BELLINGHAM – Costly fumbles by the Bayhawks, and big plays by the Mavericks allowed for Meadowdale to come back from being down 21-0 at halftime and beat Bellingham 34-28 at Civic Stadium on Friday night.
The Bayhawks looked good in all three phases of the game in the first half, and had gained 147 yards to that point, while holding the Mavericks to just 46 yards. Meadowdale went on to gain 282 in the second half.
Bellingham’s first touchdown came on a 21-yard run by sophomore Jordan Stone on his first varsity carry.
Senior quarterback Josh Leonard then connected down the left sideline with senior Josh Tolle for a 29-yard touchdown in the second quarter, on what was a 4th-down play.
Junior running back Tyler Frost, who had 123 yards rushing last week, pounded in the third touchdown of the game from two yards out, which gave the Bayhawks their 21-0 advantage at the half.
The Mavericks ripped off the next five touchdowns, and eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter. The first two Meadowdale scores came one play after a Bellingham fumble. The third touchdown came two plays after a 58-yard pass completion, and the other two touchdowns came one play after a punt, and a turnover on downs.
Leonard and Tolle connected for a touchdown late in the contest, this time from 21 yards out as time expired.
Leonard finished with 216 yards on 20-of-37 passing. Tolle was the main recipient with six catches for 114 yards, while junior tight end Gabe VanHofwegen caught five passes for 63 yards.
Frost and VanHofwegen led defensively, as they combined for 16 tackles and 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, and sophomore Owen Hanstead intercepted his second pass of the season.
The Bayhawks (0-2) will go on the road next week to take on Granite Falls (1-1) at 7PM on Friday.
Meadowdale 34 Bellingham 28 MDW 0 0 12 22 - 34 BEL 7 14 0 7 - 28 BEL - Stone 21 run (Isaly kick) BEL - Tolle 29 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) BEL - Frost 2 run (Isaly kick) MDW - 24 yard touchdown run (pass failed) MDW - 26 yard touchdown pass (run failed) MDW - 5 yard touchdown run (2pt run good) MDW - 69 yard touchdown run (run failed) MDW - 60 yard touchdown run (2pt run good) BEL - Tolle 21 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) MDW BEL 32-190 Rush Att-Yards 21-51 9-18-1 Comp-Att-Int 20-37-0 138 Passing Yards 216 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MDW: N/A. BEL: Frost 10-29, Stone 2-27, Bates 7-7, Leonard 2-(-12). PASSING - MDW: N/A. BEL: Leonard 20-37-0-216. RECEIVING - MDW: N/A. BEL: Tolle 6-114, VanHofwegen 5-63, Laas 4-7, Henderson 3-29, Hanstead 2-3.
