Two Whatcom titans fall, but Nooksack Valley rises to second consecutive state semifinal
Fourth-year quarterback Joey Brown displayed remarkable resilience for Nooksack Valley.
Nooksack’s defense demonstrated great grit when needed most.
Six offensive stars rolled up more than 400 yards for the potent Pioneers in fine fashion.
Lynden Christian quarterback Jeremiah Wright never got a full chance to mount a comeback.
That sums up Nooksack Valley’s 47-14 win over the Lyncs before a packed house Friday at Civic Stadium in the State Playoff 1A quarterfinals.
The sixth-seeded Pioneers (9-2) advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive season, against 12-0 Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), a 24-20 winner over Freeman. The game will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Union Stadium in Mead.
The winner will play for the state title against either three-time defending champion Royal or Seton Catholic. Top-seeded Royal overwhelmed Omak 49-0 and 12th-seeded Seton Catholic held off Cashmere 42-35.
On Saturday, Lynden (8-3) saw its streak of two 2A state titles ended in a 34-28 overtime loss to North Kitsap (11-1) in Poulsbo. The Lions also saw their string of reaching at least the state semifinals finished after four opportunities.
So, for the first time, Nooksack Valley is the lone remaining Whatcom County team in semifinal competition.
But what a team! The Pioneers, now boasting a county-leading five-game winning streak and 545 points in 11 games, are shooting for their first appearance in a state title game in the 50-year history of the playoffs, led by the indomitable Brown and a host of star teammates as the Pioneers improved considerably over their 21-20 loss to the Lyncs in Week Six.
Wright, in a most unfitting finish for the Lyncs (8-3), sustained an elbow injury in the final seconds of the first half. The 6-foot-6 standout and his multitude of friends at LC can only hope he will heal in time to help bid for another state championship.
Brown came into the game with just one interception all season, yet LC all-leaguer Dawson Bouma intercepted Brown in his first two series at the Nooksack 30- and 31-yard lines.
But Nooksack’s defense allowed nary a point both times after LC took possession, frustrating the Lyncs at the 6 and the 25.
Brown, with a plethora of explosive help, recovered to lead the Pioneers to scores on their next seven possessions with error-free football — three touchdowns by county rushing leader Colton Lentz, two touchdowns by his 1,000-plus yard rushing buddy Skyler Whittern, and two field goals by county kick-scoring champion Jorgen Vigre.
“Those mistakes were on me, but our defense did a great job in picking up the entire team,” said Brown, who went 8-for-14 for 136 yards and now has 1,400 yards on 75-for-112 accuracy.
“Joey was trying to do too much early, but then he showed how mature he has become,” said Nooksack coach Craig Bartl.
Stealing a longtime line from Lynden, junior receiving star Cory Olney put it this way: “Setback, comeback! One hundred percent, I knew Joey would come back.”
On Nooksack’s first scoring drive, Lentz picked up 37 of the 75 yards on eight carries, including a 2-yard plunge from his own 34 on a fourth-and-one gamble. The drive ended with his 9-yard touchdown run. Brown went 3-for-3 on the drive for 34 yards with two passes to Olney and one to Cole Bauman.
Wright soon found all-leaguer Kayden Stuit for 47 yards and Brody Bouwman for 6, setting up Wright’s 6-yard scoring pass to Stuit and sophomore Sam Penner’s 40th conversion kick for a 7-6 lead. It was Wright’s 14th touchdown pass and 28th score produced by passing, running and defensive plays.
Nooksack, though, was just getting started. Vigre kicked a 30-yard field goal to put the Pioneers up for good at 9-7 and Brown found Lentz with a 33-yard pass for a 16-7 advantage 10 seconds before the first half ended. It was Brown’s 14th scoring toss and his 22nd touchdown produced running or passing, giving the versatile senior 1,863 yards of total offense.
On what developed into the key play of the game, junior line star Brady Ackerman recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown for a 23-7 lead in the opening minute of the second half.
Vigre soon followed with a 36-yard field goal that was actually more than 50 yards for a 26-7 bulge. After his first extra point was blocked, he made all five ensuing conversions, giving him 66 in 67 tries, plus five field goals for 81 kick-scoring points.
Lentz added his school-record 27th touchdown, a 1-yarder, and Whittern scored from the 1 and the 8, giving him 14 carries for 122 yards. The senior has 1,173 yards to go with 1,273 for Lentz, who picked up 70 yards on 17 tries. Olney set up Whittern’s first score when he scooped up an onside kick attempt and returned the ball 25 yards to the LC 20.
Two-way all-leaguer John Stremler, a 250-pound senior lineman, was used on four carries for 60 yards, including a 40-yard dash to help set up a touchdown.
“John is just so agile and so fast for a 250-pounder,” said Brown, to which Lentz added, “John can play almost anywhere.” All-league lineman Duke Halaapiapi chipped in, “John is a Mack truck. He’s unstoppable running downhill.”
Olney led Nooksack with five catches for 76 yards. Stuit caught nine for 139 yards and finished his season with 45 catches for 714 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Bouma, who had four interceptions overall for LC, turned a pass from sophomore Eli Maberry into a 51-yard touchdown and finished with 35 catches for 577 yards and six scores. Maberry showed promise with 11-for-22 passing for 147 yards in relief of Wright, who went 9-for-14 for 161 yards and finished with 1,439 yards.
NORTH KITSAP 34, LYNDEN 28 (OVERTIME): North Kitsap’s Carter Dungy ran for a 5-yard touchdown in overtime of a Kansas Tiebreaker and then Vikings star Alex Hitchings intercepted Lions quarterback Brant Heppner in the end zone to end the game after a 28-all tie in regulation.
Heppner passed for 336 yards on 15-for-25 accuracy, including touchdown passes of 74 and 65 yards to quick sophomore Dani Bowler and 62 yards to Brady Elsner for the senior’s ninth touchdown catch. Bowler caught five passes for 171 yards and Elsner caught six for 126, according to the Whatcom Preps website.
“The boys played an amazing game and left it all on the field,” said Blake Van Dalen, whose team has made the state playoffs in all of his six opportunities as Lynden’s head coach. “Tip your hat to NK; they made one more play than us. I’m so proud of our kids. We won with honor and integrity this year and last night we showed the same class in defeat.”
Heppner also scored on a 1-yard run for a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Charlie Ayres made his second interception of the game to set up Heppner’s 74-yarder to Bowler for a 21-7 lead, but North Kitsap made it 21-14 with 11 seconds left in the first half on Cole Edwards’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Logan Sloman.
Cooper Moore also had an interception for Lynden in the first half.
A 9-yard Edwards-Sloman touchdown connection made it 21-all in the third quarter, but Heppner’s second long pass to Bowler gave the Lions a 28-21 lead with freshman Malachi Koenen’s fourth conversion near the end of the third quarter.
North Kitsap, however, rallied with a 78-yard scoring drive for a 28-all tie with 9:14 to play, but neither team could score again until the Vikings won in overtime. North Kitsap avenged both a loss to Lynden in the state semifinals in 2021 and a 31-24 defeat in the title game last year.
Heppner, a junior, finished with 22 scoring passes and 34 touchdowns produced running or passing. He had more than 1,900 yards passing for the season. Bowler wound up with six touchdown catches and more than 600 yards receiving and Elsner finished with nine scores and more than 500 yards.
STATE QUARTERFINALS
1A
Nooksack Valley 47, Lynden Christian 14
Lakeside 24, Freeman 20
Seton Catholic 42, Cashmere 35
Royal 49, Omak 0
2A
Enumclaw 41, Highline 30
Anacortes 42, Orting 0
North Kitsap 34, Lynden 28 (overtime)
Tumwater 42, Clarkston 6
3A
Bellevue 35, Arlington 17
O’Dea 45, Garfield 13
Eastside Catholic 17, Kennewick 7
Yelm 29, Mount Tahoma 12
