Prep Football Roundup: Here’s how the season ended for Whatcom County playoff teams
Lynden limited an Archbishop Murphy powerhouse with a 43-point scoring average and no game under 31 points, except against the Lions, to 13 points in two games this season.
Yet a classic heartbreaker kept Lynden out of the 2A State Playoff semifinals.
In surely one of the most grueling games in the Lions’ 34 playoff appearances since the football postseason began in 1973, Lynden’s 10-9 loss to Archbishop Murphy on Saturday at Ferndale must rank near the top in terms of sheer disappointment.
Yet there were the Lions, holding their heads up while awash in post-game tears, and listening to a memorable post-game talk by coach Blake Van Dalen. Then the few seniors on perhaps Lynden’s youngest playoff team took over and inspired their multitude of younger teammates before the love began to flow between teammates, coaches and family members.
“You will be family forever,” Van Dalen said. “What I’m saddest about is the loss of the time we would have spent together” (preparing for the semifinals and finals, the way the Lions did while winning titles in 2022 and 2021, when the current seniors were in uniform).
With 4 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in a knock-down, drag-out battle, Lynden junior Brody Price raced over the goal line for a 57-yard touchdown pass, the 55th scoring strike of Brant Heppner’s career and surely one of the 6-foot-6 conference MVP’s best throws ever.
Van Dalen, well aware of Archbishop’s potent running game, called for a two-point conversion pass, which could well have won the struggle 11-10. But with sophomore receiving star Samm Puello Arango in his sights, the Lions looked on in utter dismay as Archbishop junior speed burner Jordan Rife raced over and intercepted the pass.
The Wildcats — who almost never pass — ran out the final 4:52 with nine rushes, the last eight by the amazingly durable Jevin Madison.
The Wildcats had made up for their 7-3 loss on a night of heavy rain and even heavier mud at Lynden in Week Eight. Indeed, this was Week Twelve and less-than-lucky Lynden will see no Week Thirteen.
Did Van Dalen regret calling for a two-point conversion?
“Gosh no!” he said. “This (a two-point try) is who we are (several times with Heppner and Arango) and what we will continue to be.”
Since most of Lynden’s regulars are not seniors, they can look forward to more thrilling football gambles.
“It meant a lot how our young guys responded (with a 10-2 season),” said senior co-captain Parker Williams, a nails-tough 240-pound senior lineman. “At first I was a little nervous. It just wanted to set a godly example and let my faith in Jesus Christ shine through.”
Van Dalen felt everything, even such intense football agony, was part of the package that helps young men grow into what he stressed are “men of integrity.”
“It was worth it, all worth it. Brothers for life!” said Van Dalen, who is seven-for-seven in coaching playoff qualifiers. “This is the one that got away.”
Price said it was a privilege to play with Lynden’s 11 seniors.
“Our seniors meant everything,” the affable young man said. “Our seniors were pushing us the whole time. Great leadership, great brothers.”
Sophomore kicker/linebacker/running back Malachi Koenen, whose 40-yard field goal was his county-leading eighth of the season, expressed similar feelings of respect.
“I would never be the player I am without our seniors,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Senior defensive back Jaydin Oaks had no trouble answering what meant most to him..
“Our senior legacy,” he answered.
Koenen’s field goal ended a 12-play, 64-yard drive on Lynden’s opening series. But the Wildcats (10-1) answered with an 86-yard, 16-play drive — all rushes — and got a 1-yard touchdown plunge by 228-pound senior lineman Justice Williams plus an extra point by junior kicker Kyler Phillips for a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
When Lynden got the ball, the remarkable Rife intercepted a pass, setting up a 46-yard drive capped by a 52-yard field goal by Phillips for a 10-3 lead with 3:43 left in the first half.
On Lynden’s next series, Henry Gabalis made Archbishop’s second interception. This time, the Wildcats could not make good, with Phillips’ 24-yard field goal attempt doinking off the left upright.
But Lynden would suffer two lost fumbles in the second half. The Lions also had a second-and-goal at the 5-yard line, but after two runs were stopped, a high snap on Isaiah Oudman’s third attempt forced the senior star to grab the ball while the Wildcats swarmed him.
The Lions then suffered their fourth turnover and the score would have been 10-3 had not Heppner found Price for the fateful yet frustrating late score.
Heppner, often under intense pressure, ran 12 times for 51 yards and completed 5 of 18 passes for 109 yards, with three passes to Oudman for 41. Oudman finished with a school-record 1,021 yards receiving for a tight end and Heppner wound up with 5,520 yards for his career and 2,644 yards and 23 touchdown passes for the season.
Heppner, Oudman, Oaks, Williams and lineman Blake Holman were the primary senior players. Other seniors who contributed were Ryan Van Berkum, Logan Rehberger, JoeJack Egan, Jr., Cooper Costanti, Gurjoban Khungha and Wyatt Hanson.
Archbishop will play top-seeded Tumwater (12-0) on Saturday at a time to be announced. In the other semifinal, it will be defending champion Anacortes vs. W.F. West of Chehalis. Anacortes battered West Valley Spokane 55-13 and W.F. West beat Franklin Pierce 27-8.
Cashmere 38, Nooksack Valley 12: The fifth-seeded Pioneers (9-3), in their third consecutive 1A state tournament, gave coach Craig Bartl plenty to be thankful about, even though they trailed 38-0 after three quarters Saturday at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee.
“We have a lot to be proud of. We are NWC 1A champions and our seniors have continued to set a high standard for those to come,” Bartl said.
Senior rushing record-setter Colton Lentz was swarmed by Cashmere’s huge defensive line and limited to 28 yards on 13 carries, according to statistics released through the Whatcom Preps website. But Lentz moved from running back to quarterback for the first time in high school in the fourth quarter.
Lentz showed he wasn’t discouraged by completing three of five passes for nearly 100 yards, with touchdowns of 32 yards to Tristan Kamphouse and 67 yards to Cole Coppinger.
Cashmere quarterback Rylan Hatmaker threw touchdown passes of 16 yards to Logan Spies, 25 yards to Tom McDevitt and 15 yards to Isaac Zavala. Hatmaker also scored on an 8-yard run.
Edgar Reyna kicked a short field goal and five conversions.
Third-seeded Cashmere (10-1) intercepted four passes, although junior Evan Brown accounted for 115 yards with 10 completions in 29 attempts under intense pressure. Evan Bravo caught eight passes for 81 yards and Coppinger grabbed three for 93 yards.
Junior linebacker Andrew Dugger was a defensive standout for the Pioneers along with senior lineman Brady Ackerman.
The Pioneers will lose several senior standouts, including Lentz, Olney, Bravo, Ackerman, Kamphouse, Cole Bauman, Colby Martin, Adlei Whitworth, Lance Vanberkum, and contributors such as Jake Lautenbach, Aadan Huante, and Cameron O’Bryan.
Royal 56, Lynden Christian 12: Top-seeded Royal (11-0) took a 42-6 halftime lead and won its 33rd consecutive game since losing to the Lyncs 21-14 in a 2022 non-league game, snapping a 36-game win streak. The 33 games is the eighth-longest active streak in the nation, according to Stateline Sports Network, which keeps track of streaks.
“They were the better team and they took it to us, so hats off to Royal,” said coach Greg Terpstra. “I’m proud that our kids exceeded expectations and embraced our very tough schedule and kept improving.”
Junior quarterback Eli Maberry completed 18 of 29 passes for 116 yards with three interceptions. Junior receiver Boyce Robertson, Maberry’s cousin, caught six passes for 67 yards including a 12-yard scoring pass from Maberry.
Robertson finished with 62 catches for 1,207 yards, according to statistics released through Whatcom Preps. Both are school records, as are Maberry’s season statistics of 2,506 yards with 25 touchdown passes..
Sophomore Kaden Veldman scored the first touchdown for the Lyncs (7-5) on a 32-yard pass on a trick play executed perfectly by senior tight end Trey Bosman. Veldman also had an interception.
Sophomore running back Chris Kooiman gained 73 yards on 15 carries and senior Hollis Owen rushed for 61 yards on 14 carries.
Royal, winner of seven of the past eight state 1A titles, now has 686 points, with only 74 against.
The Lyncs had only a few senior starters, including Jayden Huleatt, Mick Owen, Hollis Owen, Nico Brommer, and Bosman. Other senior contributors were Austin Engels, Nicholas Molendyk, Cole McClellan, Tanner Bosman and Jack Parriera.
Thirty-four other varsity players are eligible to return, giving Terpstra plenty of reason for optimism.
Tumwater 70, Sehome 7: This was the first time in 25 years that Sehome finished with a record as good as 8-4, according to Whatcom Preps, so there is plenty of reason for coach Brian Young to look forward to next season despite the large loss to the 2A top-seeded T-Birds (12-0).
Cash Short got Tumwater moving toward a 51-0 halftime lead with a 20-yard pick six and a 52-yard scoring run as one of eight different scorers. The T-Birds, in the semifinals for the fourth time in five years, amassed 420 yards rushing while holding the Mariners to minus 21 on the ground.
Nolan Wright threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to stellar senior Andre Watson, who made 10 catches for 92 yards and finished with 24 touchdown catches among 100 receptions for 1,607 yards, all county season records. He had 47 career touchdown catches and more than 3,000 yards.
Wright threw his 34th touchdown pass of the season, extending his school career record to 70. Wright completed 13 of 29 passes for 112 yards with three interceptions for the Mariners, who have been as far as the state quarterfinals three times and lost all three.
Wright will take nearly 6,000 yards passing into his senior season after starting his first three years. Wright has 5,886 yards for his career and finished with 2,659 in 12 games this season..
NWC 1A League Honors (voting by coaches)
- Player of the Year: Colton Lentz, Nooksack Valley
- Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Landen Downey, Meridian; Trey Bosman, LC
- Coach of the Year: Craig Bartl, Nooksack Valley
- Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year: Jessy Dykstra, Nooksack Valley; and Derek Johnson, Mount Baker
- Junior High Coach of the Year: Gage Robinson, Mount Baker
All-League (One Team)
Offense
- QB: Jaeger Fyfe, Meridian, Sr.
- RB: Landen Downey, Meridian, Sr.
- RB: Brady Bruland, Mount Baker, Sr.,
- RB: Jaiden Paez, Blaine, Sr,.
- WR: Boyce Robertson, LC, Jr.
- WR: Evan Bravoi, Nooksack Valley, Sr.
- WR: Cory Olney, Nooksack Valley, Sr.
- WR: Kasey Brennan, Meridian, Soph.
- TE: Trey Bosman, LC, Senior
- OL: Brady Ackerman, Nooksack Valley
- OL: Lincoln Hoefer, Meridian, Sr.
- OL: Noah Illichev, Mount Baker, Jr.
- OL: Otto Sheldon, Blaine, Sr.
- OL: Lance Vanberkum, Nooksack
- OL: Jaxson Hurlbut, Meridian
Defense
- DL: Vanberkum
- DL: Hoefer
- DL: Blake Koreski, Blaine, Sr.
- DL: Kell Reardon, Mount Baker, Soph.
- DL: Ackerman
- DL: Zi Yu, Blaine, Sr.
- LB: Lentz
- LB: Colby Martin, Nooksack, Sr.
- LB: Dylan Moa, Mount Baker, Sr.
- LB: Kelley Gray, Meridian, Sr.
- DB: Olney
- DB: Bravo
- DB: Fyfe
- DB: Luke Smith, Mount Baker, Sr.
Special Teams
- Kicker: Downey
- Punter: Darius Gilstrap, Mount Baker, Sr.
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Prep Football Roundup: Here’s how the season ended for Whatcom County playoff teams."
