Prep Football Roundup: Four of six Whatcom teams survive play-in week, advance to state

Nooksack Valley showed the Pioneers can win without Colton Lentz, and they hope they won’t need to try again.

Nooksack’s 26-3 win over Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) Saturday at Civic Stadium, in a 1A Round of 24 state elimination game, turned out to be a showcase for the multitude of talented Pioneers other than their all-state running back/linebacker.

Lentz spent all but the first 12 offensive plays on the sideline after suffering the first ejection of his athletic career a moment after scoring Nooksack’s second touchdown with a 10-yard run.

“I don’t know what happened,” Lentz said. “I didn’t say a word. I was just trying to get up off the ground.”

Lentz had become entangled with a Lakeside defender on the turf. Nooksack coaches said he was ejected because officials ruled he had kicked the other player.

Nooksack (8-2) was seeded fifth Sunday in the 1A State Tournament, so the Pioneers will play at 4 p.m. Saturday in the first round against No. 12 Zillah (8-2) at Civic Stadium. Zillah eliminated visiting Mount Baker 41-28.

Immediately after the game, Nooksack coach Craig Bartl said a protest over the ejection was possible, but he needed time to read the officials’ report and to closely study the video of the game from all angles.

Lentz spent the rest of the game cheering on his teammates from the sideline, and he said that if needed he would serve as a student-coach this week if he can’t play.

Prep Sports Report: Sehome girls advance after epic soccer shootout against Lynden

Of the six Whatcom County teams that qualified for the new Week 10 elimination round, Lynden and Sehome in 2A and Lynden Christian in 1A also advanced, while Ferndale in 3A and Mount Baker in 1A were eliminated (details below).

Fourth-seeded Lynden will face No. 13 Fife at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ferndale High. Sehome was seeded ninth and will play on the road against No. 8 Othello, with day and time still to be decided as of late Sunday night.

Lynden Christian was seeded eighth and will face No. 9 Cascade Christian on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Blaine High.

Lentz lauded his teammates for the way they responded to their unexpected emergency. In short, the Pioneers may not have hit harder in any game in many years.. They were playing for their suddenly sidelined buddy as well as the team.

Colby Martin, who took Lentz’s place at running back and linebacker, “can really play,” said all-league linebacker Brady Ackerman.

The rugged senior scored Nooksack’s third and fourth touchdowns for a 26-3 lead. His first score came on a 14-yard run late in the second quarter after Evan Bravo gained a first down with one of his 10 catches for 142 yards.

Martin’s second score was a 33-yard run less than two minutes into the second half following Cory Olney’s 29-yard dash.

Then came was Bartl called “my favorite defensive series of the whole season.,”

Nooksack limited Lakeside (5-5) to 187 total yards, but 51 of those yards on nine plays moved the Eagles to Nooksack’s 6-yard line.

On the next four plays — a short pass and three ruins — the Eagles netted exactly three yards. Nooksack took over on the 3.

Junior quarterback Evan Brown then completed all five passes for 73 yards and four first downs until the end of the third quarter. Nooksack eventually was stopped at the Lakeside 28, but Lance Vanberkum — who was lauded by teammates and coaches — soon made a key sack at midfield to create a second-and-17 situation. The game was essentially over, although the Pioneers made sure with a fumble recovery by Bravo and an interception by Cole Bauman.

Bravo scored Nooksack’s first touchdown on a 37-yard pass from Brown — his 13th touchdown pass for a team that normally runs a lot more than it passes. Lentz set up the play with a 23-yard run on Nooksack’s first play from scrimmage.

Brown completed 22 of 32 passes for 243 yards, including six for 67 yards to Cole Coppinger. In all, Nooksack netted 375 yards, including 53 on 10 carries by Martin and 46 on five cracks by Olney. Lentz had four carries for 41 yards.

Sehome 48, Chief Sealth 17: Junior quarterback Nolan Wright was flashy with 23-for-34 passing for 469 yards and a county record tying six touchdown passes for the second time for the Mariners (7-3). Senior receiver Andre Watson was spectacular while catching 15 passes for four touchdowns and 350 yards, breaking the school record of 274 yards he set a week earlier.

Senior Grady Evans won the hearts of his fans when he made his first two interceptions, scored two touchdowns on short passes and kicked six extra points.

“I trusted my guys,” Evans said. “I feel we’re going to go a long way. We just put our heads down (after a 56-14 loss to state title contender Archbishop Murphy) and we had a great week of practice.”

“Grady is a wonderful kid,” Sehome coach Brian Young said, delighted that Evans had such a memorable game.

Like many Seattle teams that come to Whatcom County, Chief Sealth (8-2) seemed stunned by Sehome’s exhibition of sheer skill and power-packed hitting.

Solomon McAlister, who gained 77 yards on 16 carries, scored Sehome’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run.

Wright followed with touchdown passes of 10 yards to Watson, three yards to Evans and six yards to Evans for a 28-3 halftime lead.

In the second half, Watson caught scoring passes of 26, 68 and 23 yards.

Wright now has 2,431 yards passing for the season with 31 touchdowns. For his career, he has 5,658 yards and 68 touchdown passes.

Watson now has 80 catches for 1,415 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. For his career, he has 3,068 yards and 44 touchdowns.

Sehome had 552 total yards.

Lynden 66, Nathan Hale 7: The Lions (9-1) had the ball nine times from scrimmage, including four times with reserves in the second half Friday at Ferndale, and scored on every possession, plus a 74-yard pick six by fast-developing junior Brody Pricea, who pilfered two passes.

When the second stringers entered for good on the second series of the second half, they needed only four plays to score on a 21-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Lucas Lalji to junior Malachi Bowman.

“That was my favorite drive of the game,” said an excited Lynden coach Blake Van Dalen. “So smooth, so well executed.”

The starters scored the first six touchdowns — a 2-yard run by Isaiah Oudman on the wildcat, a 7-yard run by Malachi Koenen, a 21-yard pass from Brant Heppner to Samm Puello Arango, Price’s pick six, Koenen’s 24 yard field goal and Max Assink’s 30-yard run to open the second half.

After Bowman’s score, Lalji tallied on a 7-yard run, Sully Petz caught an 11-yard touchdown toss from Lalji and freshman Austin Postma scored on a 21-yard run.

Koenen made the first four extra points (he’s 33 for 34 on the year) and his fifth field goal of the season. Freshman brother Markus Koenen went 5-for-5 on conversions and booted a 65-yard kickoff through the uprights.

“He’s very athletic,” Malachi said of Markus. “It’s fun watching him.”

Heppner played only long enough to go 8-for-8 for 134 yards and his 20th touchdown pass of the season and 52nd of his four-season career, which includes 5,191 yards passing.

Assink gained 127 yards on nine carries and Lalji looked promising with six runs for 81 yards. Arango caught four passes for 88 yards.

Lynden limited forNathan Hale (5-5) to 96 total yards.

Anacortes overwhelmed Foster of Tacoma 77-12 and Archbishop Murphy bombed Bremerton 59-7, so the four 2A powers from the NWC in the elimination Round of 32 outscored their competition 250 to 43.

Lynden Christian 49, King’s Way Christian 0: Junior quarterback Eli Maberry completed 16 of 19 passes for 239 yards and no interceptions, according to Whatcom Preps, through which the Lyncs released statistics.

Maberry scored on a 7-yard run and then threw scoring passes of 9 yards to Trey Bosman and 34 yards to Boyce Robertson, who caught two for 98 yards. Jayden Huleatt made five catches for 54 yards and Bosman snagged five for 41 yards.

Cole Larson threw a 31-yard score to Wyatt Kamphouse.

Hollis Owen rushed 16 times for 100 yards and touchdowns of 2 and 34 yards. Chris Kooiman scored on a 1-yard run and gained 57 yards on 12 carries.

Jacob Penner kicked five of six conversions for the Lyncs (6-4), who had interceptions by Robertson, Jaxon Huleatt and Penner.

Maberry has one of the best junior passing totals in LC history, with 2,161 yards and 20 touchdowns.

If Nooksack and Lynden both win in the first two rounds of the 1A state playoffs, they would meet in the semifinals.

The top four seeds for the playoffs, all with byes this week, are in order Royal, Seton Catholic, La Center and Cashmere.

Blaine 34, Bellingham 27 (2 OT): Jaiden Paez scored on a 21-yard run in the second overtime for his fourth score of a season-ending non-league game at Blaine. The Borderites finished 7-3 for the first time since 2012, according to historian Tyler Anderson.

“You saw two teams playing for the love of the game,” said Bellingham coach Adam Leonard. “They left it all on the field and were proud to play for the love of the game.”

Blaine coach Andy Olson agreed.

“We weren’t ready to say goodbye yet, so we played this game,” Olson said. “I’m so proud of this group. I’m not sure we would have won this game in September or October, but we have grown so much as a team.”

Paez also scored on runs of 10, 20 and 34 yards and rushed for 252 yards on 28 carries. His season totals were 24 touchdowns and 1,807 yards.

Colin Davis scored Blaine’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run and wound up with 81 yards on 22 carries.

Bellingham’s solid sophomore quarterback prospect, Ben Leonard, threw three touchdown passes to junior Joe Harward, covering 7, 5 and 34 yards. Leonard completed 17 of 29 passes for 114 yards, with five passes for 58 yards to Harward and nine passes for 38 yards to Bly Henderson. Gabe Van Hofwegen scored Bellingham’s other touchdown on a 2-yard run and made a game-tying two-point conversion on linebacker/running back Tyler Frost’s first and only pass.

On his final play in high school, Blaine linebacker Colby Shipp deflected Bellingham’s last pass. He also gained 11 yards on his last rush.

Blaine’s Shipp, Blake Koreski, Axel Shelton, Kai Kerwin and Zi Yu came into the game with a combined total of 170 tackles and all played well in the win.

For Bellingham (2-8), Leonard finished 109 for 182 for 1,187 yards and 12 touchdowns in six and one-half games at quarterback. Harward caught nine touchdown passes and made 40 catches for 647 yards. Henderson finished with 39 catches for 328 yards.

Zillah 41, Mount Baker 28: Shaun Dugger scored on runs of 16 and 70 yards for the visiting Mountaineers (5-5), but they were eliminated in the 1A Round of 24.

Dugger finished with 11 carries for 179 yards, according to Whatcom Preps, from which Baker gets statistics. Darius Gilstrap scored on a 35-yard pass from senior quarterback Luke Smith, who completed 17 of 30-passes for 180 yards and one interception in his best passing game.

Gilstrap caught five passes for 89 yards. Kamden Moa scored Baker’s final touchdown on a 15-yard run and freshman Enoc Smith capped a strong season with 4-for-4 conversion kicking.

“Our kids played hard,” said Baker coach Ron Lepper, expressing pride in the effort. “Of the five teams we lost to this season, four of those teams are in the state playoffs.”

The game was tied 21-21 at the half, but Zillah outscored the Mounties 20-7 in the second half, showing that Zillah might be a playoff dark horse.

High school football state playoffs: First-round pairings for all six classifications

Federal Way 38, Ferndale 10: Federal Way (8-2) scored all 38 points in the second and third quarters against the Golden Eagles (5-5) in a 3A Round of 32 elimination game Saturday at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.

Ferndale’s last touchdown of the season came in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Talan Bungard, who rushed 30 times for 145 yards in his final iron man role. Junior quarterback Nolan Boleak ran for a two-point conversion.

Bungard finished the season with 21 touchdowns and 1,633 yards. He surpassed 3,000 for his career, finishing with 3,203 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Jacob Gandy, in his final game for Ferndale, tackled a ball carrier in the end zone for a safety in the first quarter.

Squalicum (5-4) had been scheduled to play a season-ending road game against Kamiak, but the game was canceled because the Storm had too few healthy players.

Marysville-Getchell 34, Meridian 27: Jaeger Fyfe and Landen Downey ended outstanding careers with good numbers for the Trojans (5-5) in a season-ending non-league game at Quil Ceda Stadium.

James Hedahl scored on a 71-yard pass on Meridian’s first play from scrimmage and David Larsen caught a 29-yard pass from Fyfe for Meridian’s last score of the season in a vain effort to catch up as the Trojans scored 15 points in the fourth quarter after trailing 34-12.

Downey scored on runs of 2 yards and 1 yard. He also kicked a conversion and ran for a conversion, giving him 130 points for the season including 15 touchdowns.

Fife ran 10 times for 110 yards and completed 15 of 33 passes for 230 yards with one interception. He threw eight passes for 70 yards to Troy Alexander and fired two passes for Hedahl for 95 yards.

Downey gained 83 yards on 10 carries.

Fyfe finished the season with 1,780 yards and 12 touchdown passes. For his four-year career, he threw for 5,037 yards and 39 touchdowns.

State Playoffs: First Round

Saturday

• Lynden Christian vs. Cascade Christian at Blaine, 1 p.m.

• Lynden vs. Fife at Ferndale High School, 2 p.m.

• Nooksack Valley vs. Zillah at Civic Stadium, 4 p.m.

Day and Time TBD

• Sehome at Othello

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Prep Football Roundup: Four local teams into the playoffs, four more knocking on the door

Prep Sports Report: Sehome runners pull off team sweep at NWC cross country championships

Prep Football Roundup: Lynden knocks off Archbishop Murphy; Lions, Pioneers clinch play-in

Prep Sports Report: Just one loss so far this season for Lynden volleyball, girls soccer

Prep Football Roundup: Meridian rises to the challenge in victory over Mount Baker

Prep Sports Report: Sehome Mariners on an impressive fall run across all sports

Prep Football Roundup: Lynden rallies to win shootout with Sehome on final play

Prep Sports Report: Coach Chron nabs 1,000th victory as Bellingham blanks Mount Vernon

Prep Football Roundup: Lions gain experience, confidence in loss at top-ranked Anacortes

Prep Sports Report: Bayhawks’ Coach Chron on the verge of an extremely rare milestone

Prep football roundup: Pioneers looking to separate themselves in punishing Northwest 1A

Prep Sports Report: Clash of unbeaten volleyball squads Bellingham, Lynden on the horizon

Week 2 football roundup: Mariners finish strong in loss to defending 2A state champs

Prep Sports Report: Terpstra guides Lyncs volleyball past Ferndale in return from torn ACL

Week 1 football roundup: Lynden rallies to top Ferndale in ‘high-level’ season opener

Whatcom County prep football preview: Play-in postseason format should heat up a chilly fall