Lynden advances to state title game, but Squalicum and Lynden Christian fall short
Lynden found a perfect way to weather the football storm.
As a result, the Lions will be bidding for the school’s ninth state football championship.
In torrential rain, coach Blake VanDalen used a different quarterback and a different offense for a game-winning 80-yard drive in the final six minutes of No. 2 seeded Lynden’s 15-10 win over No. 3 North Kitsap (11-1) in the Class 2A State Playoffs semifinals Saturday night at Civic Stadium.
“With such strong sideways rain and wind, we told the kids we were going to use Cade Slayton at quarterback and run mainly the wildcat (direct snaps) to move into position for a game-winning field goal,” VanDalen said.
“And what did our guys tell me? ‘Oh no, Coach. We’re going to punch this in!’ ”
And the Lions (11-1) did just that when muscular 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior defensive star Slayton followed his 15-yard run to the 1-yard line with his touchdown burst with 38 seconds remaining.
The Lions’ reward will be the title game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup against Tumwater (10-2), a 14-3 winner over Squalicum in the other semifinal.
“This drive was so special, it was one of the most emotional moments in my 25 years here (including five as head coach),” said VanDalen, who will be coaching his second state title game and shooting for his first championship. “Our kids believed and trusted in what we were doing and did it.
“And how our interior line has improved without a senior,” he said. “The full stats aren’t yet available (at deadline for this story) but I’d say Cade had 60 yards of the 80 following the blocking of our line and our junior running backs Lane Heeringa and Campbell Nolte.”
Tight ends Case Zweegman and Trey Smiley also played a major blocking role for Slayton in what VanDalen calls “our double tight.”
This was Lynden’s 20th appearance in a state semifinal and the first for North Kitsap.
Starting quarterback Kaidan Hermanutz, a versatile junior who has led the Lions to 10 consecutive wins, scored on a 4-yard run with 1:34 left in the first quarter. Junior Troy Petz kicked the conversion for a 9-0 lead.
It was the 24th touchdown that Hermanutz has produced, including 17 scoring passes. But this was not a night for safe passing.
Lynden’s first two points came on a early safety when a North Kitsap punt snap went out of the end zone.
Kobe Baar, yet another standout junior, intercepted a pass on North Kitsap’s third play to help set the tone for a defensive effort against a team that came in averaging 46 points per game.
North Kitsap broke through with a 32-yard field goal by Cooper Grant with 4:45 left in the first half, cutting Lynden’s lead to 9-3.
The third quarter was scoreless during some of the worst weather in Civic Stadium history.
But North Kitsap quarterback Colton Bower broke free for a 35-yard run to midfield early in the fourth quarter. Bower capped an 85-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown and Grant’s conversion kick made it 10-9 with 6:33 remaining.”
North Kitsap had seemed pinned back by a 46-yard punt by Petz, who earlier booted a 64-yarder.
TUMWATER 14, SQUALICUM 3: The Storm (8-3), in its first state semifinals but its sixth state playoff appearance in seven opportunities under coach Nick Lucey, couldn’t make the most of several big plays at Tumwater District Stadium.
No. 1-seeded Tumwater (10-2) showed how tough its defense is against No. 4 Squalicum, which scored 112 points against two league champions in the Class 2A Round of 16 and quarterfinals.
Alex Overbay, a 6-3, 190-pound junior quarterback, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Otton 38 seconds into the second quarter soon after a 34-yard run by Payton Hoyt to Squalicum’s 22.
Squalicum quarterback Leyton Smithson responded with a 57-yard run to the 11-yard line as Hoyt made a touchdown-saving tackle. Sebastian Smith kicked a 26-yard field goal — his 17th consecutive successful kick in the playoffs after 16 conversions in the previous playoff games.
But Smith, a senior, would get no more opportunities.
With four seconds left in the first half, Hoyt scored from the 1 for the game’s final points. The score came soon after Overbay’s 18-yard pass to Seth Weller.
That was enough to end the Storm’s six-game winning streak. Smithson raced 72 yards to the 11 but the Thunderbirds halted the drive at the 3-yard line on fourth down late in the third quarter.
Ben Schlenbaker ran 30 yards to the 19-yard line with 6:17 to play. But two penalties created a third-and-36 situation and runs by Schlenbaker and Kaleb Hawkinson on pass completions weren’t enough to keep the drive alive.
Tumwater took over with less than four minutes left and soon stifled Squalicum’s final drive.
Considering that Tumwater came in with 521 points, the Storm’s defense played with admirable intensity in horrendous conditions.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. Tumwater is really a handful, really physical, and we fought our tails off to the last play,” said Lucey. “That was their season scoring low and we were proud to shut them out in the second half.
“We had three chances in the red zone but we had some tough situations.”
The Storm will lose 14 seniors, most of whom played significant starting roles. Smithson will join Schlenbaker at Washington State University.
EATONVILLE 38, LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 6: The No. 2-seeded Cruisers (13-0) ended a seven-game win streak for the No. 3 Lyncs (7-3) in the 1A semifinals.
Lynden Christian fell behind 26-6 by halftime at Art Crate Field in Spanaway and could not mount a second-half threat. The Lyncs’ touchdown was a 14-yard run by junior wingback Tyler Sipma.
The combined total of the abbreviated 2021 winter season (5-0) and this season was 12-3, with losses only to state 2A semifinalist Squalicum, strong 2A team Lakewood and now unbeaten 1A title hopeful Eatonville.
“I’m proud of how much our guys improved as the season progressed,” said LC coach Dan Kaemingk. “I think it was a fantastic accomplishment for our team to get to the semifinals.”
“We had great leadership from our seniors,” he stressed.
The loss spoiled the Lyncs’ chance to play for the title against Royal, which rallied for a 26-22 win over LC in 2019 in the most recent state playoffs.
A 46-yard pass-run touchdown from Eatonville’s star quarterback Kevin Wulff to Jakob Lucht at the end of the third quarter provided the game’s final points and ended any hope for the Lyncs.
No. 1- seeded Royal (13-0) won the other semifinal 35-14 over No. 5 King’s. Royal has scored 700 points for the season.
For a 1A school, the Lyncs continue to show exceptional interest in football, with 46 players on the state roster. They will lose 14 seniors, all of whom played significant roles this season.
This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
