BELLINGHAM – After an uneasy first half that ended with Eatonville holding on to a 7-6 lead, it was Lynden that exploded in the third quarter and go on to defeat the Cruisers 34-14 at Civic Stadium on Saturday night.
“That first half was tough,” Lynden second year coach Blake VanDalen said. “Out of sync is the only way I would be able to describe it. It was so nice to have a halftime and hit the reset button. That third quarter might have been the best quarter of football that we’ve played this year.”
The undefeated Lions could do no wrong in the third quarter, as senior quarterback James Marsh showed off his wheels by scoring a 60-yard touchdown run. He also found junior tight end Brock Heppner on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Heppner then launched a 49-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kobe Elsner. Heppner and Elsner also hooked up on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
“We were having fun in the third quarter,” senior left tackle Jacob Kettels said. “We were just grinding too hard in the first half.”
Lynden enjoyed running behind Kettels and the rest of the offensive line, as the Lions totaled 303 yards rushing for the game. It was also done without leading rusher, Eric Martin-Mann. Senior Trevin Melendez showed what he could do with the workload, and didn’t disappoint. He finished with 93 yards on 10 carries.
The ball-hawking defense of Lynden also stood out in the second half, with senior safety Brendan Kleindel intercepting two passes on back-to-back drives. The Lions picked off five passes as a team, also getting interceptions from Melendez, Elsner and senior Grant VanderYacht.
Marsh led the way on the ground with 137 yards on 15 carries, and Heppner’s overall game was huge with a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and two TD passes.
The win by Lynden (10-0) sets up the rematch against Tumwater (10-1). The Thunderbirds knocked Lynden out of the Class 2A state playoffs last season, and many of the Lion players and coaches remember that game very well.
“We’re just pumped that we get a chance to redeem ourselves,” VanDalen said. “They like to pound the ball, play tough defense, and they just beat a very good Prosser team. Their only loss was to Black Hills, and now we have a week to get ready for them.”
Eatonville 14
Lynden 34
EAT 0 7 0 7 – 14
LYN 6 0 21 7 – 34
LYN – Elsner 45 pass from Heppner (kick blocked)
EAT – 2 yard touchdown run (kick good)
LYN – Marsh 60 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 13 pass from Marsh (Samoukovich kick)
LYN – Elsner 49 pass from Heppner (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 4 run (Samoukovic kick)
EAT – 4 yard touchdown run (kick good)
EAT LYN
42-217 Rushing Att-Yards 41-303
7-22-5 Comp-Att-Int 7-20-0
97 Passing yards 172
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – EAT: N/A. LYN: Marsh 15-137, Melendez 10-93, Heppner 8-43, Wheeler 5-31, Ayres 3-(-1).
PASSING – EAT: N/A. LYN: Heppner 5-9-0-141, Marsh 2-10-0-31, Ayres 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – EAT: N/A. LYN: Elsner 2-94, Heppner 2-31, Marsh 1-36, Melendez 1-6, VanderYacht 1-5.
