ARLINGTON – After one quarter, the Lions had 26 points and the Cougars had negative two yards. The route was on.
Lynden didn’t look rusty at all, after winning via a forfeit last week, and beat Lakewood 50-12 on Friday night.
The Lions forced a punt on the Cougars’ first possession, and scored on their second play from scrimmage on a 35-yard strike from junior quarterback Brant Heppner to junior tight end Isaiah Oudman.
Following Lakewood’s second punt, Lynden put together a time-consuming drive that lasted 10 plays and covered 73 yards. It ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by sophomore Max Assink.
The Cougars were forced to pass on their next possession on third-and-long, but Oudman’s strip sack jarred the ball loose, and senior linebacker Charlie Ayres picked it up in stride and raced 21 yards for a touchdown.
The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Lakewood, and the Lions capitalized by scoring five plays later on a 10-yard pitch-and-catch from Heppner to senior wide receiver Cooper Moore.
A quarterback-power run by Ayres in the second quarter resulted in a five-yard touchdown, and that was followed up by Heppner’s third touchdown pass of the first half, a this time a 30-yarder to senior wide receiver Brady Elsner.
Heppner finished the game with 194 yards passing on 12-of-18. Sophomore Dani Bowler was the main recipient with six receptions for 102 yards.
Assink scored his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter, and finished the contest with a career-high 129 yards on 26 carries.
Freshman kicker Malachi Koenen also booted his first varsity field goal, a 40-yarder, in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, senior defensive linemen Kuyper Assink and Javier Zavala each had two quarterback sacks.
The Lions (7-1) will host Anacortes (8-0) on Friday night at 7:00 for the Northwest Conference 2A Championship.
Lynden 50 Lakewood 12 LYN 26 14 7 3 - 50 LAK 0 0 0 12 - 12 LYN - Oudman 35 pass from Heppner (kick failed) LYN - M. Assink 8 run (kick blocked) LYN - Ayres 21 fumble recovery (Koenen kick) LYN - Moore 10 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick) LYN - Ayres 5 run (Koenen kick) LYN - Elsner 30 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick) LYN - M. Assink 1 run (Koenen kick) LAK - 27 yard touchdown pass (pass failed) LYN - Koenen 40 FG LAK - 34 yard touchdown pass (pass failed) LYN LAK 39-172 Rush Att-Yards 17-2 12-18-1 Comp-Att-Int 12-31-0 194 Passing Yards 237 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LYN: M. Assink 26-129, Marti 5-17, Ayres 3-16, Simanu 3-10, Heppner 2-0. LAK: N/A. PASSING - LYN: Heppner 12-18-1-194. LAK: N/A. RECEIVING - LYN: Bowler 6-102, Elsner 3-47, Moore 2-10, Oudman 1-35. LAK: N/A.
