LYNDEN – The Lions came back from being down 23-7 in the fourth quarter to defeat Sehome 31-30 in a thrilling football game at Rollie DeKoster Field on Friday night.
It was a slow start for Lynden which fumbled the ball away on its first play from scrimmage.
The Mariners took advantage and was able to score 10 plays later on a one-yard touchdown run by senior Solomon McAlister.
The Lions countered with a classic Lynden-style drive that spanned 14 plays and 80 yards, and ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by sophomore Malachi Koenen and the game was tied at 7-7 after one quarter.
The two teams traded punts to begin the second quarter, but the Mariners were then able to put together another scoring drive, which was helped along by a 25-yard pitch and catch from junior quarterback Nolan Wright to senior wide receiver Andre Watson.
One play later, Wright hit senior tight end Cooper McAtee on a quick out pattern for a 2-yard touchdown, and Sehome held a 13-7 lead.
The ensuing kickoff was fumbled, and the Mariners quickly had possession once again in Lynden territory.
Sehome was able to get into field goal position before the clock reached triple zeros, and senior Grady Evans connected on a 27-yard kick just before halftime. It was his ninth field career field goal, which established a new school record.
The Mariners were up 16-7 at the half.
After forcing a punt to begin the third quarter, the Lions were able to reach the red zone, but another fumble gave the ball back to Sehome.
The Mariners then drove the length of the field, and settled for their second 27-yard field goal of the game, but this time it was blocked by sophomore Sam Arango, and Lynden took over.
The Lions drove just past midfield, but yet another fumble took place and Sehome once again grabbed the momentum.
The Mariner drive bled into the fourth quarter, and culminated with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Watson, and when Evans booted the extra point, Sehome took a 23-7 lead with 10:58 left in the game.
Lynden needed to act fast, and it did just that as a 66-yard completion from senior quarterback Brant Heppner to Arango set the Lions up at the 3-yard line. Heppner ran over the left side of his offensive line on the following play for a touchdown, and then hit junior Dani Bowler on a quick slant for the 2-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 23-16.
Lynden was able to force a punt, and when Bowler returned it to the Sehome 47-yard line with 6:33 left in the game, it began to look like a true reality that the comeback was on.
Moments later, Heppner hit Arango down the left seam for a 36-yard scoring strike, and once again nailed the 2-point conversion as Heppner targeted Arango on a quick back shoulder throw into the end zone.
With score now tied at 23-23, with 5:44 left in the game, the Mariners took possession on their own 23-yard line.
The Sehome drive featured first-down passing plays to junior wide receiver Theo Quiggle as well as McAtee, coupled with a 12-yard run by McAlister.
When Mariner sophomore running back Nicky Smith hit a 17-yard run, it set Sehome up at the 2-yard line with just 2:15 left in the game.
Two players later, Wright found the end zone when he followed lead blocks thrown by Smith and McAtee. The extra point by Evans gave the Mariners a 30-23 lead with 2:09 left in the game.
A mishandling of the ensuing kickoff return meant that the Lions had to start their drive on their own 13-yard line with 2:02 left.
After one incompletion, Heppner launched a ball deep down the Lynden sideline, which was hauled in by senior tight end Isaiah Oudman for a 27-yard gain.
Heppner then fired a bullet over the middle which was caught by junior Brody Price for 18 yards, and brought the Lions past midfield.
A fourth-down completion to Bowler moved the chain, and kept the game alive for Lynden, which now had the ball on the 27-yard line with 56 seconds left in the game.
Back-to-back completions from Heppner to Bowler got the Lions down to the 1-yard line with 27 seconds left, and Lynden called a timeout.
Heppner used a powerful second effort with his 6-foot-6 frame to get past the goal line, and the decision was made immediately that they would go for their third 2-point conversion of the quarter, and go for the win.
Heppner pump-faked on the slant, and Arango quickly changed directions and broke outside where Heppner placed the ball perfectly for him, and the Lions held their first lead of the game, 31-30, with 21 seconds left.
Wright found Watson for a 41-yard gain to get Sehome into Lynden territory, but Wright’s final heave into the air with no time remaining was intercepted by senior cornerback Jaydin Oaks, which sealed the victory for Lynden.
The Lions (4-1) will face Squalicum (3-2) at Civic Stadium this Friday at 7:00, and the Mariners (3-2) will play host to Lynden Christian (3-2) on Saturday at 1:00 at Civic Stadium.
Lynden 31 Sehome 30 SEH 7 9 0 14 - 30 LYN 7 0 0 24 - 31 SEH - McAlister 1 run (Evans kick) LYN - Mal. Koenen 3 run (Mal. Koenen kick) SEH - McAtee 2 pass from Wright (kick failed) SEH - Evans 27 FG SEH - Watson 12 pass from Wright (Evans kick) LYN - Heppner 3 run (Bowler pass from Heppner) LYN - Arango 36 pass from Heppner (Arango pass from Heppner) SEH - Wright 2 run (Evans kick) LYN - Heppner 1 run (Arango pass from Heppner) SEH LYN 35-86 Rush Att-Yards 24-137 29-40-1 Comp-Att-Int 17-30-0 346 Passing Yards 282 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SEH: Wright 17-38, Smith 7-30, McAlister 10-18, Watson 1-0. LYN: Heppner 10-66, Assink 11-61, Mal. Koenen 3-10. PASSING - SEH: Wright 29-40-1-346. LYN: Heppner 17-30-0-282. RECEIVING - SEH: Watson 11-170, Quiggle 7-80, McAtee 6-57, Goodman 2-18, Miller 2-13, McAlister 1-8. LYN: Arango 6-142, Oudman 5-66, Bowler 3-34, Jorgensen 2-22, Price 1-18.
