It’s week nine, the final week of the scheduled regular season! We’d like to thank Josh Parsons for being our guest picker this week, and you can learn more about him in our podcast below! Also, below are the previews for all seven games this weekend.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY (6-2) AT SQUALICUM (4-4)
Time: 7 PM Thursday
Site: Civic Stadium
What to expect: The Storm will have to play disciplined defense against the crafty Cubs. Sedro-Woolley can find many different ways to move the ball on the ground, and you have to see the tendencies of the guards. Squalicum is allowing 4.7 yards per rush against them, so wrapping up will be key as well.
Player to watch: Senior inside linebacker Mason Myers. He tends to be in the middle of everything, and his low center of gravity gives him a lot of leverage when taking on bigger interior linemen. He always gives 100%, which is all you can ask from a high school football player.
Historical significance: These two teams have played each other 18 times since Squalicum came into existence in 1998. Sedro-Woolley has one 10 of them, but the Storm have won the last three. The 2010 matchup was a wild one, with Squalicum winning 49-41 and wide receiver Thomas Rawls caught seven passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Moving up the record book: Junior quarterback Josh Leonard continues to climb the school record book in career passing numbers. He is currently in ninth place with 1331 career passing yards, and he’s within reaching distance of passing Quin Moore for eighth place.
SEHOME (5-3) AT LAKEWOOD (2-6)
Time: 7:30 PM Thursday
Site: Lakewood High School
What to expect: The big-play Mariners are playing extremely well at this point of the season, and they can score in many different ways. I expect another huge output by the offense, which gains over eight yards, on average, per play. The defense has also been suffocating, and is the only team in Whatcom County that has their opponent’s completion percentage under 40%.
Player to watch: Senior tight end/inside linebacker Malachi Swanson. He is always fun to watch on defense, tracking runners down, or dropping back in pass coverage. Great hands for a linebacker, which he’s using now on the offensive side of the ball as he caught his first touchdown pass a few weeks ago.
Historical significance: There haven’t been a ton of games between these two schools, only six. Sehome won the first three, and Lakewood has won the final three. In the first matchup, Sehome won 62-34 behind the 194 yards rushing and two touchdowns by Justin Santos.
Moving up the record book: Sophomore sensation Andre Watson has been rocketing up the Sehome record book, and currently is tied for 10th place all-time for Sehome career receptions with 44. He’s in good company with Bob VanKolken, Evan Miksovsky and Jay Reyna, a former high school teammate of Sehome coach Kevin Beason.
MERIDIAN (4-4) AT BELLINGHAM (3-5)
Time: 7 PM Friday
Site: Civic Stadium
What to expect: The Trojans are coming off of two tough losses, and the Bayhawks are coming off an exciting win. This could prove to be a very good matchup. Expect Bellingham to pound the rock, especially with Trojan senior ballhawk Hunter Jones lurking at safety, who has 10 interceptions over the past two seasons. Meridian is allowing 5.3 yards per carry against them.
Matchup to watch: Meridian senior guard Wyatt Duling versus Bellingham senior defensive tacke Ivan Gomez-Gonzalez. A battle of the bulk inside with these two young men. Meridian loves to run the ball between the tackles, and the efforts of these two plays will determine how those plays end up.
Historical significance: It’s just the fourth time these two teams have played each other with Meridian winning this first one, and the one from last year. In the game that Bellingham won, 26-20 in 2005, it was Brian Dundas who ran for 165 yards and a touchdown.
Moving up the record book: Bellingham senior running back Logan Steeves has been a workhorse all season, and his 126 carries on the season currently has him sitting in 15th place in school history for rushing attempts in a single season. Another 20 carries and he will pass Connor Wallace, Taylor Perry, Dominic Franklin and Travis Edwards.
BLAINE (1-7) AT NOOKSACK VALLEY (6-1)
Time: 7 PM Friday
Site: Sid Lambert Field
What to expect: It’s going to be another tough one for the Borderites, this time in the conference finale at Nooksack Valley. These two teams have played some fantastic games over the past few seasons, but as the Pioneers have rested up (bye last week), they will itching to play some football! Nooksack Valley is averaging almost 30 points per game, and the Borderites are allowing over 40 points per game. That could be a bad sign for Blaine.
Matchup to watch: Blaine junior wide receiver Hunter Vezzetti versus Nooksack Valley junior corner back Wayne Silves. Both players have similar size, and skillsets. Both are very aggressive and tough players on the perimeter. Quick passes to Vezzetti will be interesting as Silves is one of the best tackling corners in the county.
Historical significance: Since 1974, these two teams have played each other 54 times. Nooksack Valley holds a 29-25 advantage. The 1996 matchup saw Blaine quarterback Caleb Luehmann pass for 352 yards and three touchdowns, but it was the Pioneers that won 35-28 behind 142 rushing yards and four touchdowns of senior Bryan Jones.
Moving up the record book: Although junior kicker Jorgen Vigre is new to football, he’s making quite the impression. His 22 extra points this season is the 10th most for a season in school history. Also, if he makes just three more, he will pass up Bob Pace, Aidan Conner, Joe Budge, Josh Steinbach, Brandon Newell and Caleb Kingma.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (8-0) AT MOUNT BAKER (4-4)
Time: 7 PM Friday
Site: Bob Tisdale Field
What to expect: A lot is riding on this for Mount Baker. A win for the Mountaineers would cause a three-way tie for the conference championship (if Nooksack Valley beats Blaine). However, it’s also big for the Lyncs, who are trying to secure that #1 overall seed going into the state tournament. LC has intercepted an amazing 20 passes on the season, so you might see Baker just keep it on the ground. The Mountaineers have no problem with that, and are averaging 7.3 yards per carry this season as a team, far in a way the best in Whatcom County.
Matchup to watch: Lynden Christian senior Braden Kuik versus Mount Baker Sophomore Dylan Moa. These two could square off multiple times on either side of the ball. Kuik has tremendous size (6’4″ 215), but Moa has amazing skills.
Historical significance: Since 1974, these two teams have played each other 68 times, with Baker winning 38 of them. In the first of two 1988 matchups, the game was locked at a scoreless tie until late in the game when Mount Baker quarterback Ken Gates hit Darrell Wilson on a long touchdown pass. Wilson finished with five receptions for 117 yards. LC won the next nine matchups in a row after that one.
Moving up the record book: The Lynden Christian defense has returned five interceptions for touchdowns this season, which ties the Whatcom County record. Meridian (1995), Nooksack Valley (2009) and Squalicum (2016) also accomplished that feat.
FERNDALE (6-2) AT MONROE (8-0)
Time: 7 PM Friday
Site: Monroe High School
What to expect: Just another game against another undefeated opponent? Definitely not just another game, this is going to be another huge one for the Golden Eagles. These two teams split last season, and you can bet that Ferndale has a ton to prove here. Numerous players were out for the second matchup last season, including star running back Isaiah Carlson. The Golden Eagles have rushed for 2,271 yards so far this season, and they are hard to stop when that offensive line gets going.
Player to watch: Junior wingback/safety Conner Walcker. Finding inventive ways to get Walcker the ball will really benefit the Golden Eagles. Also, defensively, his ability to break on a play cannot be understated.
Historical significance: Ferndale is 3-1 against Monroe all-time, but that one loss came last year in a 29-27 heartbreaker. In 1980, the Golden Eagles won 42-0 behind the 204 yards rushing and two touchdowns of John Locker.
Moving up the record book: I have been focusing on the total touchdowns scored by Isaiah Carlson, which is 50 now by the way, but he’s also 36 rushing yards away from breaking 3,000 career rushing yards. Once that happens, he will be just the sixth Golden Eagle to do so.
LYNDEN (8-0) AT ANACORTES (8-0)
Time: 7 PM Friday
Site: Seahawk Stadium
What to expect: And it comes down to this. Two undefeated teams going for the Northwest Conference 2A Championship. The Lions have continued to ride high after last year’s state championship, and the Seahawks have exploded onto the scene with a ton of playmakers all over the field. Lynden does a fantastic job of not letting the opposing team score once it gets into the red zone. The key will be to not allow Anacortes to rip off 40+ yard plays for scores, which seems to be the strength of the Seahawks.
Player to watch: Senior running back/inside linebacker Lane Heeringa. He’s been getting roughly 6-10 carries per game. And, I get it. You have a lot of options, and you have to save him for defense, too. I could see Lynden giving him the ball over 20 times in this one, which will work because few players are conditioned like Lane Heeringa.
Historical significance: Lynden is 22-3 all-time against Anacortes, as the two teams played each other every season from 1993-2017. In the 1996 game, Lynden senior Nick Ellis ran for a school-record 311 yards in a 38-24 win. The record held for 23 years.
Moving up the record book: In his first six seasons coaching Lynden, Hall-of-Famer Rollie DeKoster racked up 49 wins. Fellow Hall-of-Famer Curt Kramme picked up 48 wins in his first six seasons. Now, in his sixth season under the helm, Blake VanDalen has 50 wins… and counting.
