Playoffs? Playoffs? Yeah — five Whatcom County teams might make the state tournament
Just as in the banner 2021 season, five of Whatcom County’s nine football teams in 1A, 2A and 3A may well wind up in the state playoffs.
Here’s how the situation could shake out heading into the last two rounds of the regular season after a wild group of Week 7 games:
1A — Nooksack Valley’s 28-20 win over Mount Baker, along with Lynden Christian’s 51-0 victory over Meridian, will land the Lyncs (7-0, 2-0) and Pioneers (6-1, 2-1) in the crossover playoffs in Week 10, providing LC beats Baker in Week 9. Baker faces fourth-place Meridian and LC meets fifth-place Blaine on Friday, Oct. 21, in Week 8.
As for the highly anticipated Week 9 showdown between the Mounties and Lyncs at Baker? If they both win in Week 8, that game will be for a share the Northwest Conference 1A title and a possible No. 1 playoff seed. But if Baker prevails over the Lyncs, and providing Nooksack beats Blaine in Week 9, three teams would finish 2-1, each with one win and one loss against each other. Thus a mini-playoff would be needed early in Week 10 to determine the two state qualifiers.
2A — Squalicum’s 35-0 loss to the notably young but even more remarkably quick Anacortes Seahawks (7-0, 5-0) doesn’t have to keep the Storm (4-3, 3-2) from returning to the postseason. But to accomplish that goal, Squalicum must beat both Sehome (4-3, 2-3) Friday at Civic Stadium and Sedro-Woolley (5-2, 3-2) in Week 9.
“If we play at our best, we have a shot at the playoffs,” said Storm coach Nick Lucey, whose team seeks to give him his seventh playoff berth in eight possible seasons (there were no playoffs in the unusual winter 2021 season).
Defending 2A state champion Lynden’s 35-23 comeback win over Burlington-Edison not only enabled the Lions (7-0, 5-0) to keep pace with their Week 9 NWC title showdown opponent Anacortes, but clinched one of the three 2A playoff spots for Lynden, which now has a state-leading 18-game winning streak. (The tough league gets three spots instead of last year‘s two berths.)
Since the Lions and Seahawks already hold head-to-head tiebreakers over Sedro-Woolley, Sehome and Squalicum, the worst Lynden can do is take the No. 2 playoff spot. The Lions will be favorites at home Friday against Lakewood (2-5, 1-4) before taking on an imposing challenge at Anacortes in Week 9.
Anacortes, which has amassed a whopping 271 points and allowed only 63 in seven games, is a heavy favorite Friday at Burlington.
A three-way mini-playoff is also possible in NWC 2A if Sehome beats both Squalicum and Lakewood, and if Squalicum then beats Sedro-Woolley. In that scenario, each team would be 4-3 in league and 1-1 against each other.
3A — Ferndale’s 41-21 win over Mount Vernon clinched a state playoff berth in the Week 10 Round of 32 and propelled the Golden Eagles (5-2, 5-0) into what has become a Wesco 3A title game Friday at Stanwood (7-0, 5-0), which claimed a 42-6 win over Marysville-Getchell.
The Ferndale-Stanwood winner will play the Wesco 3A South champion in Week 9 for seeding in the state Round of 32 in Week 10. The losers will meet in Week 9, also for state seeding.
FRIDAY’S KEY GAMES
NOOKSACK VALLEY 28, MOUNT BAKER 20: Sophomore running back Colton Lentz raced 69 yards with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter for the game’s final score, capping a remarkable second half for the son of longtime assistant coach Britt Lentz.
Lentz finished with 204 yards on 23 carries, with two of his three touchdowns coming in the second half, giving him 10 touchdowns for the season and nearly 900 yards rushing. Lentz had 151 yards on eight carries in the second half.
“I’ve never seen Colton run so fast,” said junior quarterback Joey Brown, who threw a 39-yard pass/run touchdown to speed burner Jackson Bennett for Nooksack’s first score early in the second quarter. “Colton’s going to have to join the track team.”
“It was all our line,” said Lentz, one of the best young prospects in the NWC. “Our line was great. Dad had been talking with me. He was telling me to aim for 200 yards.”
Brown’s TD pass was the 15th score he has produced running or passing. The play was especially encouraging for the Pioneers, since Brown played with a taped ankle after a sprain sustained last week.
“I think I’ll be fine,” said Brown, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 118 yards. He will benefit from an unexpected bye in Week 8 because Rainier canceled a non-league game.
Both teams played exceptionally hard in a classic game.
“There was no doubt about that,” Lepper said of the effort by both teams.
Mount Baker took a 20-14 lead with 8:19 left in the third quarter on a 10-yard pass from Landon Smith to Brady West. Tanyen Staton began the drive with a 35-yard kickoff return and Marcques George gained 38 of the 55 yards on the drive. George finished with 179 yards rushing on 19 carries to go over 900 yards for the season.
Baker’s first touchdown was a 2-yard burst by Wilhelm Maloley, set up by George’s 49-yard run on an 80-yard drive. On Baker’s second score, West climaxed a 65-yard push with a 9-yard touchdown after Maloley’s 20-yarder.
Lentz tied the game 14-all with a 4-yard score and a two-point conversion 58 seconds before halftime. On Nooksack’s first possession of the second half, he scored on a 14-yard run and Jorgen Vigre’s conversion kick gave the Pioneers a 21-20 advantage.
“It was a real tough battle and we’re like a family, the way we grew and played so hard together,” said 290-pound junior lineman Duke Halaapiapi.
“We had two teams and two coaching staffs who really respect each other,” said Nooksack coach Craig Bartl. “This is what it’s all about. There was great sportsmanship.”
Skyler Whittern helped Nooksack’s ground game with 10 carries for 44 yards. Brown connected with Bennett four times for 68 yards. Maloley had 59 yards on nine cracks for Baker.
ANACORTES 35, SQUALICUM 0: Anacortes, with a remarkably large group of quick and poised sophomores and juniors, has grown perhaps faster than most of its competition anticipated heading into the season.
Talented junior quarterback Rex Larson threw a screen pass to Hayden John on the Seahawks’ first series against Squalicum Thursday at Civic Stadium. John demonstrated why he is listed as “athlete” on the roster when he made a marvelous shifty move and turned the play into a 79-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with the first of junior kicker Cooper Barton’s conversion kicks.
Larson completed 19 of 30 passes for 301 yards and no interceptions with four touchdowns. He followed with a 9-yard scoring pass to sophomore Brock Beaner in the opening quarter, a 1-yard touchdown toss to sophomore Brady Beaner for 21-0, and a 48-yard scoring strike to John for 28-0 on the opening series of the second half. The Seahawks’ last touchdown was a 2-yard burst by Carson Portz.
In all, the Seahawks had 495 yards, with 109 on 18 carries by Brock Beaner. John caught five passes for 139 yards and yet another sophomore speed-burner, Rylin Lang, grabbed five for 67 yards.
Squalicum quarterback Josh Leonard, a left-handed junior who came in with 13 touchdown passes and more than 1,000 yards, often was forced to throw on the run. He gamely did his best, but finished 11 for 28 for 64 yards, although he managed an alert effort to suffer only one sack.
The Storm finished with 208 yards. On their final series, backup quarterback Nolan Lamm, a junior, completed four of five passes for 85 yards. Starting running back Marcus Nixon ran for 66 yards on 16 carries and Joaquin Ortiz-McAlister caught five passes for 53 yards.
“Tip your cap to Anacortes. They combine speed, physicality and aggressiveness” Lucey said. “I do think they have a shot at Lynden.”
OTHER FRIDAY GAMES
FERNDALE 41, MOUNT VERNON 21: Fourth-year running back Isaiah Carlson scored a career-high five touchdowns, all in the first half, including runs of 18, 2 and 25 yards in the first quarter, to increase his county lead to 18 scores. Sophomore Talan Bungard scored the other touchdown on a short run to help give the Golden Eagles a 41-0 halftime advantage and the ability to play reserves in the entire second half.
“Isaiah is getting stronger each week,” Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said of Carlson, who missed the final three games last season with a knee injury. He gained nearly 140 yards, moving him over 800 for the season. Sophomore Zach Nielsen also gained more than 100 yards.
“Our defensive starters all played well in the first half,” the coach said. “We’ve been getting better and better all season. We’ll have to play really well to beat Stanwood.”
BLAINE 44, BELLINGHAM 18: The Borderites (1-6, 0-2) earned their first win as Kael Evinger threw touchdown passes of 34 and 35 yards to Riley Ihde and 70 to Hunter Vezzetti, giving the senior quarterback 17 for 26 passing for 245 yards and putting him over 800 yards with eight scoring tosses.
Blaine coach Jay Dodd, whose team led 14-6 at the half, also noted that sophomore Colby Shipp had touchdowns of 6 and 2 yards and finished with 121 yards on 27 carries. Jesse Deming returned an interception 26 yards to score and earned Dodd’s defensive praise along with fellow junior cornerback Justin Minjarex. Sophomore inside linebacker Blake Koreski had three tackles for loss.
Junior Matthew Hayes kicked a 27-yard field goal and made six of seven conversions. Vezzetti had 131 yards receiving and fellow junior Ihde had 104.
For Bellingham (2-5), Logan Steeves gained nearly 100 yards and scored on runs of 62 and 22 yards. Lucas Cousens caught four passes for 64 yards from Gabe VanHofwegen, including a 45-yard touchdown that gave the sophomore 13 for 30 passing for more than 150 yards. Sophomore Tyler Frost led the defense in tackles.
“Our kids continue to work very hard,” Dodd said. “I’m very proud of their effort.”
LYNDEN 35, BURLINGTON-EDISON 23: Lane Heeringa led the Lions with 10 tackles, including nine unassisted, and scored a season-high three touchdowns, giving the senior eight. He scored twice in the first half on runs of one and five yards and tallied the last score on a 1-yarder as the Lions rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit.
Campbell Nolte scored on a 55-yard dash and sophomore Isaiah Oudman scored his first varsity touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Kaedan Hermanutz. Troy Petz made all five conversion kicks, giving him 26 in 28 attempts.
Hermanutz went 6 for 8 for 65 yards and Brant Heppner also went 6 for 8 for 48 yards, while Isaiah Stanley led Lynden with six catches for 69 yards. Nolte gained 66 yards on five carries, Heeringa had 62 on 18 tries and Hermanutz ran eight times for 48 yards.
“Our kids faced adversity really well,” said Lions coach Blake VanDalen. “And I forgot to tell the kids that we have clinched a state playoff berth!”
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 51, MERIDIAN 0: Kade Eldridge carried only three times but scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 45 and 8 yards, helping the Lyncs to a 42-0 halftime advantage and giving him 9 scores.
The top-ranked Lyncs worked on their passing game as starter Jeremiah Wright went seven for eight for 100 yards, Griffin Dykstra was eight for 10 for 135 yards and two scores and Tommy Meyer was five for eight for 52 yards. Braden Kuik caught a 35-yard scoring pass and Tyson Bajema caught a 33-yard touchdown pass and led 10 receivers with three grabs for 76 yards. Wright went over the 900-yard mark as a first-year junior starting quarterback
Kuik forced a fumble and Dawson Bouma returned it for a 29-yard score.
For Meridian (4-3, 1-2), Jaeger Fyfe went 11 for 16 for 111 yards, putting the sophomore over 1.000 yards passing. Hunter Jones had his fifth interception and now has 10 for his career.
“Again, we were really pleased how our kids came out of the gate like wild horses,” coach Greg Terpstra said. “They’ve done it all seven games. Griffin and Meyer called their own plays when they got the chance. Kuik, Tyler Myhre and Jacob Tolsma were all outstanding defensively.”
SEHOME 42, ARCHBISHOP MURPHY 14: Tommy Funk rushed for nearly 200 yards, lifting the senior over 700, and scored three touchdowns, including a 37-yarder, giving him nine. He also had two sacks at linebacker.
Coach Kevin Beason was gratified to see how freshman Nolan Wright completed 13 of 17 passes for 134 yards and threw scoring passes to Andre Watson of 18 yards and to Kai Swanson of nine yards for the senior’s first varsity touchdown. Wright improved his touchdown pass total to 10 and went over 700 yards to help Sehome to a 434-216 yardage advantage with the game’s final 21 points.
Watson also had a 35-yard pick six and sophomore cornerback Coleby Chambers contributed his first interception. Grady Evans kicked all six conversions.
“Our front seven stopped the run real well,” sixth-year coach Kevin Beason said. “These kids have shown more grit and perseverance than any team I’ve had..”
LUMMI 40, CRESCENT 22: Sophomore quarterback Tony Abrams threw for 222 yards and five touchdowns, with four to Mathias Johnson for 6, 45, 20 and 10 yards as young Lummi (2-4) gave new coach Watiko Leighton his second win, both at home.
Desmond Bailey scored on a 10-yard pass and a 70-yard scoop-and-score on defense. Jerome Toby ran for two conversions.
“I thought our effort was great,” Leighton said. “The kids battled all four quarters and played their hearts out. I’m really proud of them!”
WEEK 8
FRIDAY
Squalicum vs. Sehome at Civic Stadium, 7 p.m.
Lakewood at Lynden, 7 p.m.
Ferndale at Stanwood, 7 p.m.
Lynden Christian at Blaine, 7 p.m.
Mount Baker at Meridian, 7 p.m.
Lummi at Concrete, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Bellingham vs. Friday Harbor at Civic Stadium, 1 p.m.
Bye — Nooksack Valley (Rainier canceled game).
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
