What’s better than one pick-six? Try two for Squalicum’s surprising Trevor Keeley
Nick Lucey only wishes Squalicum had more soccer stars willing to give football a try.
Trevor Keeley amazed Lucey with interception returns of 55 and 85 yards for the senior cornerback’s first varsity touchdowns in the Storm’s 27-0 win over Sehome on Friday at Civic Stadium.
Squalicum preserved its hopes of qualifying for the postseason, although the Storm (3-2 overall, 1-2 Northwest Conference Class 2A) would have to win out against Archbishop Murphy, Sedro-Woolley and Burlington-Edison in their final three league games
“I think that’s a first for us. One guy with two pick sixes,” he said of Keeley’s feat. “Trevor played football on the freshman team and briefly as a sophomore, but he turned his focus to soccer until this fall.”
Lucey also hasn’t had many wide receivers, even standouts like senior Reed Richardson, capable of a first-rate job at quarterback.
Richardson completed 8 of 10 passes for 116 yards and a 39-yard touchdown to Kai Posey, who gave the Storm a 14-0 halftime lead. Posey set up the play with an interception.
“Reed had an excellent game,” said Lucey. “He’s electric, keeping plays alive. He really threw a nice ball to Kai.”
Leyton Smithson, whose shoulder injury still prevented him from passing, scored a 3-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal out of the wildcat formation, putting the Storm up 20-0 midway through the third quarter.
All-state running back Ben Schlenbaker returned from an ankle injury to rush 18 times for 52 yards. Sophomore Deandre Dunmore had seven carries for 35 yards and Smithson chipped in with four carries for 25 yards, three catches for 27 yards and an interception.
Lucey was pleased to see his offense perform effectively because he respects Sehome’s defense so much.
“Gavin Ortega (Sehome’s two-way senior line standout) is an absolute wall,” Lucey said. “And (sophomore) Max Malo had a nice game at outside linebacker.”
The Mariners (1-4, 0-3) were shut out for the first this this season. It was the first scoreless game for the Storm’s defense.
Sebastian Smith made three of four conversion kicks.
Because of COVID-19 exposure, Sedro-Woolley (4-0, 2-0) could not play against Archbishop Murphy (4-1, 2-0), which instead gained a 48-22 non-league win over Blaine (2-1).
That means there may need to be a Thursday-Tuesday-Saturday game setup if the COVID postponements have a chance to cost a 2A team a post-season berth. The 1A situation is still uncertain.
SATURDAY’S GAME
MOUNT BAKER 28, ELMA 13: Davin Beason threw a 40-plus yard touchdown pass to Landen Hanstead and a 25-yarder to Wyatt Pettigrew and Beason also scored on a quarterback sneak to rally the 1A Mountaineers (2-2) to a non-league road win against 2A Elma (2-1).
A short touchdown run by Marcus George and his 2-point conversion put the Mounties up 14-13 in the third quarter after Baker trailed at the half 7-0.
Beason’s touchdown keeper and his scoring pass to Pettigrew helped make a strong second-half defensive stand work well for Baker.
“We had three turnovers in the first half and none in the second half,” Baker coach Ron Lepper said. “Pettigrew and Kevin Tucker had interceptions and our defensive line played well with numerous sacks, especially in the second half.”
The Mounties will open NWC 1A play Friday at Nooksack Valley.
Baker originally was scheduled to play Tonasket but COVID exposure forced the switch.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
NOOKSACK VALLEY 54, MERIDIAN 6: Sophomore quarterback Joey Brown ran for two touchdowns and passed for three in an NWC 1A opener to give the Pioneers (3-2, 1-0) a 28-0 second-quarter lead over the Trojans (3-2, 0-1).
Brown helped spoil Meridian’s homecoming with scoring runs of 25 and 3 yards and then passed for scores of 16 yards to Jordan Silva and 12 yards to Dawson Kimball.
Meridian quarterback Tucker Harrison’s 12-yard touchdown scramble spoiled Nooksack’s shutout. But Silva ran 45 yards for a score on the first play of the second half. On his next opportunity, Silva ran 28 yards to the 3-yard line, from where he scored for a 40-6 bulge.
Brown followed a 20-yard pass to Ryan Hughes with a 21-yard scoring pass to Caleb Kingma, who made good on six of eight conversions, including one blocked kick.
Freshman defensive standout Colton Lentz took over at quarterback, running 10 yards for his first varsity score after setting up the play with a 55-yard dash.
“I liked our intensity. We came out with fire and played with confidence,” said Nooksack coach Craig Bartl. “We grew as a team and also had an outstanding defensive effort.”
LC OUT TWO MORE GAMES: With Lynden Christian (1-2) out of football for two weeks because to the school’s temporary closure due to COVID cases, the Lyncs were unable to play Blaine. The Lyncs also can not play against Meridian on Friday, but hope to return Oct. 15 at Nooksack Valley. The Lyncs had already been sidelined for an earlier non-league game because of an opponent’s COVID exposure.
LYNDEN 51, CEDARCREST 21: Lane Heeringa ran 12 times for 86 yards and scoring sprints of 7 and 6 yards in the non-league win over host Cedarcrest.
Campbell Nolte gained 96 yards on nine carries and junior Chris Elenbaas scored his first varsity touchdown with a 9-yard run as the Lions rushed for 343 yards on 35 carries.
Cade Slayton’s 70-yard interception return gave the Lions a 17-0 advantage.
“We had a defensive highlight when Ryan Kleindel forced a fumble,” Lynden coach Blake VanDalen said. “It was a clean game for us -- we had one turnover.”
MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK 49, FERNDALE 15: The Golden Eagles (4-1, 2-1) suffered a jolt in the Wesco 3A North when host Marysville-Pilchuck (5-0, 3-1) moved into the favorite’s role.
Ferndale scored on Mark Schlichting’s 10-yard pass to tight end Xander Castleberry and on sophomore Kyler Bowen’s 3-yard run after he sparked a drive with a 40-plus yard dash. Bishop Ootsey ran for a two-point conversion.
“It was 28-0 at halftime and we had early trouble with the pace of the game,” Schlichting said. “It seemed like it was only five seconds from Marysville-Pilchuck’s huddle to the snap.”
Ferndale, which came into the game averaging 37.5 points, still can finish at least second by winning out against Oak Harbor, Stanwood and Marysville-Getchell.
ANACORTES 48, BELLINGHAM 0: The Bayhawks (1-4) trailed 24-0 at halftime at Civic Stadium in the absence of several injured regulars, including standout receiver Johnny Twedt. Quarterback Max Rasset was forced out with a third-quarter injury.
Bellingham continues its independent schedule against La Conner on Friday at 8 p.m. at Civic Stadium.
ARCHBISHOP MURPHY 48, BLAINE 22: After being sidelined for two games with COVID exposure, the 1A Borderites fell to 2-1 but showed a lot of courage by taking on the 2A contender.
Scoring details for Blaine were unavailable.
WEEK SIX GAMES
Friday
Lakewood at Lynden, 7 p.m.
Mount Baker at Nooksack, 7 p.m.
Shorewood at Blaine, 7 p.m.
Ferndale at Oak Harbor, 7 p.m.
Archbishop Murphy vs. Squalicum at Civic Stadium, 5 p.m.
Bellingham vs. La Conner at Civic Stadium, 5 p.m.
Sehome at Burlington-Edison, 7 p.m.
Darrington at Lummi, 7 p.m.
Coupeville vs. Meridian, TBD.
No game — Lynden Christian.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
