Ferndale tops Marysville-Pilchuck, advances to district playoffs

Ferndale's front five set a physical tone, and the Golden Eagles, courtesy of running backs Austin Honeycutt, Justice Powell and Cole Semu, ran right through Marysville-Pilchuck and into Class 3A District Playoffs.

The Golden Eagles used their trio of backs and met little resistance, racking up 428 rushing yards on their way to a 49-20 win over the Wesco 3A Tomahawks in a 3A district play-in game Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Quil Ceda Stadium in Marysville.

The win sets the Golden Eagles up with a winner-to-state district game against Bellevue on Saturday, Nov. 7, on the road.

"It starts with our guys up front," Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said. "They did a good job clearing some holes, and we got three guys with Cole having some good runs tonight, and Justice and obviously Austin. It's nice to be able to spread the ball around and not just depend on one guy carrying the mail.

And each back took their turn finding the end zone.

Honeycutt, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season, ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, Powell ran for 171 and two TDs on 10 carries and Semu added 68 yards and scored twice on eight attempts.

"We saw what defense they were in, and we knew we could run it up the middle a lot," Powell said. "It was just good play calls."

Ferndale quarterback James Hinson, who scored on a 1-yard QB sneak and intercepted a ball, threw only one pass, and it went for a 29 yards.

But with the way the Golden Eagles were picking up chunks of yardage on the ground, there was little need to go to the air.

"I am happy for the kids," Plenkovich said. "They came down here on a short week and did a good job of preparation and executed well tonight. For the last three weeks the kids have come out ready to go."

Marysville-Pilchuck appeared it would give Ferndale a game early with both teams scoring on their first two possessions, but Plenkovich said the Golden Eagles made some adjustments, and Ferndale didn't allow another score until 17 seconds were left in the fourth.

Tomahawks QB Erik Lind threw two touchdown passes to give MP a 13-7 lead with 1:05 to go in the first quarter, but Ferndale shut down Marysville-Pilchuck's passing game the rest of the way.

Following MP's lead-taking touchdown, Powell ran around the left side before cutting back to the right for a 73-yard TD that gave Ferndale a 14-13 edge with 10:05 left in the second.

From then on the Golden Eagles cruised, reeling off 42 unanswered points.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Ferndale tops Marysville-Pilchuck, advances to district playoffs."