Storm, Golden Eagles face district playoff tests on Saturday

2A Northwest District Playoffs Lakewood (6-4) at Squalicum (9-0)

Time: 7 p.m.

Site: Civic Stadium

Cougars update: Lakewood won its sixth straight with a 24-19 victory over Shorecrest on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a play-in game to the district playoffs. Tyler Courtney rushed for 182 yards on 32 carries and accounting for three touchdowns — rushing for a pair of TDs in the first half and catching a 16-yard pass for a score from Austin Late in the third quarter to put the Cougars ahead for good. He also had a sack on Shorecrest’s final drive to preserve the lead.

Storm update: After giving up an early touchdown, the NWC’s No. 1 seed reeled off 42 straight points en route to a 56-14 NWC road win over Anacortes to end its regular season undefeated. QB Garrett Sorenson compelted 16 of 22 passes for 258 yards, four touchdowns and threw an INT. Ben Person caught three passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns, and running backs Tritson Smith and Carloz Hernandez each scored two TDs. Squalicum’s defense held Anacortes’ offense to 28 rush yards.

Key to the game: Squalicum should be able to run the ball against Lakewood, as Shorecrest’s Will Brennan rushed for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries. Good news is the Storm have a variety of options in the backfield.

Stat leaders: RUSHING — Lakewood: Tyler Cortney (84 att., 589 yards, 11 TD), Squalicum: Triston Smith (77 att., 393 yards, 6 TD). PASSING — Lakewood: Austin Lane (116-231, 1,690 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT), Squalicum: Garrett Sorenson (103-172, 1,639 yards, 19 TD, 5 INT). RECEIVING — Lakewood: Sam Linscott (28 rec., 604 yards, 5 TD), Squalicum: Ben Peterson (25 rec., 575 yards, 8 TD).

Player to watch: Ben Peterson has been a key piece for Squalicum this year both on offense and defense. He has 761 yards of total offense and has scored 14 TDs this year, and he should be able to lead the Storm back to state for a second straight year.

Prediction: Squalicum 45-7

3A DISTRICT PLAYOFFS Ferndale (7-3) at Bellevue (7-1)

Time: 7 p.m.

Site: Bellevue High School

Golden Eagles update: Ferndale piled up 428 yards on the ground to roll past Marysville-Pilchuck 49-20 in a play-in game to the district playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Justice Powell led the way with 171 yards and two TDs on 10 carries, while Austin Honeycutt had 170 yards and two TDs on 22 carries. Cole Semu also scored twice and ran for 68 yards on eight attempts. The Tomahawks did rush for 206 yards in the game and scored a pair of first-quarter TDs, but Ferndale kept them out of the end zone after that until the fourth quarter.

Wolverines update: No. 2 Bellevue won its seventh straight with a 45-3 win over Lake Washington on Friday, Oct. 30.Quarterback Justus Rogers had touchdown runs of 46, 17 and 3 yards in the game for the Wolverines. Bellevue’s lone loss came on Sept 7 in a game against Bishop Gorman from Las Vegas, Nev. Since then, they have scored at least 42 points in every game but one and limited opponents to a touchdown or less in all but two games.

Key to the game: This will be the third time in four years the two teams have met in the playoffs. Bellevue got the first two, winning 28-0 in the first round of the state playoffs in 2012 and 44-0 in the district playoffs in 2013. As evidenced by those scores, the Golden Eagles need to find a way to get their offense going.

Stat leaders: RUSHING — Ferndale: Austin Honeycutt (171 att., 1,145 yards, 14 TD), Bellevue: Ercle Terrell (66 att., 387 yards, 4 TD). PASSING — Ferndale: James Hinson (52-104, 902 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT), Bellevue: Justus Rogers (26-43, 464 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT). RECEIVING: Ferndale: Jackson King (14 rec., 289 yards, 3 TD), Bellevue: Jacob Garcia (5 rec. 133 yards, 3 TD). NOTE: Bellevue statistics only available from six games.

Player to watch: Ferndale lineman Chris Hernandez was selected to Ron Siegel’s Preseason Senior All-State Football team, and it’s time for him to shine. Hernandez helps the Golden Eagles win the battle up front on both sides of the ball against Marysville-Pilchuck on Tuesday. Ferndale needs to be physical up front to have a shot against Bellevue.

Prediction: Bellevue 31-14.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Storm, Golden Eagles face district playoff tests on Saturday."