SEATTLE – The Golden Eagles played even with Eastside Catholic in the first half, but a big third elevated the Crusaders as they defeated Ferndale 35-18 at Memorial Stadium in Seattle on Saturday night in a 3A Quarterfinals matchup.
Eastside Catholic used a very balanced offense throughout the game, with passes coming at opportune times and powerful runs inside the red zone.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the first half, with Ferndale senior Isaiah Carlson scoring his 28th touchdown of the season on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles’ second touchdown came with less than a minute to go until halftime when junior quarterback Bishop Ootsey faked a handoff to Carlson, rolled to his right and found senior tight end Jordan Mason streaking across the field. The two connected on a 15-yard scoring strike, but the two-point conversion was no good and Ferndale was down 14-12 going into halftime.
The Crusaders scored on the five plays into the second half to take a 9-point advantage. Both teams then traded possessions, but an interception by Eastside Catholic set up the next scoring drive which put the Crusaders up 28-12 at the end of three quarters.
Junior wingback Conner Walcker scored Ferndale’s final touchdown of the night, on a 10-yard end around run.
Carlson finished the game with a team 128 yards rushing on 23 carries. He also had 8.5 tackles from his outside linebacker spot. Walcker led with 10 tackles, and senior defensive end Jake Mason finished with 7.5 tackles, two tackles for loss and a blocked punt.
The Golden Eagles finished their season with a 9-3 record.
Eastside Catholic 35 Ferndale 18 FER 0 12 0 6 - 18 EC 7 7 14 7 - 35 EC - Fotualii-Aliifua 3 run (Jacobs kick) FER - Carlson 3 run (kick failed) EC - Fotualii-Aliifua 1 run (Jacobs kick) FER - Jo. Mason 15 pass from Ootsey (run failed) EC - Fotualii-Aliifua 2 run (Jacobs kick) EC - Fotualii-Aliifua 13 run (Jacobs kick) FER - Walcker 10 run (run failed) EC - Ganashamoorthy 10 pass from McKelheer (Jacobs kick)
FER EC 50-179 Rush Att-Yards 27-153 6-13-1 Comp-Att-Int 13-22-0 70 Passing Yards 258 Individual Leaders RUSHING - FER: Carlson 23-128, Walcker 9-32, Nielsen 4-21, Bungard 8-15, Moore 1-0, Ootsey 5-(-17). EC: N/A. PASSING - FER: Ootsey 5-11-0-35, Carlson 1-2-1-35. EC: N/A. RECEIVING - FER: Jo. Mason 2-15, Walcker 1-35, Toney 1-10, Carlson 1-5, Nielsen 1-5. EC: N/A.
