REDMOND – Down by eight, and on the Squalicum 18-yard line, it came down to just one play for the Mustang offense. Junior quarterback Tyler Fortney looked for a mismatch in the end zone, and threw a jump ball to his 6-2 200-pound senior wide receiver Sean Doyle. He had good position to make the catch and keep Redmond’s hopes alive, but it was the 6-0 165-pound sophomore cornerback Reed Richardson that made an outstanding play by breaking up the completion at the last second to help secure a 34-26 victory for the Storm on Friday night.
Fellow Squalicum sophomore Djouvensky “Ben” Schlenbaker also had quite the game, rushing for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, including a 62-yard burst for a score on his second carry of the game. His size, strength and speed carried the Storm up and down the field at Redmond High School all night long. He also caught two passes for 24 yards.
The Storm went into halftime with a 14-7 lead when junior quarterback Mason Binning found sophomore wide receiver Kai Posey in the end zone from 21 yards away on the last play of the second quarter.
Schlenbaker’s second touchdown of the game put Squalicum up 21-7 in the third quarter. The Mustangs scored the next two touchdowns of the game, but failed on both conversions after the scores, which made it 21-19.
Richardson caught a 43-yard pass down the middle of the field on the Storm’s next possession, which set up Schlenbaker’s third touchdown of the game. Sophomore kicker Trevor Keeley connected on his fourth extra point, allowing Squalicum to hold a distinct 28-19 advantage. However, Redmond would then get a touchdown on a deep 65-yard pass play, which put the score at 28-26.
Schlenbaker ripped off a 35-yard scamper to help his team get into Mustang territory, and Binning tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Richardson that made an unbelievable adjustment to the ball that was tipped in the end zone before coming down with it. Binning did a great job in his first varsity start at quarterback, completing 14-of-25 passes for 177 yards. He also spread the wealth, connecting with eight different receivers.
The Squalicum front seven was also on display all game, sacking Fortney eight times while also collecting four tackles for losses and holding Redmond to just 25 yards rushing. Junior linebacker Billy Scammell and senior defensive lineman Cesar Vasquez each had a pair of sacks, and Vasquez also had a huge play in the special teams game as the punter.
The Storm were set to punt at their own 35-yard line, and the snap went over Vasquez’s head, with the ball almost ending up in the end zone. Vasquez quickly grabbed it, ran to about the seven-yard line and got away a punt that landed on Redmond’s side of the 50-yard line.
Squalicum (1-0) will begin conference play this Friday by traveling to Arlington (1-0).
Squalicum 34
Redmond 26
SQU 7 7 7 13 – 34
RED 7 0 6 13 – 26
RED – 9 yard touchdown pass (kick good)
SQU – Schlenbaker 62 run (Keeley kick)
SQU – Posey 21 pass from Binning (Keeley kick)
SQU – Schlenbaker 5 run (Keeley kick)
RED – 16 yard touchdown run (kick failed)
RED – 37 yard touchdown pass (pass failed)
SQU – Schlenbaker 5 run (Keeley kick)
RED – 65 yard touchdown pass (kick good)
SQU – Richardson 15 pass from Binning (kick blocked)
SQU RED
32-254 Rushing Att-Yards 25-25
14-25-1 Comp-Att-Int 17-36-1
177 Passing yards 273
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – SQU: Schlenbaker 25-228, Aslan 5-31, Binning 2-(-5). RED: N/A.
PASSING – SQU: Binning 14-25-1-177. RED: N/A.
RECEIVING – SQU: Pennock 3-15, Richardson 2-58, Jabbora 2-26, Schlenbaker 2-24, Weston 2-19, Posey 1-21, Aslan 1-9, Vasquez 1-5. RED: N/A.
