BELLINGHAM – Nooksack Valley finished the first quarter with a 14-3 lead, but found itself down 17-14 going into the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers then scored three touchdowns in the final 12 minutes of the game and walked away with a 34-24 victory over Cashmere on Saturday afternoon at Civic Stadium in the 1A Quarterfinal Round of the State Tournament.
Nooksack first got onto the scoreboard thanks to a strong drive which was highlighted by a spectacular 58-yard run by junior Skyler Whittern that flipped the field position. Sophomore Colton Lentz scored from 17 yards out moments later.
The Bulldogs countered with a field goal, and the Pioneers roared back with another touchdown run, this time a 2-yard keeper by junior quarterback Joey Brown.
For the next two quarters, Cashmere used a strong balanced offense that controlled the clock, and eventually resulted in two more touchdowns to give the Bulldogs the lead going into the fourth quarter.
Lentz scored his second touchdown of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run. It was set up by a 51-yard completion from Brown to junior wide receiver Jackson Bennett on a quick slant, in which Bennett eluded a few defenders and raced down the right sideline. It was the sixth time of the game that the duo of Brown and Bennett connected, and by far the biggest.
After forcing a punt, the Pioneers powered down the field once again and Lentz stormed across the goal line for the third time of the game, and the 17th time of the season, this time from 10 yards out to give his team a 10-point lead with 6:20 to go.
Bulldog senior Jack Croci scored his third touchdown of the game less than a minute later on a 61-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Trenton Mason, but another long drive by the Pioneers sealed the win when Brown called his own number and scored on a 28-yard touchdown run with 2:38 left in the contest.
Lentz finished with 177 yards on a career-high 32 carries.
Defensively, Nooksack Valley was led by junior inside linebacker Daemion Perez who had 12 tackles. Sophomore defensive end Brady Ackerman had two tackles for loss, and junior cornerback Wayne Silves and Lentz each had an interception.
The Pioneers (9-1) will face Mount Baker (7-4) at 1:00 on Saturday at Civic Stadium for a chance to go to the 1A State Championship Game.
Nooksack Valley 34 Cashmere 24 CSH 3 7 7 7 - 24 NV 14 0 0 20 - 34 NV - Lentz 17 run (Vigre kick) CSH - Reyna 21 FG NV - Brown 2 run (Vigre kick) CSH - Croci 2 run (Reyna kick) CSH - Crochi 26 pass from Mason (Reyna kick) NV - Lentz 2 run (kick blocked) NV - Lentz 10 run (Vigre kick) CSH - Croci 61 pass from Mason (Reyna kick) NV - Brown 28 run (Vigre kick)
CSH NV 35-130 Rush Att-Yards 46-298 15-27-2 Comp-Att-Int 6-8-0 187 Passing Yards 96 Individual Leaders RUSHING - CSH: N/A. NV: Lentz 32-177, Whittern 2-63, Brown 12-58. PASSING - CSH: N/A. NV: Brown 6-8-0-96. RECEIVING - CSH: N/A. NV: Bennett 6-96.
