225 yards on nine carries. Not a bad debut for Lynden junior in 35-34 win

Steven DiLorenzo just wanted his first shot in Lynden’s backfield. Now the rest of the Northwest Conference football players just hope they can catch up to the fleet, elusive junior.

DiLorenzo, who appeared briefly in one varsity game as a sophomore, scored on an 85-yard run on his first carry. The 5-foot-7, 160-pound whirlwind finished with 225 yards rushing on nine rushes in Class 2A Lynden’s tension-packed 35-34 win over Class 1A Mount Baker on Friday in the opener for both teams.

However, the most exciting moment was Lynden junior Brock Heppner’s sack of Baker quarterback Kaleb Bass on a two-point conversion attempt, ending what Lions coach Blake VanDalen told his team was “one heck of a great high school football game.”

Or, as senior quarterback James Marsh put it, “My stress level is through the roof.” And this after a performance in which the poised fourth-year player scrambled for three touchdowns after throwing a 63-yard scoring pass to Kobe Elsner in the opening quarter.

Indeed, unheralded Baker senior Kobee Malone stressed out all the Lions when he somehow caught a 34-yard pass from Bass while covered by three defenders in the end zone as the gun sounded and the Mounties erupted with joy. The play soon followed a vital 10-yard catch on third-and-9 by sophomore Garrett Smith.

The thrilling play was Malone’s second touchdown. It was only logical that Baker coach Ron Lepper would go for a game-winning two-point conversion.

“I thought we had the momentum at that point,” said Lepper, who was pleased to see Malone take advantage of his opportunities and called his team’s effort “just outstanding.”

“This,” Marsh said with a grin, “is why we scheduled Baker.”

“Just outstanding” also describes the affable DiLorenzo, who proved his 85-yard score was no fluke while following up with runs of 32, 15, 13, 42 and 23 yards.

“It was great to see Steven come through with (returning regular running back) Erik Mann-Martin out,” VanDalen said. “We really needed Steven.”

DiLorenzo was confident because he was fast enough as a sophomore to qualify for 2A state track in two events. He said he just needed to pick his holes as well as possible.

“I did surprise myself. We really got some good holes from our line,” he said. “I was just saying to myself, ‘Give me the ball. I’m fast enough.’ ”

Baker senior Michael Kentner returned an interception 45 yards to score, giving the Mounties a 28-20 lead midway through the third quarter. On Baker’s previous series, Kentner’s diving 47-yard catch helped set up Bass’ 10-yard score.

Baker senior Sam Barrett rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries, including a 28-yard touchdown. Junior Jason Lee contributed 71 yards on 16 carries and four conversion kicks while Bass completed 10 of 16 passes for 171 yards but suffered interceptions by Elsner and Carson Bode.

For Lynden, Marsh completed 8 of 14 for 116 yards although being intercepted in the second half by Kentner and defensive lineman Kanin Moa. Marsh’s 17-yard scoring scramble and a conversion kick by Marko Samoukovic put the Lions up 35-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Friday’s standouts: Steven DiLorenzo, Lynden: He had nine carries for 225 yards and scored on an 85-yard run. James Marsh, Lynden: He scored three touchdowns and completed 8 of 14 passes for 116 yards including a 63-yard scoring pass to Kobe Elsner. Trajan Schouten, Lynden Christian: He completed 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

In other openers:

Lynden Christian 23, Bellingham 0: In his first start, junior quarterback Trajan Schouten completed 18 of 22 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw two 9-yard scoring passes to Sam Faber and a 14-yarder to Tanner Feenstra. Blake DeRuyter kicked a 22-yard field goal and the Lyncs amassed 184 yards rushing, including 63 yards on 11 carries by Levi Korthuis and 50 on 16 carries by Easton Stremler.

Lake Stevens 42, Ferndale 14: Bryan Ebe and Gader Fox scored on short runs in the fourth quarter against seven-time defending Wesco 4A champion Lake Stevens, which enters the season with a 31-game win streak in conference games. “We definitely got a good barometer on where we need to improve,” Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said.

Blaine 65, Earl Marriott (B.C. 0): Will McKinney completed six of seven passes, with three for touchdowns, in his varsity debut. Oscar Caridad rushed for 80 yards and Danyil Tkachov had 40. Zane Rector had two of Blaine’s three blocked punts as Blaine honored 55 kids on Blaine Youth Flag Football Night.

Sedro-Woolley 10, Meridian 7: In his first start at quarterback, Dawson Logan threw for 180 yards and scored on a sneak against the Class 2A Cubs, who are among the Northwest Conference’s top teams. Kevin Galliano had most of the receiving yardage and Dylan Hickok was a standout at outside linebacker and running back/wide receiver as Bob Ames opened his 45th season as Meridian’s head coach.

Nooksack Valley 28, Sehome 21: Third-year backfield regular Austin O’Bryan, in his first start at quarterback, scored twice on runs and threw for more than 200 yards, including touchdown passes of 11 yards to Ryan Veening and more than 20 yards to Tyler Rawls. Aidan Conner was 4 for 4 on conversions. Sehome reached inside the 1-yard line with no timeouts left, but the gun sounded just before the Mariners could get off another play.

Squalicum 14, Redmond 10: No other information provided.

This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 5:00 PM.