BURLINGTON – Remember those toy cars as a kid, that you would roll the wheels back on, and when you released it, it would just take off? It looked like somebody had rolled the wheels back on Lion senior running back Steven DiLorenzo in the middle of the week, and waited until the first play from scrimmage to release him.
Of course, if that toy car hits an object, it can be slowed down or even stopped. Senior left tackle Harley Vandenberg cleared a path big enough for an entire fleet of toy cars, and DiLorenzo shot out of his crouch with the ball, made a few moves and scored a 51-yard touchdown to open the game. It set the tone for a 37-6 victory over Burlington-Edison.
The Tigers were also able to move the ball, especially on the ground, but they weren’t able to punch it into the end zone until the final drive of the game. Burlington had seven run plays of at least 13 yards.
DiLorenzo, however, outgained the entire Tiger offense all by himself as he rushed for 199 yards on 17 carries. He also caught a pass for 13 yards. Junior quarterback Baylor Ayres kept his hot hand as well, passing for 91 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 74 yards on 13 carries.
Senior Brock Heppner caught both of Ayres’ touchdown tosses in the second quarter. The first was a quick pass over the middle that saw Heppner outrun everyone 40 yards to the goal line. Heppner also scored his third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard keeper in the third quarter.
Senior kicker Marko Samoukovic tied Santiago Lopez’s Whatcom County record for 18 career field goals when he nailed a 41-yarder in the third quarter, and made it look easy.
Senior linebacker Bodie Human led Lynden in total tackles, and he also tipped a pass that was nearly intercepted. Linebacker Jordan Elsner and defensive back Kaleo Jandoc each intercepted passes.
Lynden scored a touchdown late in the game when third string sophomore quarterback Cade Slayton completed a short shovel pass to senior wide receiver Austin Anderson who was in motion, and he raced four yards for the score.
The Lions (5-1) will host Sedro Woolley (5-1) this Friday. A victory over the Cubs would guarantee the Northwest Conference 2A Sky Division Championship.
Lynden 37
Burlington-Edison 6
LYN 7 14 10 6 – 37
BE 0 0 0 6 – 6
LYN – DiLorenzo 51 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 40 pass from Ayres (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 18 pass from Ayres (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 1 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Samoukovic 41 FG
LYN – Anderson 4 pass from Slayton (kick failed)
BE – 28 yard touchdown run (kick failed)
LYN BE
48-342 Rushing Att-Yards 28-175
7-15-1 Comp-Att-Int 4-12-2
103 Passing yards 21
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – LYN: DiLorenzo 17-199, Ayres 13-74, Slayton 4-22, Heppner 7-21, White 2-11, Moore 1-10, Wheeler 4-5. BE: N/A.
PASSING – LYN: Ayres 5-9-0-91, Heppner 2-6-1-12. BE: N/A.
RECEIVING – LYN: E. Bode 3-22, Heppner 2-58, DiLorenzo 1-13, Jandoc 1-10. BE: N/A.
