls vs. Bellingham at Civic Stadium, 7 p.m.
- Meridian at South Whidbey, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Prep Football Roundup: Lions gain experience, confidence in loss at top-ranked Anacortes."
