MARYSVILLE – Without James Marsh, Cooper Brown and Steven DiLorenzo, the Lynden football team showed why it is ranked #3 in the 2A state rankings as it defeated Lakewood 31-14 at Dick Cardinal Stadium on Friday night.
The Cougars got out to a quick start when Michai Harris returned the opening kickoff deep into Lion territory. He would go on to score a few plays later from three yards out to give Lakewood an early 7-0 lead. The rest of the quarter was a stalemate as both offenses tested a few things, but both defenses were ready for them.
The Lions had a big second quarter which began on 45-yard sprint off of left tackle by running back Eric Martin-Mann. A 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brock Heppner capped the big drive for the Lions. A crucial 4th down stop by Lynden defensive end Trevin Melendez gave the ball back to the Lions at midfield. Hard running by both Heppner and Martin-Mann got the ball to the Laekwood 5-yard line, but Lynden ultimately settled for a 22-yard field goal by junior Marko Samoukovic.
Lynden was able to get one more possession in the half, and wound up with the ball at midfield with two seconds left. The Lions lined three receivers on the right side, and senior wide receiver Grant VanderYacht alone on the left side. Heppner took the shotgun snap, and unloaded down the left side line. The Lakewood defensive back fell down on the play and VanderYacht was able to make the catch and score as the clock read 0:00.
The momentum didn’t end there as the Lions received a very short kickoff to start the second half, and marched down the field at will. Heppner punctuated the drive with a run up the middle from the 19-yard line. He was initially stopped by a pair of Cougar defenders but was able to break free, put a move on one last defender and get into the end zone.
After Lakewood scored on an 8-yard connection from Jared Taylor to Sean Phillips, it was Heppner again that was responsible for his fourth touchdown of the game, this time finding senior wide out Kobe Elsner on a quick out from 5-yard away.
Heppner, who played the entire game at quarterback filling in for the injured James Marsh, finished the game with 142 yards rushing and 186 yards passing. Martin-Mann also contributed with 115 yards on the ground and VanderYacht finished with 99 yards receiving on three catches.
Lynden went the entire game without punting.
The Lions (5-0) will host Burlington-Edison (2-3) on Friday at Rollie DeKoster Field. It’s a great rivalry game, and it pits the only two undefeated teams left in the NWC Sky Division. You will also be able to hear that game on The Doug Lange Network.
Lynden 31
Lakewood 14
LYN 0 17 7 7 – 31
LAK 7 0 7 0 – 14
LAKE – Harris 3 run (Sepulveda kick)
LYN – Heppner 3 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Samoukovic 22 FG
LYN – VanderYacht 50 pass from Elsner (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 19 run (Samoukovic kick)
LAKE – Phillips 8 pass from Taylor (Sepulveda kick)
LYN – Elsner 5 pass from Heppner (Samoukovic kick)
LYN LAK
42-270 Rushing Att-Yards 30-102
10-23-0 Comp-Att-Int 23-34-0
186 Passing yards 178
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – LYN: Heppner 25-142, Martin-Mann 12-115, Melendez 5-13. LAKE: N/A.
PASSING – LYN: Heppner 10-23-0-186. LAKE: N/A.
RECEIVING – LYN: VanderYacht 3-99, C. Bode 3-66, Elsner 2-3, Baar 1-14, Melendez 1-4. LAKE: N/A.
