SULTAN – Despite Squalicum junior Elias Larranaga’s 30-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the game which put the Storm up 20-17, Sultan still had a chance to win in on the last play of the game, and it was Larranaga who made the tackle at the 5-yard line as Squalicum secured the victory over Sultan on the road Friday night.
Both teams had long time-consuming drives early on, and both of which resulted in turnovers on downs. On the Storm’s second possession it was senior running back Maddox Strickland who was able to break loose of the defenders for a 43-yard touchdown run.
The Turks answered back with another long drive, and they dug deep into their bag of trick plays and pulled out a half back pass which resulted in a 22-yard touchdown for the home team and it was tied at 7-7 halfway through the fast moving second quarter.
Squalicum had a chance late in the first half to put more points on the board, but Sultan intercepted a pass in the end zone and the score remained tied at the midway break.
Larranaga kicked a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter to give the Storm a 10-7 lead, and it was answered by a Turk field goal in the beginning of the fourth quarter, which tied the game up once again.
With 3:15 left in the game, Squalicum senior quarterback Phoenix Price dropped back to pass near midfield, but was unable to find anyone open, so he took matters into his own hands…. or into his own legs and feet. Price, who started at tight end when the season started, showed his ball-carrying ability by knifing through the defense, running over a defender and then breaking away for a 49-yard touchdown run to give his team the lead for third time of the game.
Sultan then used big plays to move down the field, and the Turks were able to get into the end zone and tie the game up with 55 seconds left.
Strickland’s return of the ensuing kickoff was brought to the Squalicum 33-yard line, and a personal foul penalty was added to it which brought the Storm almost to midfield with 49 seconds left to get into field goal range.
A few plays later, Price launched a deep ball down the middle of the field and junior wide receiver Mason Sone hauled it in for a 44-yard gain with 29 seconds left in the game. His reception brought Squalicum to the 8-yard line, which set up Larranaga’s game-winning field goal.
The ensuing kickoff was short, and returned all the way to the Storm 26-yard line. A facemask call made it half the distance to the goal, and now the Turks were set up at the 13-yard line with nine seconds left in the game. A pass out to the flat was caught, but Larranaga brought the receiver down at the 5-yard line to end the game.
Squalicum (2-4) will host Lakewood (0-6) at 7:00 on Friday at Civic Stadium.
Squalicum 20 Sultan 17 SQU 0 7 3 10 - 20 SUL 0 7 0 10 - 17 SQU - Strickland 43 run (Larranaga kick) SUL - 22 yard touchdown pass (kick good) SQU - Larranaga 23 FG SUL - 26 yard field goal SQU - Price 49 run (Larranaga kick) SUL - 2 yard touchdown run (kick good) SQU - Larranaga 30 FG SQU SUL 36-226 Rush Att-Yards 34-90 4-11-1 Comp-Att-Int 7-11-0 87 Passing Yards 93 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SQU: Strickland 16-100, Hofstedt 11-53, Price 4-52, Sone 5-21. SUL: N/A. PASSING - SQU: Price 4-11-1-87. SUL: N/A. RECEIVING - SQU: Sone 2-52, Hofstedt 3-35. SUL: N/A.
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