By Jeff Wood – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – In a game for city bragging rights, the Sehome Mariners made one more explosive play than the Squalicum Storm and came out on top of an offensive affair filled with big plays on Friday night.
With just over a minute to play, all everything sophomore quarterback Nolan Wright called his own number. After a night of being penned in by the Storm, Wright used his speed to break contain and tight roped down the visitors sideline for a 40-yard touchdown.
The visitors sideline erupted, and the Mariners held on for a 38-34 victory to beat the Storm for the second consecutive year at Civic Stadium.
The game began with a stop by the Sehome defense and then a quick score on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Wright to star junior receiver Andre Watson. The Storm quickly turned it over on a fumble after a long reception by Laki Fagaautau. The sophomore tight end who started his career at Sehome had a big night against his former team with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
The Storm “D” buckled down however and forced consecutive punts which were both followed by Marcus Nixon rushing touchdowns. The misdirection offense employed by Coach Nick Lucey gave the speedy Nixon some daylight and he was able to showcase his athleticism in the open field.
After the second TD run, it was 14-7 Storm advantage just two plays into the second quarter.
Sehome answered with a 10-play drive that culminated in another Wright to Watson hookup this time for 21 yards. The ground game of the Storm quickly answered with a 75-yard Nixon burst which the Squalicum offensive line cleared a large opening to the home side of the field.
Back came the Mariners through the air, with sophomore Theo Quiggle catching a 38-yard fade that looked to tie up the game. However, the ensuing extra point was blocked. With the Storm keying on senior tight end Braddock Duckworth, Quiggle had a breakout game catching seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Going into the long halftime it was a 21-20 Squalicum advantage.
After the Squalicum royalty was crowned at the Homecoming halftime festivities, the Storm came out in the third quarter with a solid defensive series and an interception by sophomore Zach Watt.
A quick four-play drive culminated in a Laki Fagaautau TD reception. Sehome did not abandon the running game and its next drive included four rushes by Solomon McAlister who had a workman night of 18 carries for 66 yards.
It proved more difficult for the Mariners to pass the ball as the Storm went to a 3-3 look and allocated another player to the defensive backfield. With a fourth and goal at the five-yard line first year Sehome coach Brian Young elected for a field goal attempt. Senior Kyle Diefel split the uprights and cut the Squalicum lead going into the fourth quarter to 28-23.
Needing a stop, the Sehome defense delivered. At midfield, the Storm faced a 4th and 7. After six consecutive rushes a Nixon pass fell incomplete and the Mariners took over.
Sophomore Hudson Neff who led the team with 10.5 tackles in the game coming up from his safety spot said about the stop, “We knew we had to step up in that moment and get the ball back to our offense.”
Now with the ball, Sehome took advantage of a pass interference penalty which helped extend its drive which ended in a 14-yard slant pass touchdown from Wright to Quiggle. Only up one, Sehome converted on a 2-point play to push the lead to three at 31-28.
The Storm kept to their plan running the ball and after starting on the 49-yard line due to a celebration penalty, it did not take them long to regain the lead. An 8-yard Nixon QB sweep put Squalicum back in front, 34-31. A missed extra point kept the margin to a field goal and the scoring was not over yet.
With time ticking down on the clock, Sehome ran the ball three consecutive times to move the ball to the Storm 40-yard line. With under 1:20 left in the game, the Sehome fans were nervous with urgency as Wright dropped back on the next play. Seeing open field to his right, he scrambled back to his own sideline and put on a burst, out-running the Squalicum defenders while almost going out of bounds. The touchdown was confirmed, putting Sehome back on top 38-34.
The Storm began their final drive at their 49 with 1:07 and three timeouts and quickly got a first down. Rushed on the next series, Squalicum had a 4th down heave fall incomplete, ending a valiant effort where they outgained Sehome 376-335. The crosstown rivalry was an instant classic of which all in attendance won’t soon forget.
Next up, Squalicum (3-5) plays at Sedro-Wolley (5-3) and Sehome (5-3) hosts Lakewood (2-5). Both games are on Friday at 7:00.
Sehome 38 Squalicum 34 SEH 7 13 3 15 - 38 SQU 7 14 7 6 - 34 SEH - Watson 44 pass from Wright (Diefel kick) SQU - Nixon 10 run (Haggen kick) SQU - Nixon 5 run (Haggen kick) SEH - Watson 21 pass from Wright (Diefel kick) SQU - Nixon 75 run (Haggen kick) SEH - Quiggle 38 pass from Wright (kick blocked) SQU - Fagaautau 48 pass from Nixon (Haggen kick) SEH - Diefel 22 FG SEH - Quiggle 13 pass from Wright (Watson pass from Wright) SQU - Nixon 8 run (kick failed) SEH - Wright 40 run (Diefel kick) SEH SQU 24-122 Rush Att-Yards 32-242 18-29-1 Comp-Att-Int 5-13-0 213 Passing Yards 134 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SEH: McAlister 18-66, Wright 5-51, Hall 1-5. SQU: Nixon 17-190, Ortiz 4-27, Dunmore 6-25, Smith 5-3. PASSING - SEH: Wright 18-29-1-213. SQU: Nixon 5-12-0-134, Lamm 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - SEH: Quiggle 7-92, Watson 5-80, Chambers 3-24, B. Duckworth 3-17. SQU: Fagaautau 3-91, Dunmore 1-29, Laughlin 1-14.
Great write up, Tyler! I relived the game reading it. I know a few Sehome parents and family members who yelled so hard for our boys we couldn’t talk the next morning. 😀. -Julia Poland (Carl Bach’s aunt)
Anyone that knows football and was there knows the officials took that game from Squalicum. The back judge gave Sehome 200 yards of additional offense. The Storm were the better team on Friday.