MOUNT VERNON – On paper, Friday night’s football matchup may have looked one-sided. The Golden Eagles have had the Bulldogs’ number over the years, and Mount Vernon came into the game having yet to win a game this season.
However, when the Bulldogs completed a 40-yard pass for a touchdown in the first quarter to open up the scoring, it was apparent that the Mount Vernon players was up for this game.
Ferndale quickly answered back with a touchdown pass of its own when junior quarterback Nolan Boleak lofted a pass into the end zone which was grabbed by senior Eli Kennerley for a 14-yard score.
An even back-and-forth in the second quarter gave way to a 27-yard touchdown pass by the Bulldogs just before halftime to give Mount Vernon a 14-7 lead at the break.
The third quarter saw the Golden Eagles feed senior fullback Talan Bungard to try and get back into the game. On fourth-and-three the county’s leading rusher took a handoff and sprinted around left end and eventually scored on a 53-yard gallop.
He had 51 yards on 12 carries before that game-tying play.
Ferndale took its first lead of the game when Boleak tossed a strike down the field which found Kennerley once again, who did the rest, which ended up as a 58-yard touchdown pass.
The lead was short lived, however, as the Bulldogs returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.
The scoreboard read 21-21 going into the fourth quarter, as both defenses stiffened up. A scoreless stanza gave way to overtime.
The Golden Eagles had the first chance, and strong runs got them inside the five yard line, where Bungard eventually punched it in. He finished with a game-high 171 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Now it was time for the Bulldogs to have possession, and they gained a first down after one rushing play. But, the Ferndale defense clamped up in the red zone and when a fourth-down pass fell incomplete the game was over, and the Golden Eagles had won 28-21.
Ferndale’s defense was once again led by senior linebacker Jacob Gandy who finished with 13 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection. Bungard added 5.5 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass knocked down behind the line.
The Golden Eagles (2-2) will host Stanwood (1-3) on Friday at 7:00.
Ferndale 28 Mount Vernon 21 (OT) FER 7 0 14 0 7 - 28 MV 7 7 7 0 0 - 21 MV - 40 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - E. Kennerley 14 pass from Boleak (Thomas kick) MV - 27 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Bungard 53 run (Thomas kick) FER - E. Kennerley 58 pass from Boleak (Thomas kick) MV - 92 yard touchdown kickoff return (kick good) FER - Bungard 2 run (Thomas kick) FER MV 44-248 Rush Att-Yards 34-104 4-9-1 Comp-Att-Int 13-28-0 82 Passing Yards 121 Individual Leaders RUSHING - FER: Bungard 25-171, E. Kennerley 6-38, Nielsen 6-20, Gandy 3-19, Boleak 4-0. MV: N/A. PASSING - FER: Boleak 4-9-1-82. MV: N/A. RECEIVING - FER: E. Kennerley 3-73, I. Kennerley 1-9. MV: N/A.
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