LYNDEN – After a back-and-forth first half that ended in a slim 17-16 lead for Lynden, it was the Lions that out-slugged its Canadian counterpart as they beat Vancouver College 38-16 in front of a homecoming crowd at Rollie DeKoster Field on Friday night.
After the Fighting Irish drove down the field and scored a touchdown with relative ease to begin the game, Lynden would answer back quickly when senior quarterback James Marsh found fellow senior Eric Martin-Mann who had gone in motion out of the backfield, and found himself burning past the defense as Marsh hit him in stride for an 88-yard touchdown.
The Irish scored once again, and once again the Lions answered back, this time with Brock Heppner behind center as he kept the ball himself, and scored from three yards out.
A third long drive by Vancouver College got the Canadian team close, but ultimately settled for a field goal, and Lynden’s left-footed junior striker Marko Samoukovic did the same with a 29-yard field goal.
The second half was a different story, as Lynden kept it’s intensity and physically wore down the Irish.
Marsh hit senior wide receiver Grant VanderYacht on a quick bubble screen that would go for a 10-yard touchdown, and on the Lion’s following possession the epitome of toughness was evident when Heppner scored his second touchdown of the game. The 195-pound junior kept the ball himself from nine yards out, and he was one-on-one with the safety standing at the three-yard line. Heppner had options. Does he slant towards the corner, and hope to score? Does he try to put a juke on the safety? Does he throw in a spin move? No, he doesn’t. He decides to run directly through the defender, and stretch the ball over the goal line for a touchdown.
Heppner, playing defensive end on the next VC possession, then intercepted a pass right on the visiting sideline, and Martin-Mann would burn off a 38-yard touchdown run down the right sideline.
The Lion offense clicked all game, totaling over 400 yards, while Carson Bode also intercepted a pass on defense while linebacker Bodie Human made some bone-rattling tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Lynden (8-0) handed Vancouver College it’s first loss of the season, and will have a bye this week. The Lions will wait to see who they play in week 10’s post season crossover game.
Vancouver College 16
Lynden 38
VC 13 3 0 0 – 16
LYN 7 10 14 7 – 38
VC – 12 yard touchdown run (kick good)
LYN – Martin-Mann 88 pass from Marsh (Samoukovich kick)
VC – 25 yard touchdown run (kick failed)
LYN – Heppner 3 run (Samoukovic kick)
VC – 20 yard field goal
LYN – Samoukovic 29 FG
LYN – VanderYacht 10 pass from Marsh (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 9 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Martin-Mann 38 run (Samoukovic kick)
VC LYN
29-154 Rushing Att-Yards 41-264
15-23-2 Comp-Att-Int 8-20-1
136 Passing yards 159
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – VC: N/A. LYN: Martin-Mann 13-113, Heppner 12-72, Marsh 9-66, Caspian 3-6, Ayres 2-4, Wheeler 2-3.
PASSING – VC: N/A. LYN: Marsh 4-9-0-98, Heppner 4-11-1-61.
RECEIVING – VC: N/A. LYN: VanderYacht 5-71, Martin-Mann 2-93, Heppner 1-(-5).
