Nooksack Valley grabs first win of season at South Whidbey

The Nooksack Valley football team emphatically avoided its first winless season since 1987 with a 51-8 season-ending victory at South Whidbey on Friday, Nov. 6.

“We finished the year with just two seniors,” Pioneers coach Robb Myhre said in a phone interview. We’ll miss those guys, but the guys we do have coming back are excited to use this as a building block for next season. ... It was a really nice feeling for those kids to finish off the season and start some momentum going in the other direction.”

One of the seniors Nooksack (1-9) will be losing, Joe McNeely, ended his career with four touchdowns in the game, as Nooksack Valley clicked on offense from the opening kickoff.

The Pioneers’ defense, where fellow senior Zane Sexton also had a big night, was just as impressive, as “everybody played their best game of the year,” Myhre said. Nooksack Valley had three players intercept passes.

With both phases working, the Pioneers jumped out to a 45-0 lead by halftime.

“It was just a real balanced performance, all the way around,” Myhre said. “Everybody played a good game and had a hand in this win for us.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Nooksack Valley grabs first win of season at South Whidbey."