LYNDEN – In a matchup of two even teams that basically mirror each other, the Lions and Hawks were tied after each of the first three quarters. The fourth quarter would come down to which team had more. Or perhaps, which team had Moore. Max Moore, that is. The senior quarterback battled leg cramps in the second half to will his team to a 24-21 victory over Hockinson at Rollie DeKoster Field on Friday night.
Despite splitting half of the game at quarterback with junior Kaedan Hermanutz, Moore led Lynden on the ground with 122 yards on 17 carries. He also completed 5-of-10 passes for 46 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Isaiah Stanley with 31 seconds to go before halftime.
The Lion offense got off to a great start, and marched down the field on its first drive which culminated in a 6-yard touchdown run by Hermanutz. The Hawks answered back with a touchdown of their own later in the quarter, and then took the lead after a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
A scoreless third quarter saw both teams turn it over on downs, as well as intercept the ball from each other as the middle of the field was well used.
Moore’s cramping forced him to leave the game after the final play of the third quarter, but Hermanutz came in to begin the fourth quarter and promptly hit Stanley on a 15-yard touchdown pass to take the lead.
After forcing a three-and-out, Lynden was able to start its next drive at its own 27-yard line, but on 3rd-and-16 Hockinson picked off Hermanutz and returned it 25 yards to tie the game at 21 with 8:48 left in the contest.
The following drive by the Lions was filled with powerful runs by Moore, as well as his junior running backs Lane Heeringa and Campbell Nolte. The drive took 4:16 off the clock, and ended with a 34-yard field goal by junior Troy Petz to take the 24-21 lead.
After obtaining just one first down, the Hawks were forced to punt with 3:47 left in the game, and it would be up to the power run game of Lynden to hold on to the lead, and ultimately win the game. Running behind Dane Gatterman, Kuyper Assink, Josiah Vanderhaak, Bennett Roorda and Jesus Ortiz would prove beneficial for the Lions, as Moore and Heeringa each picked up big first downs, forcing Hockinson to use its final time outs.
No run was bigger than Moore’s quarterback draw up the middle on 3rd-and-12. It saw him burst through the line, and after getting a great block from Assink he charged to his left, already with the first down he was able to sprint ahead for a 37-yard gain to seal the victory.
Heeringa led the Lynden defense with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass broken up, and senior linebacker Taivin VanDalen intercepted a pass in the second consecutive season-opening game.
It won’t get any easier for the Lions (1-0) as they will battle Ferndale (1-0) at home this Friday night at 7:00.
Hockinson 21 Lynden 24 HOCK 7 7 0 7 - 21 LYN 7 7 0 10 - 24 LYN – Hermanutz 6 run (Antypas kick) HOCK – 8 yard touchdown pass (kick good) HOCK – 5 yard touchdown pass (kick good) LYN – Stanley 18 pass from Moore (Antypas kick) LYN – Stanley 15 pass from Hermanutz (Antypas kick) HOCK – 25 yard interception for a touchdown (kick good) LYN – Petz 34 FG HOCK LYN 17-38 Rushing Att-Yards 46-260 14-31-1 Comp-Att-Int 11-19-3 161 Passing yards 95 Individual Leaders RUSHING – HOCK: N/A. LYN: Moore 17-122, Heeringa 11-61, Hermanutz 11-57, Nolte 7-20. PASSING – HOCK: N/A. LYN: Hermanutz 6-9-3-49, Moore 5-10-0-46. RECEIVING – HOCK: N/A. LYN: Stanley 6-57, Jandoc 2-20, Antypas 2-9, Nolte 1-9.
