BELLINGHAM – After a few early adjustments, the Golden Eagles found some situations that they could take advantage of, and by doing so they defeated Seattle Prep 35-14 at Civic Stadium on Friday night and gained their first berth to the Class 3A “Round of 16” State Playoffs since 2017.
The Panthers used multiple formations in their hurry-up offense, and benefited from it early when sophomore quarterback Beau Oaksmith completed a deep pass down the left sideline to junior Casey Carlesimo for a 63-yard touchdown pass.
Ferndale countered Seattle Prep’s speed with pure power. Running outside the tackles wasn’t working as well as usual, so the Golden Eagles moved 220-pound Isaiah Carlson to halfback, and brought in 200-pound sophomore Talan Bungard at fullback. It paid off.
Ferndale went on to score the next five touchdowns of the game, all on runs between the tackles, as the Golden Eagles also chewed up a ton of clock, running 69 plays on offense. The Panthers ran just 42 plays.
Carlson finished with a career-high in carries (29) and rushing yards (220) as he physically, and mentally, willed his team to victory. Bungard also finished with career-highs in both of those categories as he totaled 173 yards on 20 carries. Carlson ran for three touchdowns, and Bungard scored the other two.
It cannot be understated how well the offensive line also did for the Golden Eagles, as Jake Mason, Camden Raymond, Landen Hatchett, Trevor Fetty, Cooper Herrick and tight end Jordan Mason dominated up front to the point that multiple times the Ferndale backs were five yards past the line of scrimmage before first contact.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were led by Carlson who had 4.5 tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble and a pass broken up. Bungard also got a quarterback sack, and he recorded his team-leading fourth fumble recovery of the season.
Ferndale (8-2) will be a part of the 3A State Playoffs that start next weekend, but its opponent, date and location are yet to be determined. The seeding committee will the announce information needed on Sunday, and it is likely that the Golden Eagles will be back at Civic Stadium.
Ferndale 35 Seattle Prep 14 SP 7 0 0 7 - 14 FER 7 21 7 7 - 35 SP - Carlesimo 63 pass from Oaksmith (Lawlor kick) FER - Carlson 6 run (Finkbonner kick) FER - Carlson 10 run (kick blocked) FER - Bungard 1 run (Bungard run) FER - Carlson 5 run (Finkbonner kick) FER - Bungard 7 run (Finkbonner kick) SP - O'Meara 3 run (Lawlor kick)
SP FER 25-125 Rush Att-Yards 68-461 10-17-0 Comp-Att-Int 1-1-0 130 Passing Yards 6 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SP: N/A. FER: Carlson 29-220, Bungard 20-173, Walcker 5-28, Nielsen 8-25, Moore 3-9, Finkbonner 2-7, Bowen 1-(-1). PASSING - SP: N/A. FER: Ootsey 1-1-0-6. RECEIVING - SP: N/A. FER: Bungard 1-6.
