Defensive struggles highlight weekend clashes of Whatcom County football titans
Sehome quarterback Jacob Kaepernick and running back Colin Dorsch were among the numerous stars caught up in high-caliber defensive struggles for all four Class 2A/3A Whatcom County powers last weekend, but they gave a meaningful demonstration of second-half mental and physical maturity.
Sehome’s 10-5 win over Ferndale on Saturday and Lynden’s 9-6 triumph over Squalicum on Friday were ultra-intense defensive gems, to say the least, for those thrilled by that type of football, especially considering all four teams have numerous veteran offensive standouts. They came in with a combined 251 points after their first two games.
After three rounds of play, Sehome (3-0) emerged as the only unbeaten team in the improvised eight-team 2A/3A Northwest Conference for the late winter season. But the other three local powers, all now 2-1, also showed how well they can play defense. That made everyone lament there will be no postseason following the pandemic-abbreviated regular season.
Dorsch, who had been limited to 40 yards on 10 carries by two minutes into the final quarter, responded with a brilliant 29-yard touchdown burst for a 10-3 lead with 9:53 remaining at Sehome‘s sparkling new stadium. He seemed trapped near the line of scrimmage but broke at least three tackles in what will be required film study for future Mariners runners.
And when Ferndale drove from its own 26 to the Sehome 1 in the final 3:39, Dorsch helped tackle Golden Eagles sophomore standout Isaiah Carlson just short of the end zone on fourth down in the final seconds.
“Hayden Huntley and K.J. McDowell were also part of that tackle,” Dorsch said. “That touchdown run was 100 percent my most meaningful touchdown for Sehome.”
Kaepernick, a well-scouted pitching prospect in baseball and a third-year standout at quarterback, was intercepted by Ferndale’s Andrew Monks, Jazen Guillory and Jaxson Pike on consecutive first-half series — perhaps the most first-half adversity Kaepernick has ever faced. Guillory’s pass theft was in the end zone.
But Kaepernick responded early in the game-winning drive with a 13-yard pass to Luke Evans for a first down and a 15-yarder to Tim Malo on third-and-15 to the Sehome 46. Dorsch’s twisting 13-yard gain helped set up his heroics.
Junior kicker Aidan Andrews gave Sehome a 3-0 lead with a 24-yard field goal on the first drive, soon after a 21-yard pass from Kaepernick to sophomore Max Malo.
Ferndale’s James Werth tied it 3-3 with a 30-yard field goal at the 6:47 mark in the third quarter.
Ferndale’s last drive was made possible by passes of 10 and 22 yards from Haiden Rasmussen to Thomas Broselle. Carlson rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries but the Mariners held the Golden Eagles to 155 yards rushing — only a little more than half of what they gained in their 28-19 win over Lynden the week before.
Kaepernick finished 16 for 26 for 148 yards, including Tim Malo’s five catches for 70 yards and brother Max Malo’s six for 50. Dorsch rushed for 69 yards.
Sehome’s Gavin Ortega made an important first-half interception and coach Kevin Beason credited the entire defense with a superb effort, including Tommy Funk and Lucas Lehn. The coach pointed out what an outstanding game plan defensive coordinator Jordan Chalfant and his staff devised.
“It’s a formative assessment of where we are as a program,” Beason said of the win.
Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich noted how “Sehome played really hard right from the start. We didn’t match their first-half intensity.”
Were it not for the Eagles’ three first-half interceptions, Sehome’s fourth-quarter brilliance likely would not have been necessary.
Ferndale was credited with a safety in the final second because Sehome didn’t want to take any chances with a snap to a player.
LYNDEN 9, SQUALICUM 6
In this weirdest of all NWC seasons, the first thing Lions coach Blake VanDalen did as the team kneeled in the east end zone was to tell his players how proud he was of them after a well-played defensive gem in a match-up of first-rate Class 2A teams.
Then he told the players to wave to the many dozens of parents and fans who spent Friday evening cheering behind the nearby fence at Civic Stadium, before immediately dismissing his guys to celebrate with them, albeit separated by the barrier.
In a surreal scene created by the state’s one-size-fits-all pandemic restriction of 200 people in any stadium, a smattering of Squalicum fans cheered in a facility that seats more than 4,000, with the large number of seats behind the Lynden bench entirely empty.
In an intense effort that left both teams 2-1, the Lions received added motivation because VanDalen was required during the week to trim 10 players in order to keep the count to 200 people in all, including players, coaches, cheerleaders, trainers and officials. Since a body in or out of uniform counts the same, the 10 weren’t even allowed in the stadium.
Squalicum came in with 74 points and Lynden with 47 but the halftime score was 0-0. Seemingly frustrated beyond words, although it was hard for a reporter to tell from behind the chain-link fence, the Lions scored on their first two possessions of the second half and the Storm came through on their opening drive of the third quarter.
The Lions made it 3-0 with a 22-yard field goal by Troy Petz, set up by fellow sophomore Isaiah Stanley’s 12-yard catch. It was a nice touch for Petz, who missed his first field goal attempt. Petz also displayed punting potential with a 52-yarder in the air.
The Storm claimed a 6-3 advantage with a 65-yard drive capped by Mason Binning’s pretty 15-yard touchdown pass to Reed Richardson in the left corner of the end zone. Ben Schlenbaker’s 41-yard dash to the 18 made the score possible, although Lynden junior Max Moore temporarily staved off a touchdown with a tackle at the sideline.
Lynden junior Kole Antypas, who made a first-half interception, was credited with blocking the conversion attempt.
The Lions then drove 60 yards behind tough running by quarterback Baylor Ayres and halfback Caleb Wheeler to score on a 2-yard keeper by Ayres for the eventual game-winner with 8:12 remaining.
On the ensuing series for the Storm, Binning was sacked at Lynden’s 36 with a charge led by Connor White, Case Zweegman and Matthew Furdyk with 5:24 to play.
Ayres and Wheeler, Lynden’s only rushers for the second consecutive game, enabled the Lions to run out the clock, even though the Storm used all three of their timeouts. Ayres finished with 100 yards on 25 carries and Wheeler had 61 on 14 attempts. Ayres completed 5 of 10 passes for 51 yards, including three to Stanley for 32.
Although Schlenbaker surpassed 100 yards and often showed the form that made him the first sophomore in Whatcom County history to surpass 2,000 yards rushing last season, VanDalen was excited by his defense.
“That was a very solid performance, one of the best jobs we’ve done coping with an elite athlete in a long time at Lynden,” he said. “I loved how we handled adversity and our resiliency.”
Squalicum coach Nick Lucey was not discouraged: “Our guys did get better (especially considering they were facing a program coming off appearances in the state finals and semifinal). I loved the attitude and effort we had.”
BELLINGHAM 30, BLAINE 19
Senior quarterback Trevor Johnson, a tennis standout and a first-year football player, kicked a 42-yard field goal and three conversions. He was part of all 30 points as he scored on 1-yard keeper and a 20-yard run, threw a 5-yard touchdown strike to Kyle McColl, and capped the effort with a 44-yard touchdown pass to junior Johnny Twedt for a 30-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
Bellingham (1-2) gained its first win under new coach Robb Myhre, the former Nooksack Valley mentor.
Host Blaine (0-3) fell behind 24-0 but rallied with three touchdowns.
“Johnny Twedt and Manny Depalma at cornerback and Alex Breeding and Marcus McColl at safety gave us outstanding defense,” said Myhre, explaining that “Breeding and McColl are pretty much a combination of safety and linebacker. We really had good pass defense.”
“Trevor Johnson’s field goal was something to see,” Myhre said “It would have been good from the high 50s. Trevor surpassed 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing. It was great to see the improvement in our kids.”
Blaine scored on Gabe Cranford’s 4-yard run at the end of the first half and on Peyton Dixon’s 1-yard run and Seth Zuch’s 11-yard reception from Cole Thomas.
“Credit to Bellingham’s quarterback. He’s quite a player,” said Blaine coach Jay Dodd. “We need to come out stronger in the first half, but we did play our best of the season in the second half.”
NOOKSACK VALLEY 24, ANACORTES 21 (OT)
The Pioneers (1-2) won in the first overtime at Anacortes on a 30-yard field goal by versatile senior standout Scout Whittern, giving new coach Craig Bartl his first win.
“Jordan Silva scored on a 70-yard run to make it 7-7 at the half,” said Bartl. Cody Coppinger scored Nooksack’s other touchdowns on runs of 3 and 30 yards and finished with 93 yards on 17 carries
Coppinger, a senior, returned after being sidelined for the first two games.
Silva, who had a 55-yard score against Meridian in the previous game, gained 117 yards on four carries and Whittern chipped in with 46 yards on eight tries
“I think we’re getting better every week,” Bartl said. “The kids are believing in the process and believing in each other.”
MOUNT BAKER 22, BISHOP BLANCHET 16
The Class 1A Mountaineers (3-0) upended Class 3A Blanchet (0-1) in Seattle as Toby Jefferson scored the first and third touchdowns with short runs and Jesse Sande scored from about the 15.
“Toby and Jesse gave us a strong running game and Mason Jacoby and Ayden Rodriguez hooked up on several pass completions,” said Baker coach Ron Lepper.
Baker gave up a safety to fall behind the Metro League squad 16-14.
“Then we made a long drive to score and a big defensive stop to win it in the fourth quarter,” Lepper said. “Our offensive line supported our run game real well again.”
Cristian Zavala kicked the first two extra points and Sande ran for a 2-point conversion after Jefferson’s second touchdown.”
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Due to COVID-19 exposure and a 14-day quarantine, Meridian (1-0) had to cancel against Lynden Christian (2-0) on Friday. The Trojans also will miss out on facing Bellingham on March 11 and won’t meet Mount Baker on March 16. The Trojans hope to be back against Anacortes on March 20.
Class 1A Lynden Christian and Class 2A Lynden will meet for the first time since both schools were in the same division in the early 1990s. They’ll play at Lynden on Tuesday, March 16.
Nooksack Valley will play host to Oak Harbor on March 16. Oak Harbor originally had been scheduled to face Lynden and Lynden Christian originally had been scheduled to play Nooksack that day.
Instead of taking a bye on March 11, Lynden Christian will play at King’s in Shoreline. That same night, Bellingham will meet Granite Falls at Civic Stadium.
GAMES OF THURSDAY, MARCH 11
Lynden Christian at King’s in Shoreline, 6 p.m.
Mount Baker at Anacortes, 7 p.m.
Lynden at Sedro-Woolley 7 p.m.
Nooksack at Blaine, 7 p.m.
Burlington at Ferndale, 7 p.m.
Granite Falls vs. Bellingham at Civic Stadium, 7 p.m.
GAME OF FRIDAY, MARCH 12
Squalicum at Sehome, 7 p.m. (Sehome now has its own field)
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
