OAK HARBOR – It was ball control and a stifling defense that did it again for the Golden Eagles as they defeated Oak Harbor 26-6 at Wildcat Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The game plan was terrific right off the bat as Ferndale took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards on 16 plays, which ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by senior halfback Phoenyx Finkbonner.
The drive set the tone, and took up the majority of the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles scored again on their next possession, with a similar 12-play 63-yard drive. This one was punctuated by a 2-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Talan Bungard who followed blocks thrown by juniors Lincoln Thomas and Jacob Gandy to score the six points.
Bungard finished with a game-high 133 rushing yards on 18 carries.
The Wildcats scored their lone touchdown in the second quarter, and were close to scoring a second one just before halftime, but the Oak Harbor pass into the end zone was batted away by senior cornerback Bishop Ootsey to secure the halftime lead for Ferndale.
The Golden Eagles kept their double-handoff misdirection play in their back pocket and chose to unveil it in the third quarter, and it worked to perfection.
Finkbonner took the initial handoff, and quickly handed the ball to senior Conner Walcker, and then proceeded to carry out his fake to draw a few Wildcats away from the play. What seemed like less than a second later, Walcker was at top speed and sprinted untouched past numerous defenders that had an angle on him to score a 56-yard touchdowns.
Walcker scored again, this time in the fourth quarter, and as a wide receiver. Ootsey connected with him from 19-yards out on a slant pattern for the final tally on the board.
Walcker also led the team on defense with 12.5 tackles, two passes knocked down and a half tackle for a loss. The Golden Eagles also got multiple tackles for loss by Bungard and Ootsey, and senior defensive end Kellan LaFave registered a quarterback sack.
Ferndale (2-0) will play its first home game next week in the new stadium against Glacier Peak (1-1) on Friday at 7:00.
Ferndale 26 Oak Harbor 6 FER 6 6 7 7 - 26 OH 0 6 0 0 - 6 FER - Finkbonner 5 run (kick failed) FER - Bungard 2 run (run failed) OH - 15 yard touchdown pass (kick blocked) FER - Walcker 56 run (Finkbonner kick) FER - Walcker 19 pass from Ootsey (Finkbonner kick) FER OH 51-269 Rush Att-Yards 31-100 3-3-0 Comp-Att-Int 11-20-0 46 Passing Yards 101 Individual Leaders RUSHING - FER: Bungard 18-133, Walcker 3-52, Finkbonner 11-35, Atwood 5-17, Ootsey 7-16, Gandy 4-8, Telles 2-5, Moore 1-3. OH: N/A. PASSING - FER: Ootsey 3-3-0-46. OH: N/A. RECEIVING - FER: Walcker 2-31, Bungard 1-15. OH: N/A.
