BY MAKAYLA SPARKS – For Whatcom Preps
LYNDEN – With the weather not playing in anyone’s favor, it was a story of turnovers on Friday night at Rollie DeKoster Field.
However, the hometown Lynden Lions made the most of their opportunities to take the 21-7 win over the Burlington-Edison Tigers on senior night.
Burlington started the game with the ball but was quickly turned away from by the Lynden defense.
The Lions then used their run game to power down the field and found the endzone for the first score of the game midway through the first quarter. Senior running back Alvaro Mendoza-Batey forced his way over the goal line from two yards away, and the Lions took a 7-0 lead.
The rest of the first half was a timeline of turnovers, with the Lions earning two fumble recoveries, one from sophomore nose tackle Cort Andrew and another from senior defensive end Weston “Big Wes” Card, which came at the end of the half.
A minute and a half before Card’s recovery, Lynden grabbed its first interception of the game. With Burlington-Edison threatening to score, the Tigers threw a pass for the middle of the endzone. Lynden senior safety Brody Price tipped the ball and junior cornerback Gordy Bedlington dove underneath of it, collecting the ball before it hit the ground.
The Lions came out of the locker room at halftime roaring. Junior quarterback Lukas Lalji raced 84 yards down the field, and moments before crossing the goal line, the ball came loose in the end zone, but junior wide receiver Sam Arango was there to fall on top of it and ensure the touchdown stood.
Sophomore cornerback Markus Koenen jumped in front of a Burlington-Edison pass a few minutes into the fourth quarter, flipping the field. Exactly thirty seconds later, junior running back Dawson VanDalen pushed into the endzone from two yards out, giving the Lions a 21-0 lead.
VanDalen and Lalji each surpassed 100 yards rushing for the game.
The Tigers snuck into the endzone with just under a minute left in the game. This ended up being an unexpected blessing for the Lions as it allowed them to give injured seniors Max Assink and Dani Bowler one last play on their home field. The two seniors were able to be a part of the victory formation as Lynden knelt out the final seconds of the 21-7 victory.
This victory is head coach Blake VanDalen’s 80th career victory, making him just the third head football coach in Whatcom County history to have a winning percentage of 80% or better, and have coached in at least 100 games. The other two are former Lynden legends, Rollie DeKoster and Curt Kramme.
Lynden (7-2) will await its next opponent, and will likely find out on Sunday, along with the time and place.
Lynden 21 Burlington-Edison 7 B-E 0 0 0 7 - 7 LYN 7 0 7 7 - 21 LYN - Mendoza-Batey 2 run (Mal. Koenen kick) LYN - Arango recovered fumble in the endzone (Mal. Koenen kick) LYN - D. VanDalen 2 run (Mal. Koenen kick) B-E - 6 yard touchdown pass (kick good) B-E LYN 40-70 Rush Att-Yards 33-298 5-11-2 Comp-Att-Int 4-11-2 45 Passing Yards 37 Individual Leaders RUSHING - B-E: N/A. LYN: Lalji 8-139, D. VanDalen 17-113, Mal. Koenen 3-31, Mendoza-Batey 5-15. PASSING - B-E: N/A. LYN: Lalji 4-10-2-37, Arango 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - B-E: N/A. LYN: Arango 2-12, Mar. Koenen 1-15, Price 1-10.
