MONROE – When Ferndale and Monroe locked up last season for the WesCo 3A North Championship, many things didn’t go as planned for the Golden Eagles. Two memorable things were Isaiah Carlson not being able to play due to an injury, and the other was Conner Walcker misplaying a few balls in the air, that he wished he could have back.
Carlson and Walcker played “light’s out” in the rematch, and helped Ferndale beat the Bearcats 34-28 on Friday night.
The Golden Eagles got off to a great start when Walcker intercepted a pass on the second play from scrimmage, which gave Ferndale the ball at the Monroe 45-yard line. Moments later junior wingback Dylan Moore had a 30-yard run which brought the ball to the 1-yard line, and Carlson scored the touchdown from there.
The Bearcats retaliated with returning the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, which tied the game at 7-7.
After forcing a Ferndale punt, Monroe used a quick passing game to march down the field, and they ultimately scored on a one-yard touchdown run of their own, and took a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles had to punt again, but this time Ferndale got the ball back by turning the Bearcats over on downs near midfield. Seven plays later, Walcker scored on a double-handoff which he took 25 yards for a touchdown. Phoenyx Finkbonner’s point after tied it up at 14, but Monroe did it once again on the following kickoff.
It was deja vu all over again as the Bearcats scored on their second kickoff return of the game, and took a 21-14 lead.
Ferndale then punted again, and it looked bleak for the Golden Eagles, but a few plays later it was senior cornerback Damien Toney who vaulted into the air to intercept a deep pass and give the ball back to his teammates.
Junior quarterback Bishop Ootsey took control on this possession, and completed numerous passes down the field to Walcker, one of which landed Ferndale at the 1-yard line with little time remaining in the first half. Carlson scored his second touchdown run of the night on the next play, and by doing so he broke a school record for most career rushing touchdowns, passing Casey Locker who finished with 49.
Finkbonner’s kick was good once again, and the two teams went into the locker room tied, 21-21.
The Golden Eagles began the second half with a 14-play 61-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ootsey to Walcker, which gave Ferndale a 28-21 lead.
Monroe drove past midfield, but a Bearcat pass was tipped by sophomore safety Zach Nielsen and fellow-sophomore Talan Bungard intercepted it and raced 25 yards much to the delight of the Ferndale faithful that made the drive down.
The delight was short-lived, however, as a fumble turned the ball back over to Monroe.
The Bearcats drove all the way to the 8-yard line of Ferndale, but consecutive quarterback sacks on third and fourth down by senior defensive end Landen Hatchett (who’s built like a bear, but can move like a cat) gave the ball back to the Golden Eagles.
Monroe ultimately re-gained possession again early in the fourth quarter, and had a 1st-and-goal opportunity at the 3-yard line.
Junior defensive tackle Camden Raymond tackled the running back at the 1-yard line on the first-down play. Senior Jake Mason and sophomore Jacob Gandy combined for the stop on second down. The quarterback mishandled the snap on third down, but almost scored. Down by a touchdown, the Bearcats went for it on fourth down. The snap was mishandled again, Raymond took down the quarterback and Bungard scooped up the football.
Two plays later Carlson took a handoff up the middle, bounced outside, turned on the after-burners and galloped 94 yards for his third touchdown of the evening.
Monroe scored a late touchdown on a double-pass that covered 78 yards, but failed to recover the onside kick.
Carlson finished with 185 yards rushing on 26 carries, and Walcker ended with 80 yards receiving, 51 yards rushing and two interceptions. I would say they both had been waiting for this rematch for a while.
The Golden Eagles (7-2) are awaiting to find out who they will play this upcoming weekend, but will likely be hosting a winner-to-state game.
Ferndale 34 Monroe 28 FER 7 14 7 6 - 34 MON 14 7 0 7 - 28 FER - Carlson 1 run (Finkbonner kick) MON - 98 yard kickoff return (kick good) MON - 1 yard touchdown run (kick good) FER - Walcker 25 run (Finkbonner kick) MON - 98 yard kickoff return (kick good) FER - Carlson 2 run (Finkbonner kick) FER - Walcker 19 pass from Ootsey (Finkbonner kick) FER - Carlson 94 run (kick failed) MON - 78 yard touchdown pass (kick good)
FER MON 57-333 Rush Att-Yards 21-8 6-9-0 Comp-Att-Int 18-31-4 104 Passing Yards 275 Individual Leaders RUSHING - FER: Carlson 26-185, Walcker 9-51, Nielsen 13-47, Moore 3-38, Bungard 2-11, Oostey 4-1. MON: N/A. PASSING - FER: Ootsey 6-9-0-104. MON: N/A. RECEIVING - FER: Walcker 4-80, Toney 2-24. MON: N/A.
