NOOKSACK – If you ask any football coach before kickoff, “What’s the biggest key to winning this game?”. The answer is almost always, “Winning the turnover battle.”
Even though it’s the biggest cliche in the book, it’s the most common answer because it’s an easy answer to a simple question.
Nooksack Valley turned the ball over four times, including three times in the fourth quarter, and Lynden Christian took advantage and defeated the Pioneers 28-14 at Sid Lambert Field on Thursday night.
The Lyncs got on the scoreboard first late in the opening quarter junior running back Chris Kooiman took the handoff, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, kicked it to the outside, broke another tackle near the goal line and scored from 20 yards out. It was his sixth carry of the opening drive for Lynden Christian, and it became apparent early on that feeding the 225-pound junior the ball would be imperative.
Kooiman would score again with 3:30 left in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Lyncs a 14-0 lead, but the Pioneers charged down the field on their final possession of the half. Senior quarterback Evan Brown his senior wide receiver Jaxon Hester on a crossing route, and it ended up going for 31 yards. It would be the longest gain on the night by either team.
Moments later, on 3rd-and-9, Nooksack Valley threw a quick screen pass to senior wide receiver Cole Coppinger who hauled it in and took it 13 yards for Nooksack Valley’s first score of the game. With 44 seconds left in the second quarter, the Lyncs led 14-7.
After both teams traded punts back and forth in the third quarter, LC senior quarterback Eli Maberry connected on a rainbow pass to senior wide receiver Boyce Robertson in the back-left corner of the endzone for 13 yards out. Not only did it give Lynden Christian a 21-7 lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter, it was also Robertson’s 16th touchdown reception of the season, which broke a school record that stood for 23 years when Kevin Kooy caught 15 touchdown passes in 2002.
Earlier in the game, Robertson also became the first player in school history to surpass 100 career receptions.
Undeterred, they Pioneers got great field position on the ensuing kickoff when sophomore Trey Heutink scooped up a squib kick and took it 60 yards, before being tackled at the LC 12-yard line. Three plays later, Heutink scored on a 6-yard run to make it a one-score game at 21-14 with 10:34 left.
Nooksack Valley then forced a punt, and had the ball at its own 13-yard line, down by seven points, with 9:15 left to go.
The Pioneers put a strong drive together, picking up multiple first downs, and when a run crossed midfield, Lynden Christian junior safety Dawson Hintz stripped the ball, and it was recovered by junior defensive lineman Peter Enfield with 6:39 left in the game.
Nooksack Valley’s defense was able to get a stop, but the Lyncs were able to run nearly four minutes off the clock before punting the ball back to the Pioneers.
Nooksack Valley had another chance at it, this time with the ball at its own 20-yard line with 2:47 left on the clock, but an immediate interception by junior Kaden Veldman, who was playing inside linebacker for the first time this season, gave Lynden Christian all the momentum in the world. Two plays later, Maberry faked the handoff to Kooiman, and took it himself 11 yards for a touchdown.
The Pioneers got as far as the LC 23-yard line, but an interception by senior safety Gunner DeKoster sealed the win for the Lyncs, who went the entire game without turning the ball over.
Both Lynden Christian and Nooksack Valley have qualified for the 1A “Round-of-24” which is basically a play-in game for the state tournament. Both teams should find out their opponents on Sunday. Dates and times will also be announced at that time.
Lynden Christian 28 Nooksack Valley 14 LC 7 7 7 7 - 28 NV 0 7 0 7 - 14 LC - Kooiman 20 run (Yun kick) LC - Kooiman 1 run (Yun kick) NV - Coppinger 13 pass from Brown (Martin kick) LC - Robertson 13 pass from Maberry (Yun kick) NV - Heutink 6 run (Martin kick) LC - Maberry 11 run (Yun kick)
LC NV 31-124 Rush Att-Yards 17-57 19-30-0 Comp-Att-Int 18-27-2 143 Passing Yards 190 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LC: Kooiman 24-93, Maberry 4-24, Hintz 2-5, Johnson 1-2. NV: Heutink 8-35, Scheenstra 6-20, Brown 3-2. PASSING - LC: Maberry 19-30-0-143. NV: Brown 18-27-2-190. RECEIVING - LC: Veldman 7-49, Robertson 5-40, Hintz 3-19, Kamphouse 2-22, Kooiman 1-9, Huleatt 1-4. NV: Coppinger 6-65, Hester 5-81, Martin 3-13, Jones 2-9, Scheenstra 1-14, Leyerly 1-8.
