BLAINE – The two top Whatcom County teams kicked off the season in a big way, with the defending 2A state champion Lynden Lions defeating Ferndale 24-7 at Blaine High School on Friday night.
The Golden Eagle offense was able to sustain a long opening drive, but stalled out when a few false start penalties made it hard to pick up first downs. A Phoenyx Finkbonner punt put Lynden back on it’s own 5-yard line.
A 23-yard run by senior Lane Heeringa go the Loins into a little more manageable field position, but the Ferndale defense clenched down and brought about a 4th down for Lynden.
When All-State punter Troy Petz received the snap he saw something that he thought could make work, and boy, did he make it work! The fleet-footed senior took off down the left sideline, and made a few moves to cut back against the field and took it 64 yards for a touchdown.
The Golden Eagles had another long drive, but turned it over on downs inside the Lynden 15-yard line.
A few more possessions were traded with stops on fourth downs, but right before the half senior quarterback Kaedan Hermanutz connected with a diving Collin Anker for a 38-yard gain on 3rd-and-10. The long play set Petz up for a 40-yard field goal attempt, which he hit with just a few seconds left in the half. It was the seventh career field goal by Petz.
Lynden looked extremely precise on its opening drive of the third quarter. Highlighted by a 58-yard scamper by Heeringa, the drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Hermanutz, and the Lions held a 17-0 advantage.
The Golden Eagles finally got into the end zone in the fourth quarter when junior Conner Walcker replaced an injured Bishop Ootsey at quarterback, and found senior tight end Jordan Mason for a 25-yard score.
The Lions played conservatively, running the ball, preserving the lead and using as much time off the clock as they could. It opened up the passing game perfectly at the end of the game, and Hermanutz hit senior wide receiver Isaiah Stanley in stride for a 20-yard touchdown with just a few minutes left in the game.
Heeringa intercepted a pass near midfield to end the game.
Lynden senior linebacker Chris Elenbaas led the defense with 15.5 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Lions (1-0) will be on the road at 7:00 on Friday to take on W.F. West, and Ferndale (0-1) will play host to Oak Harbor (0-1) on Saturday at 6:00 at Blaine High School.
Lynden 24 Ferndale 7 LYN 7 3 7 7 - 24 FER 0 0 0 7 - 7 LYN - Petz 64 run (Smiley kick) LYN - Petz 40 FG LYN - Hermanutz 1 run (Petz kick) FER - Jo. Mason 25 pass from Walcker (Finkbonner kick) LYN - Stanley 20 pass from Hermanutz (Petz kick) LYN FER 28-220 Rush Att-Yards 53-248 7-12-0 Comp-Att-Int 2-7-2 98 Passing Yards 26 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LYN: Heeringa 7-90, Petz 1-64, Hermanutz 12-45, Nolte 8-21. FER: Nowak 20-103, Carlson 15-74, Walcker 4-25, Nielsen 7-22, Ootsey 6-20, Moore 1-4. PASSING - LYN: Hermanutz 7-10-0-98, Heppner 0-2-0-0. FER: Ootsey 1-5-2-1, Walcker 1-2-0-25. RECEIVING - LYN: Stanley 5-55, Anker 1-38, Nolte 1-5. FER: Jo. Mason 1-25, Nielsen 1-1.
