Lynden’s defense impressive in win

Lynden's defense has come a long way since it showed some early-season vulnerability against the run game.

The Lions proved that much against Ferndale -- one of the best running teams in the Northwest Conference -- during a decisive 34-7 Northwest Conference win Friday, Oct. 17, at Ferndale.

Lynden yielded 190 rush yards on 51 Ferndale attempts, which was good for only 3.7 yards per carry. Coming into the game, the Golden Eagles were averaging 6.2 yards per rush.

"When you play against Wing-T, it's hard to see who is doing what because of all of the deception," Lynden coach Curt Kramme said. "But I can't say enough about our defense to shut down a team like that out for most of the game is quite an accomplishment our defensive players and defensive coaching staff."

There were many impressive individual efforts. Linebackers Jensen Mayberry and Brody Weinheimer made countless tackles, Caden Lair came up with an interception and Lynden's secondary made plays when it needed to.

Lynden will be looking to carry over its defensive momentum into next week when it looks to get back at another opponent, defending Class 2A state champions Sedro-Woolley.

Andrew Lang

Blaine injuries force replacements to step up

Blaine star running back Riley Fritsch was just 74 rushing yards away from the 1,000-yard mark entering Friday’s game against Burlington-Edison. Considering his success this season, the mark seemed within reach.

The problem was Blaine’s offensive line was “dinged up,” Blaine coach Jay Dodd said after the game. Just hours before the game, the Borderites still didn’t know who two of their five offensive linemen would be.

The starting center, right guard and right tackle all were battling injuries. The result? Fritsch totaled just six yards on 14 carries against a tough Tigers’ defense.

“The interior of their defense — their three d-linemen and two inside linebackers were getting into our backfield and doing lots of different things and whatever they wanted,” Dodd said. “They were getting off their blocks well and penetrating very well so we couldn’t get anything going on the ground. That led to protection issues.”

Joshua Hart

Burkett gets major support

For sophomore quarterback Simon Burkett, Meridian’s 41-18 win over Lynden Christian was all about the numbers 300 and 1.

The game was the 300th win at Meridian for coach Bob Ames, who recently turned 70 and is in his 42nd season as head coach. But it was also the first varsity football game where Burkett had seen four generations of his family on hand, including himself.

His 93-year-old great-grandmother, Reha Seekins, made the trip from Vancouver, and was seated track-side with Burkett’s grandmother, Jerilue Hopley of Birch Bay.

Seekins and Hopley cheered as they had a ringside view of Burkett’s 28-yard scramble off a fake, setting up one of the five touchdowns by Nick Dritsas. Burkett was knocked out of bounds at the 3-yard line while trying to score for both his team and family.

“It feels awesome to have them all here,” Burkett said. “She (his great-grandmother) doesn’t get to come up often.”

Meridian’s Alan Eyoub, who made five of six conversion kicks, also accomplished a rare feat for a kicker. He displayed his defensive backfield speed while blocking LC’s first conversion attempt by Jake Poag. It was the second block this season for Eyoub.

Poag, a first-year varsity football player with letters in three other varsity sports, also had a little fun while running 17 yards for a first down off a fake punt.

Michelle Nolan

Baker’s defense impressive against Nooksack Valley

Mount Baker's defense really stepped up this week and contained Nooksack Valley's passing attack that handcuffed them in their Sept. 25 meeting.

The Pioneers racked up 421 yards of offense that night, compared to just 270 this week. Another stat to like is the four sacks on Casey Bauman, while the Mountaineers' quarterback Mason Bass stayed upright all night.

Not only did the defense dominate, but they showed that they could bend while not breaking. As the second half was closing out, and Nooksack was on their first real drive since the first drive of the game, T.J. Bass picked off Bauman on Baker's own 2-yard line that turned into three points off of Jonathan Ehlers’ foot.

The big scoring numbers might lead to thoughts that the offense carried Mount Baker, but the defense was impressive.

Evan Elliott

Sorenson helps Storm overcome penalties

Quarterback Garrett Sorenson was key during Squalicum’s 27-0 victory over Sehome on Friday, Oct. 16, at Civic Stadium.

Sorenson completed 15 of 27 passes for 187 yards and threw a first-quarter touchdown to Damek Mitchell. Sorenson’s 25-yard bullet pass to Mitchell came less than four minutes into the game after Sehome fumbled on its opening drive. The 6-foot junior also ran the ball eight times for 20 yards.

Despite his game being without many flaws, he acknowledged penalties hurt the team and they needed to be cleaned up.

“Every game has something you can work on,” Sorenson said. “I feel like penalties were the number one and number two things to work on.”

Tyler Urke

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Lynden’s defense impressive in win."