Ferndale looking to play its way into 3A district playoffs

Ferndale (6-3) at Marysville-Pilchuck (4-5)

Time: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3

Site: Quil Ceda Stadium, Marysville-Pilchuck

Golden Eagles update: Ferndale secured its spot in the district playoffs with an impressive 20-16 win at Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, Oct. 29. Austin Honeycutt led the way, rushing for three touchdowns and a season-high 224 yards on 35 carries. He needs just 25 yards to reach 1,000 this season. Honeycutt accounted for 67.1 percent of Ferndale’s total offensive production in the game, after the Ferndale coaching staff realized he was getting 3 to 4 yards after contact on every carry, allowing the Golden Eagles to produce three scoring drives of at least 69 yards. The Golden Eagles defense also turned in a strong performance, limiting the Cubs to 81 yards rushing — nearly 200 yards below their season average.

Tomahawks update: Marysville-Pilchuck was relegated to the district play-in game after a 26-25 loss to Edmonds-Woodway on Thursday and enter Tuesday on a three-game losing streak. The Tomahawks allowed a long drive that resulted in an Edmonds-Woodway a touchdown pass with a little more than a minute remaining for the winning score. Quarterback Erik Lind was 11 for 17 for 135 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ray Pimentel. Lind also had 52 yards rushing, while Pimentel had 36 yards and a TD on the ground. Pimentel is the team’s leading rusher this year, though Garrett Anderson is another back to watch.

Key to the game: Both teams played Thursday but had to wait until results were in Friday, Oct. 30, to know for certain if the play-in game was even needed. Which ever team is able to utilize its limited preparation time the best should earn itself a trip to Bellevue to face the KingCo No. 1 seed for a trip to the state playoffs.

Stat leaders: PASSING — Ferndale: James Hinson (51-103, 873 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT); Marysville-Pilchuck: Erik Lind (56-101, 623 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT). RUSHING — Ferndale: Austin Honeycutt (149 att., 975 yards, 12 TD), Justice Powell (103 att. 647 yards, 6 TD); Marysville-Pilchuck: Ray Pimentel (73 att, 565 yards, 1 TD), Garrett Anderson (80 att. 450 yards, 3 TD). RECEIVING: Jackson King (13 rec, 260 yards, 3 TD), Sky Freeman (14 rec. 221 yards, 3 TD); Marysville-Pilchuck: Trent Tinglestad (15 rec, 193 yards, 1 TD), Tristen Southard (20 rec. 186 yards, 2 TD). NOTE: Marysville-Pilchuck stats are from seven games.

Player to watch: Ferndale senior linebacker Taylor Bellefeuille was extremely active in the Golden Eagles’ win over Sedro-Woolley. He, along with Ferndale’s strong defensive front of Christian Rodriguez, Chris Hernandez, Winterhawk Leighton and Honeycutt, have been stout all season long, but limiting the defending 2A state champs to 81 rushing yards was eye-opening. If they can have a similar performance Tuesday, Ferndale should advance.

Prediction: Ferndale 28, Marysville-Pilchuck 13

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 7:15 AM with the headline "Ferndale looking to play its way into 3A district playoffs."