BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – The perfect football weather continues in the fall of 2026, and yet another Northwest Conference game was contested under clear but chilly conditions at Civic Stadium on Friday night. It was a well-played game by both squads as Lynden outlasted Squalicum 35-32. A pair of blocked extra points by Lincoln Van Ry, and a stopped 2-point conversion, proved to be the difference for the Lions.
Lynden wasted no time in taking the first drive of the game 67 yards into the end zone, rushing on all eight plays. A two-yard plunge by senior quarterback Gordy Bedlington got the scoring started and after the PAT, the Lions led 7-0 four minutes into the game.
Squalicum answered quickly and on its fifth play from scrimmage as senior quarterback Phoenix Price found junior wide receiver Mason Sone for a 49-yard touchdown completion. Lynden was able to block the PAT with a rush up the middle, and the Lions still held a 7-6 lead midway through the quarter.
Lynden kept the ball on the ground as its next offensive drive moved into the Storm red zone. There, the Squalicum defense stiffened and a sure tackle by junior linebacker Asher Asbjornsen on a 4th down and four from the 17 resulted in a turnover on downs for the Lions.
Squalicum’s offense was unable to answer as the Lynden defense yielded one first down before stuffing a run on a third and 3 and a punt brought a quick first quarter to a close.
A 40-yard reception by senior tight end Cayden Brown spurred Lynden’s next offensive drive. The catch took the ball to the Storm 20-yard line and was followed by five rushes as the Lion offensive line paved the way for Bedlington to crash into the end zone from the 6-yard line. The PAT was successful extending the Lion lead to 14-6.
Squalicum then got its running game going with a 24-yard sweep from speedster running back Maddox Strickland and some hard yards up the middle from fullback Tucker Hofstedt. Then, on a play action pass, Price connected with senior tight end Ray Hoffman on a post-corner route for a 23-yard touchdown.
The Storm kicked the PAT, not chasing the points yet. With 5:10 to play before the halftime break, Lynden was winning by a single point, 14-13.
The Lions mixed in a few passes on their next drive but the seven rushes by quarterback Austin Postma did the heavy lifting. Postma capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:59 on the clock as the Lions extended the lead to 21-13.
The teams then traded possessions with Lynden missing a field goal just before the clock expired in the second quarter. The senior night crowd at Civic Stadium was in for an exciting second half as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
The Storm received the third quarter kickoff and moved the ball quickly into the Lynden red zone, aided by two 15-yard penalties on the Lions. After two short runs, Squalicum went to the air. Lynden’s secondary covered the Storm receivers well causing two incompletions from the 6-yard line forcing a turnover on downs.
The Lions ground game started chewing up yards on the next drive and the momentum was on their side when a fumble was pounced on by Asbjornsen at the Storm 28-yard line. This shifted the momentum back to Squalicum and their wing-T offense went to work.
Strickland and Hofstedt got the bulk of the carries and were aided by a nifty 46-yard catch and run by Sone. Hofstedt capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
The touchdown brought the score to 21-19 Lions, as coach Storm Nick Lucey sent his offense back on the field in an attempt to tie the game. The opportunity improved as Lynden was induced into an offside penalty moving the line of scrimmage to the one and a half yard line. A handoff to Strickland was turned away by Lynden and the Lions kept the 21-19 lead as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
The Lynden offense held possession on its next opportunity with the football. They took almost four minutes off the clock and extended their lead to 28-19 on a Bedlington 7-yard touchdown run.
Squalicum was not done scoring, though, as Price found Strickland on an 11-yard throwback screen pass for a touchdown. But again, the Lynden rush got through the middle and another blocked PAT was the result.
With 4:35 remaining in the game, the Lions were up by a score of 28-25.
Looking to salt the game away, Lynden kept it on the ground and Postma was able to break free for a 42-yard scamper on just the third play of their next offensive drive. Again, the PAT split the uprights and extended the lead back to double digits at 35-25.
With only 3:15 to play Squalicum continued the fight with some razzle dazzle. A completion over the middle to Hoffmann was lateraled to Sone who ran and then lateraled again to Strickland. That 35 yards moved the ball to the seven-yard line where quarterback Price scrambled for a touchdown with still 1:16 to play. The PAT was good, and Squalicum was down only 3 points.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Lynden, and they kneeled out the game avoiding the upset and besting Squalicum by a score of 35-32. Another three-point victory by the Lions over the Storm may bode well for their postseason future. Squalicum gave the Lions all they can handle and is also looking to get into the round of 32 with the Storm peaking at the right time.
Lynden (7-1) will travel to Archbishop Murphy (5-1) on Friday to take on the Wildcats at 7:00, and the Storm (3-5) will battle Bellingham (2-6) at 8:00 on Thursday at Civic Stadium. it is possible that Lynden’s game next week could also get moved to Thursday.
Lynden 35
Squalicum 32
LYN 7 14 7 7 - 35
SQU 6 7 6 13 - 32
LYN - Bedlington 2 run (Maggard kick)
SQU - Sone 49 pass from Price (kick blocked)
LYN - Bedlington 6 run (Maggard kick)
SQU - Hoffmann 23 pass from Price (Larranaga kick)
LYN - Postma 1 run (Maggard kick)
SQU - Hofstedt 1 run (run failed)
LYN - Bedlington 7 run (Maggard kick)
SQU - Strickland 11 pass from Price (kick blocked)
LYN - Postma 42 run (Maggard kick)
SQU - Price 7 run (Larranaga kick)
LYN SQU
48-331 Rush Att-Yards 36-167
8-14-0 Comp-Att-Int 12-18-0
112 Passing Yards 251
Individual Leaders
RUSHING - LYN: Postma 19-175, VanDalen 15-107, Bedlington 13-48, Rentas 1-1. SQU: Hofstedt 15-66, Strickland 9-62, Price 6-21, Asbjornsen 5-14, Sone 1-4.
PASSING - LYN: Bedlington 3-3-0-70, Postma 5-11-0-42. SQU: Price 12-18-0-251.
RECEIVING - LYN: Brown 3-72, Arango 2-6, Van Ry 1-17, VanderHoek 1-12, Bedlington 1-5. SQU: Sone 4-117, Larranaga 4-49, Strickland 2-46, Hoffmann 1-23, Asbjornsen 1-16.
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