PUYALLUP – Get the printing press ready, because it’s time to make new hoodies in Lynden, as the Lions showed their team unity as they defeated Tumwater 21-7 for the Class 2A State Championship at Sparks Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Thunderbirds looked strong on their opening drive, as they used a myriad of run plays to go 69 yards on 13 plays in five and a half minutes and ultimately scored on a 21 yard touchdown run. It would end up being the longest play from scrimmage for Tumwater, and Lynden held the top-ranked Thunderbirds to just 70 yards for the remainder of the game.
Just like last week, the Lions’ first score of the game came on a safety when the ball was snapped over the punter’s head. This time it was junior Trey Smiley who tackled the punter in the end zone for the two points. After that, the power-run game took over.
In all, Lynden ran the ball 55 times for 209 yards, and most of it behind seven strong offensive linemen. Other than the usual five, and Case Zweegman (a converted lineman) at tight end, senior Hunter Holman, who is the sixth offensive lineman, came in to play tight end as well. It was as jumbo as a jumbo set could get, and it worked to perfection.
Senior Cade Slayton became the first player in school history to score three rushing touchdowns in a state championship game, which isn’t too bad for a player that had four career touchdowns coming into the game. He finished with 81 yards on 19 carries.
Lynden kept leaning on Tumwater, and wore them down in the trenches, especially in the second half. Junior running back Lane Heeringa racked up over 95% of his rushing yards in the second half alone, while the Lion defense allowed just three yards in the entire third quarter.
The junior safety combination of Collin Anker and Kobe Baar was outstanding, as they combined for three interceptions and three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
As for coach Blake VanDalen, it was a wonderful moment. He had played for Rollie DeKoster, and coached with Curt Kramme. Both are state champion coaches, and were extremely close to VanDalen. As the current head coach, it’s Blake’s turn, and all of his hard work that he put in has paid off, and the Lynden community couldn’t be more proud.
Lynden 21
Tumwater 7
LYN 2 13 6 0 - 21
TUM 7 0 0 0 - 7
TUM - 21 yard touchdown run (kick good)
LYN - Safety, Smiley tackled the punter in the end zone
LYN - Slayton 1 run (Petz kick)
LYN - Slayton 2 run (kick blocked)
LYN - Slayton 1 run (pass failed)LYN TUM 55-209 Rush Att-Yards 37-106 5-15-1 Comp-Att-Int 4-19-3 77 Passing Yards 33 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LYN: Slayton 19-81, Heeringa 18-73, Nolte 9-42, Hermanutz 9-13. TUM: N/A. PASSING - LYN: Hermanutz 5-15-1-77. TUM: N/A. RECEIVING - LYN: Jandoc 2-47, Stanley 2-26, Antypas 1-4. TUM: N/A.
