Ferndale and Nooksack Valley romp to wins, securing state football playoff berths
In a county with seven quarterbacks who surpassed 1,000 yards passing on 10 teams in three eleven man leagues, Ferndale and Nooksack Valley looked like anything but second-place squads as they made rushing seem easy to qualify for the State Playoffs.
Ferndale’s 42-14 win over Timberline of Lacey in a Round of 32 Class 3A play-in game Saturday night could not have been much more impressive at Ferndale’s beautiful new stadium, where the Golden Eagles are now 6-0. The Golden Eagles scored on six of their first seven possessions against a team that averaged allowing 18 points.
The same could be said of Nooksack Valley’s 56-0 romp at Granite Falls in a 1A play-in mismatch the night before. The Pioneers scored on all seven first-half drives and stifled a team that scored 307 points in its first nine games.
Now Whatcom County fans are likely to be treated to four opening games Friday and Saturday at Civic Stadium this weekend, with days and times to be announced. All four local teams are top eight seeds.
The Golden Eagles (8-2) and Pioneers (7-2) returned to the state playoffs, joining two-time defending 2A champion Lynden (7-2) in 2A and frequent qualifier Lynden Christian (7-2) in 1A. The Lions and Lyncs had Week Ten byes, having already qualified.
On Sunday, it was announced that No. 3 1Aseed Lynden Christian will face No. 14 Connell (5-5) and No. 6 Nooksack Valley will open against No. 11 Cascade Christian (8-2), with day and time to be announced. If they both win, they will meet in the second round.
No. 8 3A seed Ferndale will open against No 9 Mount Tahoma (7-3).
No. 5 2A seed Lynden will meet No. 12 Bremerton (8-2).
FERNDALE 49, TIMBERLINE 14: Conner Walcker scored on runs of 8 and 5 yards and Phoenyx Finkbonner made it 21-0 in Ferndale‘s fourth consecutive win, showing plenty of moves while winning a 12-yard race to the right side of the end zone. Kaden Eldridge made the first three of his six conversions to give him 25 makes in 26 tries since he began kicking for the varsity midway through the season.
Timberline scored on a 16-yard pass from sophomore Synjae Colston to Cedric Ragland to keep the Blazers (5-5) in the game at the half 21-7.
The Golden Eagles then scored on runs by Talan Bungard of 6 yards, Finkbonner of 4 yards and junior defensive standout Jacob Gandy of 2 yards for his first varsity score. Colston added a 16-yard scoring pass to Sunny Nguyen with 48 seconds to play.
Colston had several good moments with 11 completions in 22 attempts for 175 yards, including three passes to Eli Evans for 65 yards. But the Golden Eagles thoroughly shut down the Blazers’ run game, allowing 23 yards on 20 runs — none longer than seven yards — including two sacks of Colston.
“Our primary goal was to take away Timberline’s running game and we did that well,” Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said, indicating the overall effort was one of Ferndale’s best games.
Senior line leader Camden Raymond was especially proud of how well the offensive line blocked for Walcker (111 yards on 15 carries), Finkbonner (70 on 11) and Bungard (55 on 14).
“Timberline had some tough guys up front and I thought we played well,” said Raymond of the line, which also includes seniors Kellan Lefave and William Poast, junior Wyatt Strait and sophomore Kulshan LaValley, along with junior tight end Lincoln Thomas.
Bungard improved his season total to 1,045 yards, while Walcker has 754 and Finkbonner has 663, all in the county’s top 10, according to the Whatcom Preps website. Ferndale averages more than 250 yards rushing per game, as does Nooksack Valley as the county’s top rushing teams.
“I’m happy to see Eldridge do so well,” said Finkbonner, who has emerged as a top-flight running back and defender after seeing almost all his action as a kicker his first two varsity seasons.
Where did all his nifty footwork come from?
“Those moves have been waiting,” Finkbonner said with a laugh.
Ferndale’s senior quarterback Bishop Ootsey, who also played well in the defensive backfield, led an offense without a turnover while completing six of seven passes for 44 yards and running six times for 41 yards to help the Golden Eagles amass 306 yards rushing.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
NOOKSACK VALLEY 56, GRANITE FALLS 0: All the Pioneers’ many skilled offensive threats were on full display as Colton Lentz and Skyler Whittern rushed for three touchdowns apiece and Joey Brown threw two touchdown passes to Cory Olney on a perfect night for the fourth-year quarterback
Senior kicker Jorgen Vigre continued his remarkable season with 8-for-8 accuracy on conversion kicks, making him 53-for-54 on the season, in which the Pioneers have scored a school record 439 points in nine games.
Despite averaging only 10 passes per game, Brown became the seventh county quarterback to surpass 1,000 yards and improved his touchdown pass total to 12 and his touchdowns produced to 19 running and passing combined this season and to 42 over a two-season span. He went 9 for 9 for 171 yards against Granite Falls (7-3) and found Olney from 30 and 17 yards out, improving Brown’s total to 1,062 yards.
Lentz, a junior, rushed 11 times for 178 yards and improved his total to 1,101 yards to top the county, according to the Whatcom Preps website. Lentz also led the county with a school record-tying 20 touchdowns and 122 points in the 10-game pre-playoff season, although Nooksack played only nine games. Whittern gained 152 yards to improve to 928 yards and increased his touchdown total to 13.
Lentz scored on runs of 59, 8 and 1 yard and Whittern tallied in sprints of 52, 4 and 4 yards. Olney caught six passes for 95 yards.
BELLINGHAM 47, SULTAN 21: Josh Leonard completed 24 of 33 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns for the Bayhawks (6-4). The senior lefthander improved his season totals to school records of 2,691 yards and 28 touchdown passes, according to the Whatcom Preps website, including a school-record 12 scoring catches each to seniors Josh Tolle and football rookie Wyatt Stephan.
Tolle scored on a 90-yard kickoff return and Stephan hit pay dirt with an 85-yard kickoff return, giving each a school record 13 touchdowns overall.
Tolle’s 14 catches for 145 yards and Stephan’s six grabs for 111 yards gave them a combined total of 107 catches in a total of only 16 games played. Hitting the century mark by two receivers in the same season was a first for any of the three Bellingham high schools. Both had 18-yard touchdown catches in their final game.
Tolle wound up as the county 10-game leader with school records of 75 catches for 1,042 yards. Stephan, who starred in all six wins, wound up with 32 catches for 834 yards and a county best 26-yard average.
Bellingham sophomore Owen “Bayhawk Ballhawk” Hanstead intercepted his seventh pass to take the county title. Hanstead, who improved from one interception as a freshman, was among five Bayhawks with interceptions, including Hanstead, Tolle, Bly Henderson, Gabe VanHofwegen and Frost, in that order. Hanstead later sustained an injury but coach Adam Leonard reported his young defensive star was “feeling much better” Saturday.
Holden Bates ended his career with 171 yards rushing on 12 carries and a 25-yard score, giving him 829 yards and nine touchdowns on a run-oriented team, according to Whatcom Preps. Junior fullback Tyler Frost scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards.
For Sultan (6-4), sophomore Julio Vargas scored on an 85-yard kickoff return and Derek Feltner gained 124 yards on 13 carries including a 38-yard touchdown, cutting Bellingham’s lead to 13-7 before the Bayhawks’ speed-burners got moving.
“This was a tremendous way to end the season,” second-year head coach Leonard said. “It was a complete game in all facets. We were able to double our win total from last season. It was a great season for the Bayhawks.”
None of Bellingham’s four losses was by more than six points. The Bayhawks, an independent, eventually hope to rejoin the Northwest Conference 2A division.
BLAINE 48, EAST JEFFERSON 13: The Borderites (3-7) prevailed with three touchdown passes from Colin Davis to Justin Minjarez, Tyler Bouma and Jesse Deming following two runs for scores by Jaden Paez.
Colby Shipp, a junior who figures to be one of the 1A division’s best players next season, ran for the last two touchdowns in the third quarter after the Borderites amassed a 35-7 halftime lead.
Matt Hayes kicked six extra points until the seventh was blocked.
Davis finished with 15 touchdown passes in his senior season, one of Blaine’s best totals.
“Colin improved tremendously throughout the year, a testament to his hard work and dedication,” Blaine coach Andy Olson said. “It was great to finish on a high note, to spread the ball around, and to give our seniors a final fun memory of football.
“We return quite a few key players and we’re looking forward to improving this off-season as we continue to carve out new expectations for Blaine athletes.”
MOUNT VERNON 40, SEHOME 3: Despite the loss, quarterback Nolan Wright wound up with a 13-7 record and more than 3,000 yards passing in his freshman and sophomore seasons combined, a rarity for a young high school signal caller.
Grady Evans, a versatile junior, kicked a 33-yard field goal, his fifth for the Mariners (6-4).
Junior Andre Watson caught seven passes for 95 yards and led the team with 65 catches for 851 yards. He also had a team-leading four interceptions despite playing limited time on defense.
Wright completed 14 of 38 passes for 206 yards with three interceptions and finished with 2,022 yards and 23 touchdown passes and 26 scores produced passing and running. Brad Duckworth caught three passes for 59 yards, enabling the senior standout to finish with 41 catches for 613 yards and six scores, according to Whatcom Preps.
Sehome had only four seniors and hopes to improve enough to become one of three state playoff qualifiers to be allocated next season to the NWC 2A division.
In other Week Ten 2A games, Sedro-Woolley shut out Snohomish 49-0, Archbishop Murphy overwhelmed Ingraham 74-0 and and Lakewood won twice, 29-14 over Burlington in a makeup game Tuesday and 46-18 over Jackson of Everett on Friday.
CEDAR PARK CHRISTIAN 24, MERIDIAN 21: The young Trojans (4-6) lost two of their final three games by only three points each, proving to be lot more competitive than their 0-4 NWC 1A record indicates.
The Trojans rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit on a 7-yard touchdown run by Kelley Gray, and touchdown passes from junior Jaeger Fyfe to freshman Kasey Brennan of 33 and 5 yards, plus three conversions by Landen Downey, who finished with 93 points on running, receiving and kicking.
Fyfe completed 18 of 38 passes for 232 yards and one interception. He finished with 1,809 yards and 16 touchdowns in 10 games.
Brennan had six catches for 103 yards and also made an interception.
Josh Elmer ended his career with more than 1,700 all-purpose yards on rushes, receptions and returns. He rushed nine times for 42 yards to increase his total to 678 yards and caught five passes for 43 yards to finish with 38 catches for 559 yards and 78 points, according to Whatcom Preps.
Thursday’s game
SQUALICUM 21, MOUNT BAKER 14: Andre Dunmore rushed eight times for 111 yards, including a 57-yard dash on the game’s first play to help set up his 2-yard touchdown.
Potential-packed junior speed burner Joaquin Ortiz caught a 38-yard pass-run touchdown from Marcus Nixon to make it 21-0 by the half for the Storm (4-6) with the last of freshman Slade Kaiser’s three extra points in his varsity debut.
Dylan Moa, a junior running back for Baker (3-7), finished with 114 yards on 25 carries and touchdowns of 1 and 2 yards. Moa was Baker’s leader with 790 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Caden Mosher caught a two-point conversion pass from fellow junior Luke Smith.
Nixon, a junior who converted to quarterback when needed, finished with 1,762 yards and 22 touchdowns produced running and passing. He had 880 yards and 12 scores on the ground and 882 yards and 10 scores through the air.
Nixon completed 7 of 10 passes for 129 yards with no interceptions, including four for 106 yards to Ortiz, who also rushed six times for 49 yards.
“I’ll be ready for next season,” said the football-loving Ortiz, who hopes to team with the quick Nixon for many yards.
Baker senior Tanyen Staton, who kicked both extra points, caught fourth-down passes of 7 and 30 yards from Smith on Baker’s final possession. But a pair of 15-yard dead-ball penalties after the 30-yarder moved the Storm back to their own 45. Storm sophomore Rhys Knowlton then intercepted a deflected pass to clinch the win.
It was the last game for honored seniors Colby Lewis and Brady Scammell of Squalicum and Alex Maloley and Vance Lawrence for Baker.
“We had a challenging schedule with five games against 1A playoff teams,” said Baker coach Ron Lepper. “We didn’t have a lot of varsity experience. I was proud of the team’s effort all season. We need work on the little things and to execute better moving forward, including the head coach.”
WEEK ELEVEN
State Playoffs Round of 16
Whatcom County teams
3A
Ferndale vs. Mount Tahoma at Ferndale High School, Friday at 7 p.m.
2A
Lynden vs. Bremerton at Civic Stadium, Friday at 6 p.m.
1A
Lynden Christian vs. Connell at Blaine High School, Friday at 4 p.m.
Nooksack Valley vs. Cascade Christian, Saturday at 5 p.m.
3A State Round of 32 scores
Ferndale 42, Timberline 14
Arlington 54, Ballard 13
Auburn Riverside 28, Juanita 9
Bellevue 49, Mountlake Terrace 7
Eastside Catholic 49, Hermiston 6
Garfield 35, Kelso 0
Marysville-Pilchuck 28, Gig Harbor 7
Kennewick 38, Mercer Island 0
Lincoln 56, Auburn 22
Monroe 41, Bonney Lake 24
Mountain View 41, Edmonds-Woodway 28
Mount Spokane 27, Roosevelt 0
Mount Tahoma 53, West Seattle 14
O’Dea 56, Shorecrest 0
Ridgeline 38, Seattle Prep 14
Yelm 60, Kent Meridian 0
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
