Coach: Jamie Plenkovich, 15th season with Ferndale (126-34), 19th season overall (152-46)
Home Field: Ferndale High School
Last Season: 11-1 (6-0 WesCo North)
Key Losses: RB/S Cole Semu; QB/CB/P James Hinson; OL/DE Mikhail Varetskiy; OL/DL Spencer Crosswhite; OL/LB Alex Cleary; LB Carter Colon; S Jared Emmert; TE Reid Benson; FB/LB Gabe Zwade; WB Conner Obergottsberger.
Top Returnees: G/DL Geirean Hatchett; RB/DB Jacob Broselle; WR/DB Watiko Leighton; QB/DB Bryan Ebe; QB/DB Sequoyah Julius; OL/DL Darius Washington.
Click HERE to listen to Coach Jamie Plenkovich’s interview on The Doug Lange Network. You can listen to more interviews by going to www.onthedln.com.
2017 RESULTS
Ferndale 49, Vancouver College BC 13
Ferndale 19, Lynden 16
Ferndale 55, South Kitsap 21
Ferndale 41, Arlington 13
Ferndale 46, Marysville-Pilchuck 7
Ferndale 35, Stanwood 3
Ferndale 29, Oak Harbor 28
Ferndale 48, Squalicum 0
Ferndale 62, Marysville-Getchell 7
Ferndale 70, Ballard 7
Ferndale 42, Bethel 14
O’Dea 42, Ferndale 14
2018 SCHEDULE
08/31 – Lake Stevens – 7 PM
09/07 – at Lynden – 7 PM
09/14 – Marysville-Getchell – 7 PM
09/21 – at Arlington – 7 PM
09/28 – at Oak Harbor – 7 PM
10/05 – Squalicum – 7 PM
10/12 – Marysville-Pilchuck – 7 PM
10/19 – at Stanwood – 7 PM
Ferndale has been a juggernaut in high school football for over a generation. Even though the program graduated once of it’s best class of seniors in recent memory, the Golden Eagles won’t rebuild. They just reload.
Replacing James Hinson at quarterback will be either senior Bryan Ebe, or senior Sequoyah Julius. Both players are learning the position for the first time, but are doing so under
new offensive coordinator Jake Locker. Ebe was a backup running back last season that was thrust into the starting lineup during the Class 3A state playoffs when scoring machine Cole Semu went down with a leg injury. Julius played sparingly at wide receiver last season, but started the entire year at corner back. They each bring something unique to the position, and have both impressed Coach Plenkovich.
Junior Jacob Broselle returns at running back, but will move from wing back to half back. He is one of the fastest players in the county, and could put up monstrous numbers for the blue and gold. 220-pound senior Gader Fox will get the nod at full back, and has great athleticism for his size. Senior Jaden Schwartz is also in the mix at running back. Many players are battling for the wing back spot.
Senior Watiko Leighton returns at wide receiver and is one of the most polished receivers in Whatcom County. If he was in a different offense it is very possible that his numbers would be through the roof. Senior Tyler Hoffmaster and junior Colby Tegt are battling for the tight end position.
It’s hard to miss 6-foot-5 280-pound junior guard Geirean Hatchett, and its not just his sheer size. His pulling ability forces opposing defenders to make a business decision, and his over athletic ability is off the charts. The recognition he has received around the country is deserved, and he is well on the path of becoming the greatest lineman to ever come out of Ferndale, if not Whatcom County. 280-pound senior Darius Washington will join Hatchett up front, with other players battling for the other spots.
Hatchett and Washington both return on the defensive line, with Geirean likely playing more in the interior. Tegt and senior Brett Westford are getting good looks at defensive end. Fox was a reserve defensive end last season, and he has been moved back to linebacker where he will start. 230-pound senior Uriah Guillory was in the mix to start last season before an ACL injury knocked him out. He’s healthy this year and should make a big impact. Schwartz and Tyler will also see time at linebacker.
Julius and Broselle each return at corner back, and with Leighton at safety, the Golden Eagle secondary looks like one of the strongest units in Whatcom County. Ebe and senior Jaden Brown will also be a part of the defensive backfield.
Left-footed senior Daniel Stewart blasted 61 extra points this year, and has gotten bigger and stronger this season. Broselle should handle most of the kick returning with junior Michael Bernard and sophomore Andrew Monks each contributing.
2017 STATISTICAL LEADERS
(Returning players have the * after their names)
RUSHING
| Rank | Player | Season | Games | Att. | Yards | TD | Yds./Att. | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Semu | 2017 | 11 | 146 | 1511 | 31 | 10.35 | 137.4 |
| 2 | Jacob Broselle* | 2017 | 11 | 70 | 586 | 5 | 8.37 | 53.3 |
| 3 | Gabe Zwade | 2017 | 12 | 110 | 496 | 6 | 4.51 | 41.3 |
| 4 | James Hinson | 2017 | 12 | 62 | 365 | 2 | 5.89 | 30.4 |
| 5 | Bryan Ebe* | 2017 | 8 | 60 | 297 | 5 | 4.95 | 37.1 |
PASSING
| Rank | Player | Season | Games | Comp. | Att. | Comp %. | Yards | TD | Int | Rating | Yds./Att. | Yds./Comp. | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hinson | 2017 | 12 | 69 | 118 | 58.47% | 1055 | 16 | 5 | 109.99 | 8.94 | 15.3 | 87.9 |
| 2 | Carson Moyes* | 2017 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 66.67% | 14 | 0 | 0 | 77.08 | 4.67 | 7.0 | 4.7 |
RECEIVING
| Rank | Player | Team | Season | Games | Recpt. | Yards | TD | Yds./Att. | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reid Benson | Ferndale | 2017 | 8 | 18 | 259 | 4 | 14.39 | 32.4 |
| 2 | Watiko Leighton* | Ferndale | 2017 | 10 | 16 | 211 | 4 | 13.19 | 21.1 |
| 3 | Conner Obergottsberger | Ferndale | 2017 | 10 | 9 | 201 | 6 | 22.33 | 20.1 |
| 4 | Cole Semu | Ferndale | 2017 | 11 | 15 | 187 | 0 | 12.47 | 17.0 |
| 5 | Jared Emmert | Ferndale | 2017 | 7 | 6 | 133 | 0 | 22.17 | 19.0 |
KICK RETURNING
| Rank | Player | Season | Games | Returns | Yards | TD | Yds./Att. | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Semu | 2017 | 11 | 8 | 164 | 0 | 20.50 | 14.9 |
| 2 | Jacob Broselle* | 2017 | 11 | 5 | 68 | 0 | 13.60 | 6.2 |
| 3 | Jaden Schwartz* | 2017 | 8 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 13.50 | 6.8 |
PUNT RETURNING
| Rank | Player | Season | Games | Returns | Yards | TD | Yds./Att. | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Semu | 2017 | 11 | 10 | 309 | 1 | 30.90 | 28.1 |
| 2 | Jacob Broselle* | 2017 | 11 | 6 | 118 | 0 | 19.67 | 10.7 |
| 3 | Watiko Leighton* | 2017 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20.00 | 2.0 |
PUNTING
| Rank | Player | Season | Punts | Yds./Att. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hinson | 2017 | 26 | 39.54 |
INTERCEPTIONS
| Rank | Player | Season | Int. | Yards | Yds./Att. | TD | Yds./Gm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carter Colon | 2017 | 2 | 44 | 22.00 | 0 | 22.0 |
| 2 | Sequoyah Julius* | 2017 | 2 | 44 | 22.00 | 0 | 14.7 |
| 3 | Jacob Broselle* | 2017 | 1 | 40 | 40.00 | 1 | 3.6 |
| 4 | Cole Semu | 2017 | 3 | 34 | 11.33 | 0 | 3.1 |
| 5 | James Hinson | 2017 | 2 | 11 | 5.50 | 0 | 0.9 |
| 6 | Jaden Brown* | 2017 | 1 | 5 | 5.00 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 7 | Jared Emmert | 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Alex Cleary | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 |
SCORING
| Rank | Player | Season | TD | FGs | 2-Pt Conv | PAT | Total Points | Points/Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Semu | 2017 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 17.5 |
| 2 | Daniel Stewart* | 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 61 | 5.1 |
| 3 | Conner Obergottsberger | 2017 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 4.2 |
| 4 | Gabe Zwade | 2017 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 3.2 |
| 5 | Jacob Broselle* | 2017 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3.3 |
| 6 | Bryan Ebe* | 2017 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4.5 |
| 7 | Watiko Leighton* | 2017 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2.4 |
| 8 | Reid Benson | 2017 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3.0 |
| 9 | Gader Fox* | 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1.3 |
| 10 | James Hinson | 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1.0 |
2018 ROSTER
| # | First | Last | Height | Weight | Position | Grade |
| 2 | Haiden | Rasmussen | 5’8″ | 140 | QB/DB | 10 |
| 3 | Cooper | Taxdahl | 5’10” | 150 | WR/DB | 11 |
| 4 | Daniel | Stewart | 6’0″ | 170 | K | 12 |
| 5 | Taylor | Lupo | 5’10” | 150 | WR/DB | 12 |
| 6 | Nathan | Howlett | 5’8″ | 160 | WR/DB/K | 12 |
| 7 | Watiko | Leighton | 6’1″ | 190 | WR/DB | 12 |
| 8 | Bryan | Ebe | 6’0″ | 180 | QB/DB | 12 |
| 9 | Michael | Bernard | 5’6″ | 145 | RB/DB | 11 |
| 11 | Kyler | Fleming | 5’10” | 145 | QB/DB | 10 |
| 15 | Aiden | Berwick | 6’1″ | 150 | QB/DB | 10 |
| 17 | Carson | Moyes | 5’10” | 170 | QB/DB | 12 |
| 18 | Levi | Johansen | 5’7″ | 160 | WR/DB | 10 |
| 20 | Jacob | Broselle | 6’0″ | 180 | RB/DB | 11 |
| 22 | Sequoyah | Julius | 6’0″ | 165 | QB/DB | 12 |
| 23 | David | Cuevas | 5’4″ | 135 | WR/DB | 12 |
| 24 | Dylan | Morgan | 5’8″ | 145 | WR/DB | 10 |
| 25 | Nick | Leavitt | 5’10” | 155 | RB/LB | 11 |
| 28 | Andrew | Monks | 6’0″ | 160 | WRB/DB | 10 |
| 29 | Gader | Fox | 6’1″ | 220 | RB/LB | 12 |
| 30 | Kaleb | Morgan | 5’6″ | 135 | RB/DB | 11 |
| 31 | James | Werth | 5’8″ | 130 | K | 10 |
| 32 | Jaden | Schwartz | 5’9″ | 165 | RB/LB | 12 |
| 34 | Isaac | Oseguera | 5’10” | 210 | K | 11 |
| 35 | Alvis | Washington | 5’7″ | 145 | RB/LB | 10 |
| 36 | Jaden | Brown | 5’11” | 160 | RB/DB | 12 |
| 38 | Mark | Kolbert | 5’11” | 185 | RB/DL | 10 |
| 40 | Dillon | Snook | 6’0″ | 190 | RB/LB | 12 |
| 42 | Colby | Tegt | 6’2″ | 215 | TE/DL | 11 |
| 44 | Austin | Minturn | 6’0″ | 205 | TE/LB | 11 |
| 45 | Kai | Tipps | 5’10” | 160 | RB/LB | 10 |
| 48 | Jaron | Green | 5’10” | 145 | WR/DB | 11 |
| 50 | Sebastian | Hernandez | 5’7″ | 190 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 52 | Brett | Westford | 6’0″ | 210 | OL/DL | 12 |
| 53 | Uriah | Guillory | 5’10” | 230 | OL/LB | 12 |
| 54 | Jaycee | Roubideaux | 5’10” | 235 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 55 | Tyler | Demorest | 6’0″ | 205 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 56 | Kenneth | Rucker | 5’9″ | 180 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 57 | Trae | Anderson | 6’2″ | 165 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 58 | Dustin | Ewing | 5’8″ | 225 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 59 | Liam | Humbert | 6’0″ | 200 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 61 | Christopher | Werth | 5’10” | 200 | OL/DL | 12 |
| 62 | Gabriel | Garza | 5’7″ | 155 | OL/LB | 10 |
| 64 | Kobe | Sandstrom | 5’7″ | 185 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 65 | Edward | Nieves | 5’11” | 250 | OL/DL | 12 |
| 66 | Geirean | Hatchett | 6’5″ | 280 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 67 | Shea | Jeffrey | 5’11” | 160 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 68 | Elias | Barragan | 6’3″ | 285 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 71 | Damian | Garza | 5’7″ | 185 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 72 | Noah | Stamulis | 5’11” | 245 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 73 | Darius | Washington | 5’10” | 285 | OL/DL | 12 |
| 74 | Brandon | Pernett | 5’11” | 205 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 75 | Devlin | Ericksen | 5’11” | 290 | OL/DL | 10 |
| 76 | Edmond | Slimane | 6’2″ | 200 | OL/LB | 10 |
| 77 | Nathan | Oostra | 6’1″ | 240 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 79 | David | Garcia | 5’11” | 225 | OL/DL | 11 |
| 82 | Carson | Stivala | 6’0″ | 150 | WR/DB | 10 |
| 83 | Jared | Jones | 6’1″ | 150 | WR/DB | 11 |
| 84 | Alyk | Wharton | 5’11” | 195 | TE/LB | 11 |
| 87 | Tyler | Hoffmaster | 5’10 | 190 | TE/LB | 12 |
| 88 | Jaxson | Pike | 6’0″ | 135 | WR/DB | 10 |
| 89 | Thaddious | Vann | 5’11” | 155 | WR/LB | 11 |
