GRANITE FALLS – It was a great start for the Bayhawks, but we’ve been getting those all season. Unfortunately, for Bellingham fans, it wasn’t a great finish as the Tigers scored 20 in the third quarter to come back and beat the Bayhawks 32-27 on Friday night.
Senior running back Holden Bates had 37 yards rushing for the season coming into this game, but he ripped off 81 yards on his first carry, and he picked up his first varsity touchdown in the process which gave Bellingham an early 7-0 lead.
Senior quarterback Josh Leonard then found senior wide receiver Josh Tolle on an out-and-up down the left sideline on 4th-and-18 for a 35-yard touchdown. The Bayhawks held a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Granite Falls came back to score two quick touchdowns, but couldn’t convert the point after tries, and were still trailing 14-12 when Bates scored his second touchdown of the game for Bellingham, and the Bayhawks went into the locker room with a 21-12 lead.
Bates finished the game with 167 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Three third quarter turnovers by Bellingham turned into three touchdowns by the Tigers, and the Bayhawks found themselves in a 32-21 deficit going into the fourth quarter.
Leonard hit senior tight end Gabe VanHofwegen over the middle for a 7-yard touchdown as time expired which produced the final score of 32-27.
Leonard completed 17-of-35 passes for 236 yards, with VanHofwegen and junior wide receiver Bly Henderson responsible combining for 13 of those receptions for 156 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Tyler Frost finished with 7.5 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, while sophomore safety Owen “The Ball Hawk Bayhawk” Hanstead intercepted his third pass of the season.
Bellingham (0-3) will host South Whidbey (2-1) on Thursday at 7:00.
Granite Falls 32 Bellingham 27 BEL 14 7 0 6 - 27 GF 0 12 20 0 - 32 BEL - Bates 81 run (Isaly kick) BEL - Tolle 35 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) GF - 10 yard touchdown pass (pass failed) GF - 9 yard touchdown run (pass failed) BEL - Bates 8 run (Isaly kick) GF - 5 yard touchdown pass (kick good) GF - 4 yard touchdown pass (kick good) GF - 47 yard interception return (kick blocked) BEL - VanHofwegen 7 pass from Leonard (no conversion attempted) BEL GF 30-194 Rush Att-Yards 22-82 17-35-2 Comp-Att-Int 16-30-1 236 Passing Yards 216 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BEL: Bates 18-167, Frost 6-27, Tolle 2-9, Stone 1-3, Leonard 3-(-12). GF: N/A. PASSING - BEL: Leonard 17-35-2-236. GF: N/A. RECEIVING - BEL: VanHofwegen 7-68, Henderson 6-88, Tolle 3-58, Isaly 1-22. GF: N/A.
