BELLINGHAM – The comeback kids did it again as Sehome scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give the Mariners the 24-20 win over Lakewood at Civic Stadium on Friday night.
The Cougars started the game by controlling the ball for the majority of the first quarter. Their first drive took 11 plays and traveled 73 yards, and it ended with a 6-yard touchdown run.
Lakewood then gained possession on an onside kick, but was turned away by the Mariner defense on fourth down.
Sehome was forced to punt, but quickly regained the ball when a Lakewood pass over the middle of the field was intercepted by junior Andre Watson. The turnover seemed to invigorate the home team offense as it was followed up by a 47-yard carry by Watson which brought the ball to the Cougar 11-yard line.
Although they weren’t able to get into the end zone, junior Grady Evans nailed a 20-yard field goal to lessen Lakewood’s lead to 7-3.
Sehome forced a punt on the following drive, and the Mariners then put together a long drive of their own that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Nolan Wright to Watson in the left corner of the end zone. The extra point was blocked, but Sehome now had a 9-7 lead.
The Cougars answered back with a short touchdown run just before halftime, and Lakewood held the 14-9 lead at the break.
Sehome drove 64 yards on 13 plays on its first possession of the third quarter, and it ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by junior Solomon McAlister. Wright then threw a bullet to senior tight end Braddock Duckworth for the two-point conversion, and the Mariners were back on top 17-14.
Defense reigned supreme for the rest of the third quarter, but Lakewood would get another score in the fourth, again on a one-yard touchdown run. The Cougars were able to move the ball quite consistently throughout the game, especially on the ground, as they totaled 242 yards and 48 carries.
Down 20-17 in the fourth quarter, Sehome had some work to do, and sophomore Hudson Neff began that work with a kickoff return to the Mariner 44-yard line.
A nifty 28-yard pass play from Wright to Watson soon followed, and Sehome was in business. Some powerful runs by McAlister and a quick slant pass to junior Coleby Chambers set the Mariners up for the eventual game-winning touchdown pass. Watson came out of his break, juked to the outside, and broke to the inside before hauling in the pass from Wright in the end zone.
The Cougars were able to drive as far as the Mariner 21-yard line, but back-to-back sacks by senior Baxter Arps and Duckworth on third and fourth down ended all possibilities of a Lakewood victory.
The Sehome defense had numerous standouts, including Neff who had 14 tackles, Chambers chipped in with eight tackles and two passes broken up and junior inside linebacker Carl Bach had 10.5 stops.
The Mariners (6-3) will finish up their season on Friday at Mount Vernon (2-7) at 6:00.
Sehome 24 Lakewood 20 LAK 7 7 0 6 - 20 SEH 0 9 8 7 - 24 LAK - 6 yard touchdown run (kick good) SEH - Evans 20 FG SEH - Watson 20 pass from Wright (kick blocked) LAK - 1 yard touchdown run (kick good) SEH - McAlister 5 run (B. Duckworth pass from Wright) LAK - 1 yard touchdown run (kick blocked) SEH - Watson 3 pass from Wright (Evans kick) LAK SEH 48-242 Rush Att-Yards 22-119 12-22-1 Comp-Att-Int 17-20-0 70 Passing Yards 159 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LAK: N/A. SEH: McAlister 14-66, Watson 4-58, Wright 4-(-5). PASSING - LAK: N/A. SEH: Wright 17-20-0-159. RECEIVING - LAK: N/A. SEH: Watson 7-76, Quiggle 4-43, B. Duckworth 3-18, Chambers 2-16, C. Duckworth 1-6.
