LYNDEN – In a game full of momentum swings, it was a 74-yard touchdown run by Campbell Nolte that gave the final swing of momentum to the Lions, which helped them defeat the Storm 15-12 at Rollie DeKoster Field on Friday night.
The junior running back had a career-high 106 yards on just nine carries, as Lynden ran for 204 yards on 52 rushing plays.
A big chunk of those plays came on the opening possession of the game. The Lions marched 71 yards down the field on 16 plays, capping the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior Kaedan Hermanutz to senior Kaleo Jandoc. Troy Petz’ extra point gave Lynden the early 7-0 lead.
The Storm put together an impressive drive of their own on their first possession, going 54 yards on 12 plays, but they turned it over on downs when star running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker was stopped for a one-yard gain on 4th-and-2 at the Lynden 15 yard-line.
After both teams traded punts, the Lions got a huge play when Hermanutz found Jandoc on a post pattern. The pass play went for 69 yards, and Jandoc was eventually tackled at the 2-yard line by senior safety Kaleb Hawkinson. The Storm front seven kept Lynden out of the end zone on the next three plays, and when inside linebacker Jaymeson Thompson tackled Hermanutz on 4th-and-goal, Squalicum took over on downs at its own 2-yard line.
The Storm ran a few plays to get some breathing room, but the halftime buzzer would go off just moments after the goal line stand.
Squalicum received the second half kickoff, but was forced to punt after obtaining just one first down. A few plays later Hermanutz was sacked by Thompson, who was able to force a fumble on the play. Schlenbaker picked up the ball and sprinted 35 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked by junior Luke Winterberg, and Lynden still held a 7-6 lead.
The Lions went three-and-out on the following possession and was forced to punt. Squalicum senior Kai Posey came off the edge to block the punt, and Petz recovered the ball and was tackled at the Lynden 7-yard line by Posey. Schlenbaker scored his second touchdown of the game, and the 50th of his career, and Squalicum then had its first lead of the game, 12-7.
Schlenbaker became the second player in school history to reach 50 touchdowns (Ben Peterson – 56) and the 12th player in Whatcom County history to reach that milestone.
The momentum remained on the Storm’s side as Squalicum was able to force a turnover on downs on Lynden’s 38-yard line. A crushing blow happened moments later when Schlenbaker injured his ankle on a second-down run. He was replaced by sophomore Deandre Dunmore, and the Lions were able to get the ball back when the Storm then turned it over on downs.
Schlenbaker finished the game with 100 yards on 20 carries.
That momentum swing after getting the ball back after a fourth down stop was elevated moments later when Nolte ripped off his long touchdown run in the waning moments of the third quarter. It saw Nolte juke players out, break tackles and eventually run away from defenders. Hermanutz’ two-point run was good, giving the Lions the 15-12 lead that would sustain for the rest of the contest.
Squalicum quarterback Leyton Smithson also was unable to go in the fourth quarter, and the Lynden defense made life miserable for the sophomore replacements. An interception by Lynden senior cornerback Ryan Kleindel eventually iced the game.
The Lions (2-1) will play their first road game of the season on Friday when they travel to Burlington (2-0) to take on the Tigers, and Squalicum (1-1) will try to bounce back on Friday when it hosts Lakewood (1-2).
Squalicum 12 Lynden 15 SQU 0 0 12 0 - 12 LYN 7 0 8 0 - 15 LYN - Jandoc 15 pass from Hermanutz (Petz kick) SQU - Schlenbaker 35 fumble recovery (kick blocked) SQU - Schlenbaker 7 run (pass failed) LYN - Nolte 74 run (Hermanutz run) SQU LYN 32-136 Rush Att-Yards 52-204 2-11-1 Comp-Att-Int 6-7-0 4 Passing Yards 83 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SQU: Schlenbaker 20-100, Smithson 7-31, Hawkinson 1-3, Dunmore 4-2. LYN: Nolte 9-106, Heeringa 22-63, Hermanutz 19-34, Moore 2-1. PASSING - SQU: Smithson 2-5-0-4, Leonard 0-6-1-0. LYN: Hermanutz 6-7-0-83. RECEIVING - SQU: Hawkinson 2-4. LYN: Jandoc 2-84, Antypas 2-3, Nolte 1-(-1), Stanley 1-(-3).
