Prep Football Roundup: Pioneers capture NWC 1A title; local teams prep for a postseason run
Colton Lentz rocked and rolled his way to 34 carries for 248 yards and five touchdowns for the second time this season in Nooksack Valley’s 32-7 win over Lynden Christian, giving the Pioneers the outright Northwest Conference 1A title over the second-place Lyncs.
The Friday night win at LC assured the Pioneers (4-0 NWC, 7-2 overall) of a favorable seed in the 1A State Round of 24 in Week 10 elimination games this weekend. Nooksack will open against Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) at 7:30 Saturday night at Civic Stadium. Lakeside beat Nooksack in the state semifinals last year, so motivation will be no problem.
The Lyncs (3-1, 5-4) will also have a home game against King’s Way Christian of Vancouver at 2 p.m. Saturday at Blaine, giving LC a shot at one of the 12 spots to open the state playoffs in Week 11.
Four other Whatcom County teams will also have shots at state, including Ferndale in 3A and Lynden and Sehome in 2A. Lynden will meet Nathan Hale at 7 p.m. Friday at Ferndale. Meanwhile, Ferndale will play at Federal Way at 6 p.m. Friday, and Sehome will face Chief Sealth at 4 p.m. Saturday at Civic Stadium.
Lentz also sang the praises of LC, which 13 times limited him to 3 yards or fewer. But his other carries included touchdowns (in order) of 43, 1, 1, 35 and 15 yards with numerous broken tackles.
“LC was solid, really good,” said Lentz, who has 27 touchdowns this season and 75 scores in four years, both school records, along with more than 4,000 yards rushing. “There was super high energy.”
Lentz’s cousin, all-league lineman Brady Ackerman, seemed a bit dazed with his good fortune when it was pointed out to him that he has starred on three consecutive title teams, including co-champions the past two years. He and Cohen Hofferd, Adlei Whitworth, Lance Vanberkum, Gabriel Snyders and Dane Ackerman are the big fellows who make beautiful line music for Lentz.
“We have been so very blessed by our (12-man) coaching staff,” said Ackerman.
“Our coaching staff doesn’t get the credit they deserve, but they are absolutely phenomenal,” said head coach Craig Bartl. “They did a great job of making adjustments (after LC’s 84-yard scoring drive on its second possession).
The Lyncs netted 71 yards on the scoring push, which was capped by Eli Maberry’s 3-yard scoring pass to all-league tight end Trey Bosman, who accounted for two first downs with 15-yard catches on the drive.
For the rest of the game, the Pioneers limited the Lyncs to 142 total yards. Nooksack finished with 488 total yards and held LC to 217.
Nooksack scored on drives of 72, 65 and 73 yards in the first half for a 20-7 lead, then on advances of 44 and 93 yards. The shortest drive resulted from a recovery by Jaxon Hester of a fumbled punt, the game’s only turnover.
The last drive came after the Lyncs visited the red zone for the second time in the game. But a 10-yard holding penalty pushed them back to the 17 on third down and they couldn’t advance more than 10 more yards with 8:49 to play.
In some ways, Nooksack then embarked on its best drive of the season, eating up a game-clinching 7:39. A bone-weary, mud-covered Lentz carried 11 of the 14 plays and scored untouched from the 15 — the only time he went untouched in this physically punishing game.
“It’s right up there,” said Bartl, when asked if this wasn’t Nooksack’s best game. “The kids had a good week of recovery and practice after our (34-28) loss at Montesano.”
Junior quarterback Evan Brown — whose brother Joey quarterbacked the previous two co-title teams — said it was “a great honor” to help guide a championship team.
Brown completed 12 of 21 passes for 141 yards with no interceptions, including eight passes for 110 yards to all-leaguer Cory Olney. Brown went over the 1,000-yard passing mark.
Nooksack pressured Maberry fiercely, but he completed 15 of 32 passes for 157 yards with no interceptions, including 56 yards on five receptions by Bosman.
LC lost versatile sophomore Dawson Hintz to injury on the first play of the second half. He came back to the sideline on crutches.
Three-way 1A tiebreaker
Mount Baker coach Ron Lepper put the season on the line and called for a two-point conversion run by his most experienced player, third-year starter Dylan Moa. He raced over the right side and beat Blaine 8-7 in the first Kansas Tiebreaker at Blaine on Monday night in high winds.
In the second tiebreaker, which began from the 25-yard line against Meridian, Moa scored from the 1, and freshman Enoc Smith kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Mountaineers made Moa’s score stand up by holding Meridian without a first down on its series.
When asked if the two-point conversion call was his most meaningful play at Baker, Moa replied, “Yes, the most meaningful.”
“I just knew I had to make a play,” said Moa, who scored 14 points in the tiebreaker since he also scored from the 1 against Blaine after his 24-yard run over the left side.
Lepper said he felt the two-point call would be best.
“The wind was blowing pretty hard and that could have interfered with a kick,” said Lepper, whose Mountaineers are back in the state playoffs after a year out following a 12-year run at state.
Blaine quarterback Colin Lewis scored from the 3 while breaking two tackles and Logan Villarreal kicked the conversion for a 7-0 lead. The Borderites methodically made two previous first downs as Lewis ran for three, Jaiden Paez gained three, Lewis picked up five and then nine, and Paez ran for two to the 3. But Moa needed only three runs to beat the Borderites.
Big-play standout Brady Bruland began the tiebreaker against Meridian with a 15-yard dash to the 10. From there, the Trojans stubbornly held Moa to nine total yards before he scored.
In 2022, Baker emerged from a three-way tiebreaker to advance all the way to the state finals before losing to Royal.
The tiebreaker was needed because the teams tied for third place in the rugged five-team 1A Northwest Conference. Each team finished 1-3 after Meridian beat Baker, Baker beat Blaine, and Blaine beat Meridian.
Ferndale 49, Shorewood 7: The Golden Eagles (4-2, 5-4) displayed a state-worthy offense in a Wesco 3A crossover game as Talan Bungard scored five touchdowns for the second consecutive week. The senior all-leaguer rushed 23 times for a season-high 264 yards, giving him his fourth 200-yard game of the season and 1,488 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Bungard had four scores in the second half and 180 yards in the third quarter alone, according to the Whatcom Preps web site, after Ferndale took a 21-7 halftime advantage.
The Eagles welcomed back versatile running back Zach Nielsen, who had missed more than a month with an injury. He scored the team’s first touchdown on an 8-yard run.
Junior quarterback Nolan Boleak threw his 10th touchdown pass in his first season as starter, a 46-yarder to Elliot Lenssen. Boleak completed five of nine passes for 102 yards and no interceptions, with four passes to Eli Kennerley for 53 yards.
Tight end Lincoln Thomas kicked seven conversions in seven tries for the second consecutive week as the Golden Eagles again scored 49 points, just as they did in a 49-35 win over Sedro-Woolley.
In other 3A games, Sedro-Woolley shut out Mountlake Terrace 40-0; Snohomish overwhelmed Everett 40-0; Stanwood did the same to Meadowdale 52-3; Monroe edged Oak Harbor 49-48; Shorecrest beat Mount Vernon 36-28; and Edmonds-Woodway defeated Marysville-Getchell 35-21.
Defending 2A state champion Anacortes showed it’s more than ready for the postseason with a 77-0 win over Marysville-Pilchuck, and Lakewood beat Toppenish 38-28.
Blaine 27, Meridian 22: Jaiden Paez rushed for 237 yards on 34 carries and scored on a 43-yard run for his 20th touchdown of the season as the Borderites improved to 1-3 in the NWC 1A and 6-3 overall. Meridian is 1-3, 5-4.
Borderites quarterback Colin Davis scored twice on 1-yard runs and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Logan Villarreal, who also went 3-for-3 on conversion kicks. Freshman quarterback Connor Brown’s 22-yard pass to Peyton Bouma set up Villarreal’s catch for the eventual winning score. Bouma caught two passes for 53 yards.
“Our sophomore linebacker Axel Shelton turned in an outstanding game,” said Blaine coach Andy Olson, who also cited senior all-everything Blake Koreski for a sack, a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss.
Meridian fell behind 27-15 but Blaine’s defense limited the Trojans to one more touchdown.
Sophomore Ethan Valich scored from the 1 for his first varsity touchdown for Meridian, which also scored on a 43-yard pass from Jaeger Fyfe to Kasey Brennan and on a 5-yard run by Landen Downey for his 13th touchdown.
Downey kicked two conversions and scored on a two-point run for the third conversion, giving him 10 points for the game and 115 points for the season.
Fyfe completed 15 of 25 passes for 210 yards and no interceptions, giving him 1,550 yards this season, his third in a row over the 1,000 mark, and 4,4,807. His touchdown pass was his 10th of the season.
Brennan caught four passes for 63 yards and Downey snagged four for 61.
Lynden 31, Burlington 7: The Lions (6-1, 8-1) finished as co-champions of the 2A NWC with Anacortes and Archbishop Murphy.
“To be a conference co-champion in a league as tough as ours, the best 2A league in the state, is an outstanding accomplishment,” said Lions coach Blake Van Dalen. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team.”
All-league tight end Isaiah Oudman caught touchdown passes of 52, 13 and 33 yards from Brant Heppner and Oudman also scored on a 1-yard run from the wildcat formation.
Malachi Koenen made the score 17-0 in the third quarter with a 29-yard field goal, the fifth of the year for the sophomore standout, who also kicked all four extra points, making him 29 for 30 this season.
Oudman, one of the best tight ends in Lynden’s storied football history, has 12 touchdown catches and surpassed 1,000 yards for the season..
Heppner completed 16 of 29 passes for 289 yards with no interceptions. He improved his season numbers to 2,181 yards and his touchdown total to 19. He came into the season with 2,876 career yards, according to historian Tyler Anderson, so Heppner now has 5,057 passing yards.
“Brant has 10 interceptions in his career, and Tyler told me that’s the fewest interceptions in county history for a kid who has passed so much,” Van Dalen said.
Standout receiver Dani Bowler missed the game with a hamstring problem, but Van Dalen praised him for helping his teammates in practice.
Samm Puello Arango caught five passes for 63 yards.
Archbishop Murphy 56. Sehome 14: Third-year quarterback Nolan Wright, a junior, and senior receiving record-setter Andre Watson saw the NWC 2A co-champion Wildcats take a 21-0 lead, but they and their teammates did not give an inch, despite missing eight regulars to injury.
Archbishop (7-1, 8-1) had held Sehome to a net yardage of eight yards with five minutes left in the first half while the Wildcats were on their way to 443 yards rushing.
“But we’ll never give up no matter what the score is,” said Wright, who benefited from a cool move on the sideline by Watson for a 67-yard touchdown pass with 4:50 to play in the first half. It was the first of a school-record 274 yards for Watson on 12 catches from Wright, who finished 17 for 40 for 328 yards and two interceptions against Archbishop’s starters, including a 58-yard score to Watson.
Wright now has 1,962 yards passing for 25 touchdowns this season and school career records of 5,189 yards and 61 touchdowns. Watson has 1,065 yards and 17 touchdown catches this season, with school career receiving records of 2,718 yards and 40 scores.
Archbishop’s Jevin Madison rushed 24 times for 202 yards and three scores, while Andrew Lucas ran 14 times for 147 yards and Jack Sievers ran twice for touchdowns of 53 and 17 yards. Javen Latta returned an interception 102 yards to score.
Archbishop threw only one pass (incomplete) and Sehome did not use a running back until late in the game while finishing with no net rushing yardage.
“It’s time to pay our resilience bills,” Sehome coach Brian Young said. “We are going to have one heck of a week of practice. I think our kids have the resilience to win. Our guys will stand up and they’ll fight to the last second no matter what.”
Omak 27, Mount Baker 20: Shaun Dugger and Dylan Moa ran for touchdowns of 13 yards and 1 yard, and Darius Gilstrap caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Luke Smith, but the Mountaineers (1-3, 5-4) could not overcome a 14-6 halftime deficit at Omak (5-4).
It was 27-14 when Gilstrap scored with 20 seconds left, but Omak recovered the onside kick.
Smith threw to Brady Bruland for a two-point conversion, but two conversion kicks were blocked.
Defensive end Kell Reardon blocked a punt and Caden Mosher recovered the ball to set up Moa’s score. Reardon also made an interception to make Dugger’s score possible.
“Kell played very well for the second consecutive game,” coach Ron Lepper said of the fast-improving sophomore.
Squalicum 39, Bellingham 20: Junior quarterback Cole Burke completed 20 of 27 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, giving him 16 scoring passes in his first year as a starter.
Burke threw scoring passes of 30 and 33 yards to junior Ansen Asbjornsen, plus a 53-yarder to Marcus Nixon and a 1-yarder to wingback Joaquin Ortiz.
Malakai Smith scored on a 5-yard run and Nixon ran 18 yards to score on the way to 101 yards on 18 carries. Slade Kaiser kicked three conversions.
Junior defensive back Zach Watt had two interceptions and Ortiz pilfered one pass.
Tyler Frost had touchdown runs of 24 and 6 yards for the Bayhawks, and Gabe Van Hofwegen ran one yard for a score.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Leonard was 19 for 32 for 131 yards. Junior defensive back Owen Hanstead made his 10th career interception for the Bayhawks (1-6, 2-7).
Crescent 62, Lummi Nation 14: The young Blackhawks (0-9) received a 10-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Yrizarris to Trevon Lee and a 15-yard touchdown run by Andrew Tageant, plus his two-point conversion run.
“Tough battle in the first half but we lost our momentum in the third quarter. Kids played hard and showed resiliency throughout the game,” said Lummi coach Watiko Leighton.
Upcoming games
Friday
- Ferndale at Federal Way (Memorial Stadium), 6 p.m.
- Lynden vs. Nathan Hale at Ferndale, 7 p.m.
Saturday
- Lynden Christian vs. King’s Way Christian at Blaine, 2 p.m.
- Sehome vs. Chief Sealth at Civic Stadium, 4 p.m.
- Nooksack Valley vs. Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) at Civic Stadium, 7 p.m.
Date and time TBD
- Mount Baker at Zillah
Nonleague
Thursday
- Bellingham at Blaine, 6 p.m.
Friday
- Squalicum vs. Kamiak at Goddard Field, 7 p.m.
Uncertain non-league status
- Bellingham
- Blaine
- Lummi Nation
- The two losers of Monday 1A tiebreaker
This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 8:32 AM with the headline "Prep Football Roundup: Pioneers capture NWC 1A title; local teams prep for a postseason run."
