FERNDALE – The Bulldogs came out of the blazing, and the Golden Eagles had trouble keeping up as Mount Vernon came to town and defeated Ferndale 42-33 on Thursday night.
The opening kickoff was returned 97 yards for a touchdown by the Bulldogs, and they never lost the lead after that. After forcing a three-and-out, Mount Vernon scored on its second play from scrimmage on a 52-yard touchdown pass.
Ferndale did score on its next drive, which was aided by a 42-yard run by junior running back Elliot Lenssen, and a 14-yard scramble by senior quarterback Nolan Boleak. Boleak’s run set up a 1-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Jon Stanek.
The Bulldogs immediately fired back with a 79-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-long, and Mount Vernon was up 21-7 midway through the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles were able to score once again before the first quarter ended when Boleak found Stanek in the endzone on a 4-yard play-action touchdown pass, but the Bulldogs went on to score twice more through the air before halftime.
Ferndale outscored Mount Vernon 19-7 in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough before the final horn went off.
Stanek scored his third touchdown of the game on a 20-yard blast through the line on 4th-and-1, the lone touchdown of the third quarter. Boleak went to the air in the fourth quarter and found senior wingback Cooper Vincent on a deep 36-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field. Earlier in the drive, Boleak hooked up with Vincent on a 22-yard pass.
Boleak completed 10-of-13 passes for a career-high 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Lenssen then capped off his evening with a Houdini-like 39-yard touchdown run that saw him run into a pile, and then escape the pile unharmed. Lenssen finished with a team-high 154 yards rushing on 15 carries.
The Golden Eagles attempted an onside kick after Lenssen’s score, but wasn’t able to recover as the Bulldogs ran the clock out.
Ferndale’s defense was led by sophomore linebacker Chance Hatchett who finished with 9.5 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass deflection. Senior defensive end Esaia Ness-Leaupepetele had seven tackles and one tackle for loss while Stanek had seven tackles and Lenssen added 6.5 tackles.
The Golden Eagles (2-2) will travel to Stanwood (2-1) on Friday to take on the Spartans at 7:00.
Mount Vernon 42 Ferndale 33 MV 21 14 0 7 - 42 FER 14 0 6 13 - 33 MV - 97 yard kickoff return for a touchdown (kick good) MV - 52 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Stanek 1 run (McManus kick) MV - 79 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Stanek 4 pass from Boleak (McManus kick) MV - 18 yard touchdown pass (kick good) MV - 8 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Stanek 20 run (kick blocked) MV - 6 yard touchdown pass (kick good) FER - Vincent 36 pass from Boleak (McManus kick) FER - Lenssen 39 run (kick failed) MV FER 35-146 Rush Att-Yards 29-255 12-18-0 Comp-Att-Int 10-13-0 210 Passing Yards 126 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MV: N/A. FER: Lenssen 15-154, Stanek 11-71, Boleak 2-25, Vincent 1-5. PASSING - MV: N/A. FER: Boleak 10-13-0-126. RECEIVING - MV: N/A. FER: Hatchett 3-45, Lenssen 3-18, Vincent 2-58, Stanek 1-4, Vasak 1-1.
