BELLINGHAM – After an extremely strong first half, the Lions weren’t able to score in the second half, but they did just enough to get past Tumwater 28-27 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at Civic Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Thunderbirds had their chance at the win, but missed a 22-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the game.
Lynden got off to a great start when junior defensive end Brock Heppner was able to recover a fumble on Tumwater’s opening drive. The Lions then drove the field with power running and pinpoint passing, eventually scoring when senior quarterback James Marsh ran towards the strength of his unbalanced offensive line for a touchdown from one yard out.
Opportunity knocked on the door for the Lions once again just two plays into the Thurderbirds’ following drive when junior defensive lineman Marty Karb caused a fumble which was recovered by junior linebacker Bodie Human at the Tumwater 27-yard line. A quick drive led by Heppner resulted in another touchdown when he found Marsh on an 11-yard touchdown pass.
Tumwater would score to begin the second quarter with the youthful connection of sophomore quarterback Cody Whalen and freshman tight end Austin Terry collaborated on a four yard touchdown pass. It was just the second pass attempt of the game for the ground-heavy Thunderbirds.
Lynden answered back quickly when Marsh scored his third touchdown of the game, this time on a six-yard run. The Lion offense looked sharp, and completed its first six passes to six different receivers.
Another Tumwater sophomore, this time Turner Allen, scored on an 8-yard scamper, but left a little too much time on the clock for Lynden. The final drive of the first half ended up being key for the Lions. Marsh hit Heppner on a six yard completion on a crucial 4th-and-three play which set up a 20-yard touchdown catch by senior wide receiver Grant VanderYacht.
Tumwater turned it on in the second half. They began running sweeps with wing backs, and Lynden wasn’t able to find an answer for it immediately. The Thunderbirds would go on to control the clock for the majority of the second half, while scoring a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns as well. Fortunately, for Lynden, the extra point attempt on the final Tumwater touchdown was missed.
Lynden’s best drive in the second half came in the fourth quarter when Marsh found VanderYacht on a 22-yard pass down the middle of the field on a 4th-and-1 play. Tumwater’s defense stifled the Lions from there, and Lynden had to settle for a 23-yard field goal attempt by junior Marko Samoukovich. The kick would end up being blocked.
The Lynden defense got strong plays by Human, as well as seniors Payton Scott and Kaden Mayberry on Tumwater’s final drive, as they were kept out of the end zone, and would end up missing the short field goal that would have given them the lead with only a few seconds remaining.
Along with accounting for all four Lion touchdowns, Marsh surpassed 2000 yards passing and 1000 yards rushing in his career on Saturday.
The win will send Lynden (11-0) to the state semi-finals against Fife (11-1) on Saturday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup at 1:00. The Trojans shut out Black Hills who had previously been unbeaten.
Tumwater 27
Lynden 28
TUM 0 14 7 6 – 27
LYN 14 14 0 0 – 28
LYN – Marsh 1 run (Samoukovich kick)
LYN – Marsh 11 pass from Heppner (Samoukovich kick)
TUM – Terry 4 pass from Whalen (Vani kick)
LYN – Marsh 6 run (Samoukovic kick)
TUM – Allen 8 run (Vani kick)
LYN – VanderYacht 20 pass from Marsh (Samoukovic kick)
TUM – Loftis 2 run (Vani kick)
TUM – Loftis 2 run (kick failed)
TUM LYN
63-374 Rushing Att-Yards 33-112
3-7-0 Comp-Att-Int 17-27-0
23 Passing yards 198
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – TUM: N/A. LYN: Marsh 20-74, Melendez 6-31, Heppner 7-7.
PASSING – TUM: N/A. LYN: Marsh 12-19-0-164, Heppner 5-8-0-34.
RECEIVING – TUM: N/A. LYN: VanderYacht 7-109, Heppner 4-26, Melendez 3-15, Elsner 1-19, C. Bode 1-18, Marsh 1-11.
