Lynden Rolls On

BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps

LYNDEN – Making a team punt is usually a good thing.

On Friday night, Sehome held a 10-7 lead and was able to do that, stopping the Lynden offense near midfield. The Lions faced a fourth and nine from the Mariner 46-yard line early in the second quarter and sent Malachi Koenen in to punt it back to Sehome.

The young freshman, with kicking in his genes, hit a beauty that settled on the one-yard line. On the next play, the opportunistic Lion defense stopped junior Sehome running back Fisher Hall in the end zone for a safety.

Those two plays changed the momentum of the game leading to three straight 2^nd quarter Lynden touchdowns and ultimately a 44-24 Lynden victory on Friday night.

Sehome had seized the momentum early taking the first drive down the field and scoring on a 7 yard QB keeper by sophomore signal caller Nolan Wright. Lynden answered with a long drive of it’s own culminating with a fourth-and-goal, 1-yard Brant Heppner QB plunge.

Junior placekicker Grady Evans answered with a 24-yard field goal for Sehome on the ensuing drive putting the Mariners up 10-7.  At that point, it looked to be a back and fourth game of two potent offenses.

The pivotal Koenen punt occurred on Lynden’s first possession of the second quarter and was quickly followed up by a TD run by sophomore Maximus Assink and two Heppner TD passes. Dani Bowler from 33 yards out and Cooper Moore from 69 yards out were both able to get behind the man coverage employed by the Mariners.

Sehome showed strong resolve and battled back scoring right before halftime on an a body contorting “can you believe it” catch by junior wide receiver Andre Watson. This closed the margin to a Lynden 30-17 lead going into the homecoming halftime festivities at Rollie DeKoster Field.

The Mariners would continue to move the ball effectively through the air in the second half, but were unable to force any stops as Lynden held its advantage moving the ball effectively on the ground.

The teams traded touchdown passes in the frame, a 23-yard catch by the Lions senior Brady Elsner and an 8-yard snag by the sure-handed Watson on the 18^th play of Sehome’s drive. He finished with a school-record 15 catches for 137 yards. His 15 receptions also tied the Whatcom County record for catches in a single game.

Lynden concluded the scoring with another Heppner to Elsner hookup after 9 consecutive runs to begin its fourth quarter drive.

Sehome had one more chance after quickly moving down the field again but came up short on a fourth-and-two from Lynden’s 5-yard line. The Lions took the remaining time off the clock and remained undefeated in league play getting the 44-24 win on their Homecoming.

The Lions (4-1) will travel to Archbishop Murphy (3-2) on Friday to take on the Wildcats at 7:00, while the Mariners (3-2) will host Anacortes (5-0) on Saturday at 1:00 at Civic Stadium.

Lynden               44
Sehome               24

SEH      7    10     7     0  - 24
LYN      7    23     7     7  - 44

SEH - Wright 7 run (Evans kick)
LYN - Heppner 1 run (Koenen kick)
SEH - Evans 24 FG
LYN - Safety, Wright tackled in end zone
LYN - M. Assink 4 run (Koenen kick)
LYN - Bowler 33 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick)
LYN - Moore 69 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick)
SEH - Watson 12 pass from Wright (Evans kick)
LYN - Elsner 23 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick)
SEH - Watson 8 pass from Wright (Evans kick)
LYN - Elsner 14 pass from Heppner (Koenen kick)

SEH                         LYN
16-21    Rush Att-Yards     39-215
28-42-0  Comp-Att-Int       11-19-0
315      Passing Yards      223

Individual Leaders
   RUSHING - SEH: Wright 8-13, Hall 6-8, Smith 2-0. LYN: M. Assink 17-105, Heppner 13-69, Ayres 9-41.
   PASSING - SEH: Wright 28-42-0-315. LYN: Heppner 11-19-0-223.
   RECEIVING - SEH: Watson 15-137, B. Duckworth 8-128, Quiggle 2-15, Evans 2-11, Chambers 1-24. LYN: Moore 4-98, Elsner 3-55, Bowler 2-48, Oudman 1-14, M. Assink 1-8.