BELLINGHAM – On paper it appeared to be a mismatch, but keep in mind that these are 16 and 17-year old kids, and anything can happen.
On Friday night at Civic Stadium, what had happened was the unthinkable. Squalicum executed big plays in key moments, and held the two-time defending 2A state champions down just enough to walk away with a 24-21 victory.
The first drive of the game for the Storm didn’t go as planned as they were quickly turned away and forced to punt after three plays, but when Anacortes went to its deep passing attack it was thwarted by an interception at the goal line by senior cornerback Ansen Asbjornsen who then returned it to near midfield.
Squalicum used that good field position, and put together a time-consuming drive which ended with a 28-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Elias Larranaga, his third field goal of the season.
The Seahawks regrouped and put together a long drive which eventually stalled in the red zone. Anacortes went for it on fourth-down, but wasn’t able to convert.
The Storm then had a similar drive to the previous one by the Seahawks as they used a 53-yard pass from senior quarterback Cole Burke to senior wide receiver Khalil Binta to flip the field. Squalicum also completed a fourth-down pass play to senior running back Avery Weener, but eventually was turned over on downs at the Anacortes 6-yard line.
The Seahawks went on the attack and drove 94 yards and scored their first touchdown of the game on a 37-yard touchdown run, which gave them a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.
With little time left in the first half, the Storm got a quick first down, and then Burke threw a beautiful deep ball over the middle that hit Asbjornsen in stride, and before you knew it, the 62-yard touchdown pass had given Squalicum a 10-7 lead.
Anacortes was able to move the football to midfield, but clock read all zeros before any damage could be done, and the Storm held a three-point lead at halftime.
The second half began with the Seahawks looking like the top-ranked team in the state as they struck quickly with a 60-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.
Squalicum was unable to move the ball on its next possession, and was forced to punt after three plays on offense. It had appeared at that point that Anacortes was primed to run away with its 31st win in its last 32 games, but the Storm defense stiffened up and forced Anacortes to punt it back.
Squalicum replied with a rejuvenated drive that witnessed a 33-yard completion from Burke to Asbjornsen. The Storm then punctuated the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Burke to Asbjornsen when the 5-foot-11 170-pound senior found a soft spot in the zone. The extra point by Larranaga gave Squalicum a 17-14 lead.
The Seahawks were able to move the ball a little bit, but were forced to punt once again near midfield, and the punt was launched into the endzone.
The next play from scrimmage was a nifty shovel pass from Burke to Asbjornsen that saw the speedy senior do the rest as he raced to a big first down and more. 33 yards later, the Storm had the ball into Seahawk territory.
The inspired Squalicum football team then converted twice on fourth downs. The first on a QB run up the gut as he followed a great block that was made by his sophomore center Talen McNutt. The second came on a pass play that covered six yards from Burke to Binta. A pass interference on 3rd down then gave Squalicum the ball first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, and that was when Coach Nick Lucey dug deep into his bag of tricks.
On the next play, Burke took the shotgun snap and as he pulled in the defenders closer to him like the tractor beam on the Death Star, he quickly threw a lateral to Asbjornsen who appeared to run up field, but he stopped short just before the line of scrimmage and threw a strike to Binta for a 10-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Now up by two scores, 24-14, the Storm knew that the game was far from over against the potent Seahawk attack. Anacortes needed a big play, and needed it fast. On the next play from scrimmage, the Seahawks lit up the sky with a 64-yard touchdown strike, which cut the lead to three points, 24-21.
Anacortes executed a near perfect onside kick, but it was snagged out of the air by senior Zack Watt. Needing to run clock, the Storm then went to the ground game for two plays, but were unsuccessful in gaining yards. A sack on third down meant that Anacortes would get one last possession to score a game-winning touchdown, or at least attempt a game-tying field goal.
Weener’s punt was short, but took a favorable bounce off the Civic Stadium turf, and was downed at the Anacortes 8-yard line.
With less than a minute to go, the Seahawks had the ball, and had to drive 92 yards for the win. They were able to reach midfield on a 40-yard pass play, and got as far as the 38-yard line, but an interception by Asbjornsen with 15 seconds left in the game sealed the win for the Storm.
Asbjornsen finished with 13 receptions for 184 yards, a 10-yard touchdown pass and two interceptions on defense, including the game-clincher.
Squalicum (3-2) will travel to Lynden (4-1) to take on the Lions at 7:00 on Friday night.
Squalicum 24 Anacortes 21 ANA 0 7 7 7 - 21 SQU 3 7 7 7 - 24 SQU - Larranaga 28 FG ANA - 37 yard touchdown run (kick good) SQU - Ans. Asbjornsen 62 pass from Burke (Larranaga kick) ANA - 60 yard touchdown pass (kick good) SQU - Ans. Asbjornsen 4 pass from Burke (Larranaga kick) SQU - Binta 10 pass from Ans. Asbjornsen (Larranaga kick) ANA - 64 yard touchdown pass (kick good) ANA SQU 22-170 Rush Att-Yards 21-7 14-21-2 Comp-Att-Int 27-36-0 265 Passing Yards 302 Individual Leaders RUSHING - ANA: N/A. SQU: Weener 10-14, Strickland 3-8, Burke 7-(-7), Ans. Asbjornsen 1-(-8). PASSING - ANA: N/A. SQU: Burke 26-35-0-292, Ans. Asbjornsen 1-1-0-10. RECEIVING - ANA: N/A. SQU: Ans. Asbjornsen 13-184, Binta 5-87, Weener 3-12, Clark 2-16, Strickland 2-(-3), Watt 1-7, Knowlton 1-(-1).
Roll Storm!