FRIDAY HARBOR – An early ferry ride, and a later than expected kickoff, turned into a sluggish first half for the Bayhawks. But they scored 26 points in the second half and floated back home with a 33-20 victory over Friday Harbor on Friday night.
The Wolverines got on the board first with a 45-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, but it was quickly answered in the second quarter when 6-foot-4 senior quarterback Josh Leonard snuck over the goal line from a yard out. Evan Isaly’s extra point gave Bellingham the 7-6 lead.
A 38-yard pitch-and-catch for a touchdown regained the lead for Friday Harbor. The two-point conversion failed, though, and the Wolverines had to settle for a 12-7 lead that stood until halftime.
The Bayhawks regained the lead in the third quarter when Leonard’s deep pass to senior Wyatt Stephan, who was double-covered all game, resulted in a 46-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was no good, and Bellingham remained in the lead, 13-12.
In this constant game of back and forth, it was Friday Harbor’s turn as its strong running game wouldn’t be denied, and a 5-yard rushing touchdown, and 2-point conversion, gave the Wolverines a 20-13 lead.
The following drive for the Bayhawks covered 93 yards, with 43 of them coming on a deep pass down the right sideline from Leonard to senior Josh Tolle. Leonard would then complete his next two passes, a 10-yarder to Stephan and a 25-yarder to Tolle, which then set up a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back Holden Bates.
Isaly’s extra point tied the game at 20-20, which stood going into the fourth quarter.
Bellingham quickly turned Friday Harbor away on the next possession, and quickly scored the go-ahead touchdown, this time a 9-yard run by Bates.
Late in the contest, the Wolverines drove all the way to the Bayhawk 25-yard line, but they were stopped on 4th-and-3, which gave the ball back to Bellingham. Two players later, Bates exploded for a 70-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach for Friday Harbor.
The Bellingham defense was led by junior linebacker Gabe VanHofwegen who had a team-high 11.5 tackles and a quarterback sack. Sophomore safety Owen Hanstead had seven tackles, and senior cornerback Aaron Ilagan had an interception.
The Bayhawks (5-3) will travel to Meridian (3-5) on Friday to take on the Trojans at 7:00.
Bellingham 33 Friday Harbor 20 BEL 0 7 13 13 - 33 FH 6 6 8 0 - 20 FH - 45 yard touchdown pass (kick failed) BEL - Leonard 1 run (Isaly kick) FH - 38 yard touchdown pass (run failed) BEL - Stephan 46 pass from Leonard (pass failed) FH - 5 yard touchdown run (2pt run good) BEL - Bates 4 run (Isaly kick) BEL - Bates 9 run (kick failed) BEL - Bates 70 run (Isaly kick) BEL FH 19-187 Rush Att-Yards 44-203 16-30-1 Comp-Att-Int 7-16-1 221 Passing Yards 117 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BEL: Bates 14-179, Leonard 4-7, Frost 1-1. FH: N/A. PASSING - BEL: Leonard 16-30-1-221. FH: N/A. RECEIVING - BEL: Tolle 7-92, Stephan 5-75, VanHofwegen 2-35, Henderson 2-19. FH: N/A.
