BELLINGHAM – The rain dumped and the wind blew fierce, and Central Kitsap had never seen a Storm like this one. After being down 13-6 in the first quarter it was the Squalicum Storm that scored the next 47 points and beat the Cougars 53-13 at Civic Stadium on Saturday night.
The 572 rushing yards by Squalicum is the most put up by a Whatcom County team this season, and senior guards Dominick Mack and Jackson Campbell cleared some huge paths for the Storm backs.
Senior quarterback Spencer Lloyd was the main contributor, and the Whatcom County leading rusher and scorer did just that. He ran for 226 yards and he scored four touchdowns. His second touchdown of the game came on a double-pass trick play when Lloyd threw across the field to wide receiver Dedrick Mitchell. When the Cougar defense swarmed Mitchell he threw back to Lloyd who was wide open, and the 195-pound MVP candidate ran 58 yards for a touchdown.
The win gives coach Nick Lucey a career record of 44-11 at Squalicum. Despite just being in his fifth season at the helm, he is already the school’s career leader in victories.
Junior running back Devante Powell had another big game rushing. He finished with 129 yards on 15 carries. He also scored a pair of touchdowns.
The Storm’s size and physicality wore Central Kitsap down in the second half, and a pair of reserve running backs were able to spring long runs for touchdowns. Freshman Ben Schlenbaker scored on a 65-yard gallop and sophomore Steven Owens took his only handoff of the game and streaked 75 yards for a touchdown.
The defense also got a boost from Campbell, lineman Cesar Vasquez and linebacker Zach Tucker.
The win sends Squalicum back to the Class 3A State playoffs after missing it last season. The Storm will face Mountain View at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver, Washington on Saturday night at 6 PM.
Central Kitsap 13
Squalicum 53
CK 13 0 0 0 – 13
SQU 6 20 13 14 – 53
CK – Refilong 11 run (kick good)
SQU – S. Lloyd 19 run (kick failed)
CK – Keel 26 pass from McGee (kick failed)
SQU – Powell 3 run (M. Lloyd kick)
SQU – S. Lloyd 58 pass from Mitchell (M. Lloyd kick)
SQU – S. Lloyd 3 run (kick failed)
SQU – Powell 11 run (kick failed)
SQU – S. Lloyd 12 run (M. Lloyd kick)
SQU – Schlenbaker 65 run (M. Lloyd kick)
SQU – Owens 75 run (M. Lloyd kick)
CK SQU
36-135 Rushing Att-Yards 44-572
11-21-0 Comp-Att-Int 3-9-1
138 Passing yards 64
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – CK: N/A. SQU: S. Lloyd 18-226, Powell 15-129, Schlenbaker 5-85, Owens 1-75, Mitchell 5-57.
PASSING – CK: N/A. SQU: S. Lloyd 2-8-1-6, Mitchell 1-1-58-0.
RECEIVING – CK: N/A. SQU: S. Lloyd 1-58, McEachran 2-6.
