FERNDALE – When two great teams meet each other twice in the same year, it’s really difficult for one of the teams to win both games. Archbishop Murphy avenged an early season loss (its only loss of the season), and defeated Lynden 10-9 in the quarterfinals of the 2A state tournament on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions possessed the ball first, and they did a great job of mixing the run and the pass, but eventually stalled at the 22-yard line. Sophomore kicker Malachi Koenen connected on a 39-yard field goal, his county-leading eighth field goal of the season.
The Wildcats countered by doing what they do best, as they put together a methodical drive that drained much of the clock. In fact, their drive took up the rest of the first quarter, and after 16 plays covered 84 yards, they took the lead with a 1-yard touchdown run minutes into the second quarter.
The fast-moving contest continued, but the Lions made their first error of the game as Archbishop Murphy intercepted a pass in Lion territory.
The Wildcats could only get as far as the Lynden 35-yard line, but their potential all-state kicker nailed a 52-yard field goal to give his team a 10-3 lead.
The Archbishop Murphy momentum just got stronger as the Wildcats intercepted another pass on the following drive and they were in Lynden territory once again.
The Wildcats then attempted their first pass of the game, and got an 18-yard completion out of it, which brought them to the 14-yard line.
Just before halftime, Archbishop Murphy had to settle for another field goal, this time it was a 23-yard chip shot, but the ball clanked off the left upright and was no good. The Wildcats still led 10-3 at the half.
Known as one of the best second-half teams around, Lynden made the right adjustments, and was able to force the Wildcats to punt on their opening possession of the third quarter.
The Lions, however, weren’t able to take advantage as an incomplete pass on fourth down turned the ball back over to the Wildcats.
Lynden then forced another punt, and was able to put together a big drive, but a fumble at the Wildcat 10-yard line stopped any momentum as Archbishop Murphy took possession deep in its own territory.
The Lions returned the favor just a few plays later when sophomore linebacker Adam Holman forced a fumble, which was recovered by senior cornerback Jaydin Oaks. Lynden now had possession at the Wildcat 30-yard line.
The Lions pounded the ball over and over again, and as the third quarter turned into the fourth quarter, they found themselves inside the five-yard line and looking to score.
Without Oudman taking the direct snap on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Lynden went for it. But, a high snap threw off the timing of the play and Oudman was tackled just before getting into the end zone.
The Wildcats now possessed the ball, with 10 minutes left in the game, and a 10-3 lead. A 28-yard pitch-and-catch for Archbishop Murphy gave the Wildcats more breathing room, as well as a new set of downs as they were trying to use as much of the clock as possible. However, one play after the long completion, Archbishop mishandled a handoff, and the ball fell to turf. Junior defensive lineman Zay Harris pounced on the ball immediately at the Wildcat 28-yard line to give his Lions a great opportunity to score.
Misfortune struck Lynden once again just three plays later as another fumble was caused from a big Wildcat hit and Archbishop Murphy recovered the ball.
The defense, led by senior lineman Parker Williams as well as Koenen at linebacker, stepped up and forced a three-and-out. The Wildcat punt traveled just past midfield, and Lynden had another opportunity.
Three plays later, senior quarterback Brant Heppner threw a laser to the left sideline where junior Brody Price snatched it, made two defenders miss, and he sprinted all the way to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown.
Down by one, Lynden elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Heppner took the shotgun snap, looked immediately to his right and threw a pass to sophomore Sam Arango, but it was intercepted. Heppner and Arango had connected on multiple two-point conversions throughout the season.
Still with 4:52 left in the game, the Lions still had a chance. But, the strong running game of the Wildcats enabled them to pick up multiple first downs, and ultimately run out the clock.
Lynden finished the season at 10-2.
Archbishop Murphy 10 Lynden 9 ATM 0 10 0 0 - 10 LYN 3 0 0 6 - 9 LYN - Mal. Koenen 39 FG ATM - 1 yard touchdown run (kick good) ATM - 52 yard field goal LYN - Price 57 pass from Heppner (pass failed) ATM LYN 56-185 Rush Att-Yards 25-80 2-3-0 Comp-Att-Int 5-18-2 46 Passing Yards 109 Individual Leaders RUSHING - ATM: N/A. LYN: Heppner 13-50, Oudman 4-17, Assink 7-11, Mal. Koenen 1-2. PASSING - ATM: N/A. LYN: Heppner 5-18-2-109. RECEIVING - ATM: N/A. LYN: Oudman 3-41, Price 1-57, Bowler 1-11.
