FERNDALE – In this back-and-forth contest, it looked like whichever team possessed the ball last would come out on top. It turned out that way as the Wildcats booted a last second 22-yard field goal to defeat the Golden Eagles 32-29 in Wesco 3A North contest at Ferndale Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
Oak Harbor ran some well-schemed plays to begin the game, and charged right down the field on its opening drive which ended with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Ferndale answered with a 10-yard touchdown run by senior halfback Zach Nielsen, which tied the game at 7-7.
The Wildcats found the end zone again in the second quarter when a blown coverage left a receiver open, and the quarterback completed a pass to him for a 40-yard touchdown.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to score just before halftime, but their drive was halted by costly penalties, and Oak Harbor led 14-7 at the half.
Ferndale fixed its mistakes in the third quarter and opened up the second half by driving down the field with powerful runs, and finished the job with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Talan Bungard, his first of the season.
The Golden Eagles gained momentum on the following drive when senior linebacker Jacob Gandy stopped a run play five yards behind the line of scrimmage, and that was followed up with a quarterback sack by Bungard, which forced a three-and-out.
Ferndale promptly muscled its way down the field once again, and when Nielsen went around the right end for a 16-yard touchdown run, they Golden Eagles enjoyed their first lead of the night, 21-14.
The lead only lasted a few seconds as the Wildcats tossed a 62-yard touchdown pass on their first play of the following drive, and the score was tied at 21-21.
The ensuing kickoff was returned near midfield by Nielsen, and an additional 15 yards were tacked on due to a penalty, which put the Golden Eagles in prime position to score once again. Bungard plowed the line moments later for a 4-yard touchdown, and Ferndale was then forced to go for a two-point conversion because of a prior injury to senior Kade Eldridge earlier in the quarter.
Junior quarterback Nolan Boleak faked a handoff, rolled out to his right, and found senior tight end Lincoln Thomas in the back corner of the end zone to give his team an eight-point advantage, 29-21.
Oak Harbor then put together a strong group of plays, and finished its next drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass. Down by two, the Wildcats elected to go for a 2-point conversion as well, and a perfectly executed halfback pass back to the quarterback tied the game at 29-29.
After forcing a punt, Oak Harbor took nearly all of the final quarter to methodically drive down the field, picking up first down after first down, before coming to a 4th-and-goal at the five-yard line. The Wildcats kicked the 22-yard field goal as time expired, and grabbed the conference victory.
Gandy led the defense with nine tackles, including five tackles for loss, while Bungard added eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack.
The Golden Eagles (0-2) will travel to Marysville-Getchell (2-0) on Friday to take on the Chargers at 7:00.
Oak Harbor 32 Ferndale 29 OH 7 7 7 11 - 32 FER 7 0 22 0 - 29 OH - 2 yard touchdown run (kick good) FER - Nielsen 10 run (Eldridge kick) OH - 40 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Bungard 3 run (Eldridge kick) FER - Nielsen 16 run (Eldridge kick) OH - 62 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Bungard 4 run (Thomas pass from Boleak) OH - 18 yard touchdown pass (2pt pass good) OH - 22 yard field goal OH FER 39-146 Rush Att-Yards 44-243 11-13-0 Comp-Att-Int 6-9-0 233 Passing Yards 85 Individual Leaders RUSHING - OH: N/A. FER: Bungard 23-125, E. Kennerley 12-80, Nielsen 8-39, Boleak 1-(-1). PASSING - OH: N/A. FER: Boleak 6-9-0-85. RECEIVING - OH: N/A. FER: Nielsen 3-40, Thomas 2-43, E. Kennerley 1-2.
