Weekend Whatcom football: Squalicum’s new slasher of a quarterback returns to roots
Squalicum coach Nick Lucey had no trouble coming up with a ideal description of his team’s dynamic new quarterback.
“He’s both fast and quick,” Lucey said of senior newcomer Leyton Smithson, who could not have been much more impressive than he was in Squalicum’s season-opening 40-14 win over Lynden Christian in a non-divisional opener Friday at Civic Stadium.
“He’s sort of a slasher in his running style,” said Lucey, whose Storm is now playing in the Northwest Conference’s exceptionally tough Class 2A ranks. “He has offers from Idaho and Idaho State. I honestly think he‘s a Division I prospect.”
All-state running back Ben Schlenbaker, who to no one’s surprise rushed 21 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns, was ecstatic over Smithson’s return to the area.
“We knew Leyton when he played here (in middle school) before he moved to Idaho,” Schlenbaker said of the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Smithson, who rushed 10 times for 55 yards and three touchdowns and completed eight of 16 passes for 127 yards.
“Leyton’s one of the smartest quarterbacks around and he can control the tempo of our offense,” the fourth-year running back/linebacker said. “He’s fast, athletic and is able to throw well off the run.”
Smithson did just that while completing seven passes for 83 yards to returning receiving standout Kai Posey. The Storm grabbed a 21-0 advantage early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Schlenbaker, set up by a 32-yard dash by senior Kaleb Hawkinson; a 55-yard score by Schlenbaker, who used his breathtaking breakaway skill and picked his holes perfectly; and a 3-yard keeper by Smithson, set up by a 20-yard interception return by junior Mason Myers.
At that point, LC impressed longtime coach Dan Kaemingk with a spirited 74-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 3-yard score by Caleb Ryan and a 2-point conversion pass from new quarterback Will Colwell to Sam Penner. Highlights of the drive were two passes of 13 yards on third down from Colwell to senior Jamison Hintz and a 36-yard pass from Colwell to Hintz on fourth-and-two from the Storm’s 39-yard line. Hintz won an intense battle with a defender for the ball.
“That’s a heck of a team,” said Kaemingk of Squalicum, which hopes to win the 2A title.
“We learned a lot and there were some cool things that went on,” said Kaemingk, in his 26th season as head coach. “We kept fighting and we saw a lot of good stuff (to build on).”
That included interceptions by Matthew Burrows of a deflected pass, and a pick by Hintz in the first half. Smithson’s zig-zag 20-yard touchdown put the Storm up 27-8. An interception by sophomore Nolan Lamm set up Schlenbaker’s 2-yard score and Smithson plowed over from the 1 for the final score. Penner’s 51-yard scoring catch from Colwell with 1:16 left capped a game of exciting plays.
Colwell, in his first start, completed 13 of 32 passes for 234 yards, including four for 67 yards to Hintz and four for 58 yards to Tyler Sipma. Another Storm highlight was Smithson’s 44-yard strike to Bryan Sheedy to begin the fourth scoring drive. That helped give Squalicum 380 total yards to LC’s 252. The Storm’s new kicker, senior Sebastian Smith, went 4 for 4 on conversions.
Saturday’s game
FERNDALE 55, MONROE 35: In his first start for the Golden Eagles, senior quarterback Mark Schlichting completed 7 of 9 passes for 231 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw scoring passes of 69 yards to Thomas Broselle, 33 yards to sophomore Conner Walcker and 27 yards to Ryan Pelton.
Junior running back Isaiah Carlson, in his third season, rushed 13 times for 131 yards and touchdowns of 9 and 3 yards to help Ferndale amass 365 yards on 46 carries while preparing for Friday night‘s rivalry game at Lynden. The Golden Eagles averaged more than 10 yards per play with 596 total yards on 55 plays as offensive linemen Jake Mason, Landon Hatchett, Jordan Mason, Tre Kyle and Trevor Fetty provided the opportunities.
Broselle and Pelton rushed for 94 yards on six carries and 84 yards on eight tries, respectively. Pelton scored on runs of 6 and 17 yards. Along with Carlson, Broselle, who caught two passes for 116 yards and Pelto form a veteran crew that went 5-1 during the abbreviated winter season. Senior fullback Elijah McCormick, having worked his way into an important role, gained 42 yards on six carries.
“Offensively, we played a pretty clean game with only one turnover, but we have a lot of work to do on defense,” said Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich, whose team gave up 279 yards and allowed the game’s final two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it seem closer than it really was. A large crowd showed up at Blaine High’s stadium, which will be the Eagles’ home turf for two seasons while Ferndale undergoes a complete rebuild.
Thursday’s game
NOOKSACK VALLEY 9, SEHOME 7: Nooksack freshmen Cory Olney and Colton Lentz intercepted passes in the end zone, and sophomore Wayne Silves made an interception with eight seconds to play to cap a memorable win for the Class 1A Pioneers over the 2A Mariners.
In the fourth quarter, Sehome was denied by a fumble recovery on Nooksack’s 1-yard line by James Triplett. Nooksack took a 3-0 lead on a 23-yard field goal by Caleb Kingma in the third quarter to snap a scoreless tie. Olney caught a 13-yard touchdown pass over the middle from sophomore quarterback Joseph Brown one minute into the fourth period. Brown finished 11 for 22 for 134 yards with no interceptions, including a 49-yard strike to Ryan Hughes on Nooksack’s touchdown drive.
Sehome senior Jovyn Sangha, a newcomer at quarterback, took over in the second half and threw an eight-yard scoring pass with 2:27 to play. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 218 yards and junior Carson Neff went 7 for 14 for 75 yards in the first half. Mariners sophomore Braddock Duckworth caught eight passes for 109 yards. Evans grabbed six for 51 yards and Zachary Chisholm gained 69 yards on five catches.
“Our young kids had a nice coming out party,” Nooksack coach Craig Bartl said. Lentz, the son of longtime Nooksack assistant Britt Lentz, played like a veteran at linebacker.
Other Friday games
LYNDEN 24, HOCKINSON 21: Alternating quarterbacks Kaeden Hermanutz and Max Moore turned in exceptional performances in their first regular duty on offense. Hermanutz scored on a 6-yard run in the first quarter and threw a 16-yard scoring pass to junior Isaiah Stanley on the opening play of the fourth quarter for Lynden’s first and third touchdowns. Moore ran 17 times for 131 yards and threw 17 yards to Stanley for the second score, giving him 4 for 7 passing for 36 yards to go with Hermanutz’s 6 for 9 for 51 yards.
Lynden junior Troy Petz kicked a 34-yard field goal with four minutes left to snap a 21-all tie. Kole Antypas also made a big difference in the kicking game with 3 for 3 on conversions. Standout junior linebacker Lane Heeringa led the Lions with 11 tackles and ran for 62 yards on 11 carries to bolster a ground game that produced 270 yards on 44 carries behind an all-new offensive line with five non-seniors. Taivin VanDalen’s interception led to the game-winning field goal.
“I’m really proud of how our young offensive line performed so well,” Lynden coach Blake VanDalen said.
BLAINE 36, PORT ANGELES 28: Scott Baldwin’s interception in the end zone with less than three minutes remaining preserved the win for the Class 1A Borderites over Class 2A Port Angeles. New senior quarterback Avery Dohner threw 57 and 49 yards to Jaxon Kortlever for the Borderites’ first two touchdowns.
Scoring runs of 5 yards by Gabe Cranford, 17 yards by Larry Creasey and 1 yard by Cole Thomas followed, with Thomas making the score 36-21. Thomas threw a 2-point conversion pass to Dohner on a trick play and Preston King went 4 for 4 on conversion kicks.
“Baldwin’s interception seemed miraculous, considering he was able to keep his feet in the end zone after Kortlever caused a deflection with a tipped pass,” said Blaine coach Jay Dodd, whose team hopes to contend for the title in its first season back in the rugged NWC 1A league. “It was a good start and we also saw a lot we have to work on.”
MOUNT BAKER 43, LIFE CHRISTIAN 8: The Mountaineers scored 14 points on defense with Alex Magallano and Caleb Horsmon scoring on pick sixes of about 70 and 25 yards, respectively, and sophomore Alex Maloley coming through with a safety in Lakewood.
Marcus George, who was a junior reserve last season, burst into prominence with three touchdown runs and returnee Jesse Sande scored one on the ground. Davin Beason, Baker’s leader at center and middle linebacker, and Sande had interceptions, giving the Mounties four pass thefts, and Benjamin Johnny recovered a fumble. Joel Robles, a junior who is Baker’s new kicker, converted of five extra points.
“We had eight new starters on both sides of the ball,” said Baker coach Ron Lepper, whose team went 5-1 during the winter season and is bidding for its ninth consecutive postseason berth. Lepper credited senior Brent Anderson, in his first start at quarterback, with a solid job.
“Brent did everything we asked him to do,” said Lepper, who saw quarterback Landon Smith sidelined recently with a broken thumb.
LUMMI 54, MOSSYROCK 24: Tucker Rawlins threw six touchdown passes and returning standout Duncan Toby and William Elzey also provided highlights for the Blackhawks with touchdown catches and scoring runs against the Lewis County eight-man team at Lummi.
Wilson also threw for two touchdowns to Richard Wilson. Elzey, the leading tackler, and Sammy Bumatay, who had four sacks at defensive end, helped Lummi take a 40-8 halftime lead. The Blackhawks scored on the opening series of the second half. Lummi, which is expected to be a state playoff contender as usual, will play its first road game against Naselle, likely on Friday at a time and site to be determined, coach Jim Sandusky said.
BURLINGTON-EDISON 54, MERIDIAN 8: The Trojans, with one of their youngest teams, gave eight freshmen extensive playing time. Bryce Johnson scored Meridian’s touchdown on a pass from beyond the 30 by fellow senior Tucker Harrison.
“In the last 50 years combined, I don’t think we’ve given eight freshmen such extensive playing time,” said second-season head coach Patrick Ames, who played at Meridian and assisted father Bob Ames for more than two decades. “Burlington is really good. You can expect to see them contend in the NWC’s 2A league.”
EVERETT 59, BELLINGHAM 7: Alex Breeding scored on a 95-yard kickoff return for the only touchdown the independent Class 2A Bayhawks could muster against the 3A Seagulls.
“They’ll get some wins under their belts,” coach Robb Myhre said of the Bayhawks, who won their last three games to finish 3-2 in the abbreviated winter season.
Everett did not throw a pass and amassed 374 yards rushing on 39 carries, with four touchdowns apiece for JuJu Williams and Mike Noland. Bayhawks is the new mascot for Bellingham.
WEEK TWO SCHEDULE
Friday:
Ferndale at Lynden, 7 p.m.
Lakewood at Lynden Christian, 7 p.m.
Bellevue Christian at Blaine 7 p.m.
Squalicum at Sequim, 6 p.m.
Hoquiam at Nooksack Valley, 6 p.m.
Anacortes vs. Sehome at Civic Stadium, 5 p.m.
West Seattle vs. Bellingham at Civic Stadium, 8 p.m.
Meridian vs. Evergreen at Highline Stadium, 7 p.m.
Naselle vs. Lummi, TBD
Saturday:
Mount Baker at Wenatchee, 6 p.m.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
