LYNDEN – The Lions closed out the season at Rollie DeKoster Field on Saturday night with a strong 27-13 win over Sehome.
Lynden again used a power run game to control the clock, as well as the game, as the Lions ran the ball on 52 of their 69 total plays. Senior running back led the way with career-highs in carries (30) and rushing yards (178) while also scoring the first touchdown of the game, but it wasn’t just any touchdown.
Quarterback Baylor Ayres pitched the ball to Wheeler on the option play after getting pressure from Mariner outside linebacker Tommy Funk. Wheeler proceeded to use his speed to get outside of sophomore safety Max Malo, who seemed to have the angle on him. The 175-pound running back then dove from the 4-yard line to elude Malo, and he flew into the corner of the end zone.
Malo was able to even the score in the second quarter when he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jacob Kaepernick. 6-foot-6 senior Chris Bloomquist was able to block the extra point to keep the score tied at six, but Wheeler was able to find the end zone again in the second quarter, and the Lions went into halftime with a 13-6 lead.
Wheeler really turned it on in the second half, as he followed his massive linemen down the field over and over again as Lynden sustained long, time-consuming drives. Two of them ended in short touchdowns runs by Ayres, which ultimately put the game out of reach for Sehome.
Kaepernick scored on a 2-yard touchdown run late in the game, on the final play of the senior southpaw’s fantastic career.
Ayres also looked incredibly sharp in the pocket, completing 12-of-17 passes for 108 yards, while rushing for 63 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore receiver Isaiah Stanley led the Lions in receiving with six catches for 66 yards.
Kaepernick completed 19-of-39 passes for 233 yards. Junior wide out Luke Evans led with six receptions for 77 yards, and senior Elijah Ashmann racked up 93 receiving yards on four receptions.
Defensively, the Lions controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing just seven yards rushing (including quarterback sacks). Many players contributed for Lynden, including senior linebacker Connor White who had six tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass broken up, and junior outside linebacker Joel Bode who had five tackles (including two sacks). Bode, a former defensive back, supplied pressure on Kaepernick for most of the game.
The Mariner defense was on the field a lot during the contest, but got tremendous contributions from Funk (13.5 tackles and one fumble recovery) and senior safety Colin Dorsch who also had 13.5 tackles and a pass broken up. Junior inside linebacker Hayden Huntley also had 11.5 tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack, and junior Gavin Ortega, who switched from defensive line to inside linebacker for the game, had 11.5 tackles.
Lynden closed out the season with a 4-2 record, and Sehome ended the year with a 3-2 record.
Sehome 13
Lynden 27
SE 0 6 0 7 – 13
LYN 6 7 7 7 – 27
LYN – Wheeler 15 run (kick failed)
SE – M. Malo 15 pass from Kaepernick (kick blocked)
LYN – Wheeler 1 run (Petz kick)
LYN – B. Ayres 3 run (Petz kick)
LYN – B. Ayres 1 run (Petz kick)
SE – Kaepernick 2 run (Andrews kick)
SE LYN
17-7 Rushing Att-Yards 52-242
19-39-1 Comp-Att-Int 12-17-0
233 Passing yards 108
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – SE: Dorsch 10-25, Funk 1-(-4), Kaepernick 6-(-14). LYN: Wheeler 30-178, B. Ayres 18-63, Heeringa 2-3, Hermanutz 1-2, C. Ayres 1-(-4).
PASSING – SE: Kaepernick 19-39-1-233. LYN: B. Ayres 12-17-0-108.
RECEIVING – SE: L. Evans 6-77, M. Malo 5-38, Ashmann 4-93, Clark 3-30, Dorsch 1-(-5). LYN: Stanley 6-66, Moore 2-15, Nolte 2-14, Jacob 1-8, Wheeler 1-5.
