BY MAKAYLA SPARKS – For Whatcom Preps
LYNDEN – The Lynden Christian Lyncs must have been watching the forecast on Friday night. The Lyncs got going early and climbed out to a four-score lead before the rain started coming down on their way to a 48-7 victory over the Meridian Trojans.
Rain and wind had been the story all day leading up to game time, but at kickoff it was dry and calm, and the Lyncs knew they had to act before it kicked back up again.
They set up to kick the ball to Meridian to start the game; however, the kick was short and bounced right back into the hands of Lynden Christian junior Kaden Veldman. A minute and a half later, senior quarterback Eli Maberry scored from two yards away, and it was 7-0 for the Lyncs.
Meridian would get things going on the next drive and power right into the red zone, but the LC defense turned them away at the goal line. The Lyncs drove down the field the other way, and Maberry connected with senior receiver Boyce Robertson for a nine-yard score to end the first quarter.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Maberry grabbed his third of five first-half touchdowns when he found Veldman through the air for a 39-yard touchdown.
Maberry must have sensed the incoming rain because just three minutes after that, he connected with Robertson down the home sideline for a 61-yard score, pushing the Lyncs out to a 27-0 lead.
Nearing halftime with the rain starting, the Trojans finally crossed the goal line. Going for it on fourth down, the Lyncs’ defense had turned them away the play before, but a penalty gave Meridian a second chance. Junior quarterback Trey Alexander kept the ball himself and powered the one yard they needed to make the score 27-7.
Maberry grabbed his fifth touchdown of the half with just seconds to go when he found Robertson in the endzone on a short one-yard pass, which was set up by a Veldman reception on a middle screen, giving the Lyncs a 33-7 halftime lead.
Maberry now has 57 passing touchdowns in his career, the 11th most in Whatcom County history.
With the rain and wind picking up in the second half, Lynden Christian turned to their running game for its last two touchdowns. Midway through the third quarter, senior running back Treyson Johnson powered into the endzone, and Maberry connected with Veldman for the two-point conversion.
Senior running back Chris Kooiman rushed four yards and passed the pylons thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, pushing the Lyncs’ lead to 48-7. Kooiman finished with a game-high 152 yards rushing on 17 carries.
With the rain coming down both hard and sideways and a running clock invoked, it was hard to make much happen for the remainder of the game, allowing the Lyncs to take the 48-7 win as well as a slide across the muddy field.
The Lyncs (7-1) will travel to Nooksack Valley (5-3) on Thursday to take on the Pioneers at 7:00 in battle for second place of the Northwest Conference in 1A. The Trojans (5-3) will host Blaine (2-6) on Thursday at 7:00.
Lynden Christian 48 Meridian 7 MER 0 7 0 0 - 7 LC 14 19 8 7 - 48 LC - Maberry 2 run (Penner kick) LC - Robertson 9 pass from Maberry (Penner kick) LC - Veldman 39 pass from Maberry (Penner kick) LC - Robertson 61 pass from Maberry (kick failed) MER - T. Alexander 1 run (Virk kick) LC - Robertson 1 pass from Maberry (run failed) LC - Johnson 1 run (Veldman pass from Maberry) LC - Kooiman 4 run (Penner kick)
MER LC 15-26 Rush Att-Yards 29-165 20-48-0 Comp-Att-Int 18-26-0 270 Passing Yards 308 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MER: Valich 3-14, Nguyen 4-7, Strunk 3-4, T. Alexander 5-1. LC: Kooiman 17-152, Johnson 6-13, Hintz 4-3, Maberry 2-(-3). PASSING - MER: T. Alexander 20-48-0-278. LC: Maberry 18-26-0-308. RECEIVING - MER: Larsen 7-110, Brzozowski 4-79, Fisher 4-51, Brennan 2-16, Burgess 1-13, Crabtree 1-3, T. Alexander 1-(-2). LC: Veldman 5-75, Hintz 4-58, Robertson 3-71, Huleatt 2-69, Kamphouse 2-23, Johnson 2-12.
