Lions bring defense in rivalry rout over Ferndale

Lynden was left stunned and reeling a year ago following a home upset at the hands of Ferndale that snapped the top-ranked Lions' 33-game win streak.

All offseason Lynden carried the bitter feeling.

The Lions emphatically returned the favor Friday, Oct. 16, at Ferndale High School.

"Ferndale week is always a little extra special, and we came in with a chip on our shoulder this year with about what happened last year," Lynden QB Sterling Somers said. "All the hype with it, everyone counting us off, saying we are weak. I'm just so proud of the guys. ... I think we put out a statement tonight."

Lynden's defense nearly kept Ferndale off the scoreboard, and Somers turned in a signature performance to lead the Lions to a 34-7 Northwest Conference win over the Golden Eagles during Whatcom County's premier football rivalry.

Somers completed 12 of 21 passes for 217 yards and threw for three touchdowns. The senior also ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

"Sterling, I can't say enough great things about him," Lynden coach Curt Kramme said. "He just threw some beautiful balls tonight."

Somers first used his legs to give the Lions (5-2, 4-1 NWC) an early lead. The Lynden QB took a keeper up the middle for a 37-yard score to give Lynden a 7-0 advantage on the first play of the second quarter.

What may have been most crippling to the Golden Eagles (4-3, 3-2 NWC) was Lynden's final drive of the first half. Somers needed just 31 seconds to march the Lions 76 yards for a touchdown. Somers connected with Ben Colwell on an 18-yard TD pass to put Lynden in front 14-0 with 0:11 until halftime.

Lynden added three second-half scores on Somers touchdown passes of 11 yards to Jordan Wittenberg, 11 yards to Davis Bode and a 12-yard TD run by Dalton Ohligschlager.

But with the way Lynden's defense was playing, the first-half points would of sufficed.

Ferndale moved the ball, but couldn't finish drives. The Golden Eagles' first-half possessions ended in punt, punt, turnover on downs, fumble, and each time Ferndale was in Lynden territory.

"We worked really hard basically just rallying to the ball, everyone," Lynden defensive end Caden Lair said. "They got really good running backs that run hard. (Austin) Honeycutt is a great running back. He's powerful, so we had to go low. We practiced that all week, and it seemed to show how well it worked for us."

Honeycutt finished with 101 rushing yards on 18 carries, and the bruising back scored Ferndale's only a touchdown − a 1-yard score with the Golden Eagles trailing 28-0 in the fourth.

Jordan Wittenberg led the Lions in receiving with 123 yards on six receptions, and Jensen Mayberry and Brody Weinheimer made countless tackles from their linebacker spots.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Lions bring defense in rivalry rout over Ferndale."