BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – It was shirt sleeve weather for the opening Northwest Conference high school football game at Civic Stadium on Friday evening. A large green and gold clad crowd turned out to watch Sehome and was treated to a resounding victory by the Mariners, who defeated the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks by a score of 64-3.
An experienced and state quarterfinal team from 2024, Sehome wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with a 50-yard touchdown pass from senior Nolan Wright to senior wide receiver Theo Quiggle on their first play from scrimmage. Wright hit senior receiver Al Miller for the 2-point conversion gave the Mariners an early 8-0 advantage.
The swarming Sehome defense did not yield much positive yardage to the Wing-T Pilchuck offense, and the explosive Mariners scored three more touchdowns in the first quarter. Nicky Smith took a handoff 12 yards, Carter Duckworth caught a 39-yard seam pass, and Miller snagged a 19-yard corner route both from Wright. It was 29-0 Sehome after 12 minutes of play.
The second quarter was much like the first, as the Sehome defense did not give up a first down until well into the second half. The defense was led by a fearsome front seven including linemen senior Cole Turrell, junior Logan Rogers, and senior linebackers Finn Seitz-Gregoire and Tyson Goodman.
Another touchdown pass was thrown by Wright, a 6-yard crossing route to senior flanker Hudson Neff. Senior running back Sawyer Woods finished the first half by scoring on a 2-yard plunge up the middle. As the Sehome dance team headed out to perform at halftime, the Mariners headed to the locker room with a 43-0 lead.
There was no doubt what the outcome of this game would be, and the second half proceeded quickly due to a running clock. Quiggle caught another touchdown, this time of 25 yards, and Gunnar Anderson hauled in a seven yarder in the third quarter.
Wright threw six touchdowns on the night, tying his own school record. Jacob Kaepernick was the first Mariner to do so, which was in 2019 against West Seattle, and this is the third time that Wright has accomplished that feat.
Marysville-Pilchuck continued to struggle moving the ball but eventually gained some yards once Sehome rested their starters.
A fourth quarter field goal by the Tomahawks prevented a shutout and the scoring concluded with a 42-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jadden Geiger to Anderson. The final score was 64-3 Mariners as Sehome looked strong, fast, and hungry as a top contender for the ultra-competitive NWC 2A conference title.
Sehome (1-0) will have a much more difficult test next week, traveling to defending state champion Anacortes (7-0) to face the Seahawks at 7:00 on Friday.
Sehome 64 Marysville-Pilchuck 3 M-P 0 0 0 3 - 3 SEH 29 14 17 7 - 64 SEH - Quiggle 50 pass from Wright (Miller pass from Wright) SEH - Smith 14 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Duckworth 39 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Miller 19 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Neff 6 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Woods 2 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Quiggle 25 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Anderson 7 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) M-P - 21 yard field goal SEH - Anderson 42 pass from Geiger (Mitchell kick) M-P SEH 26-4 Rush Att-Yards 25-151 9-11-0 Comp-Att-Int 10-13-0 39 Passing Yards 218 Individual Leaders RUSHING - M-P: N/A. SEH: Smith 6-67, Woods 9-51, Neff 1-16, Andren 2-11, Wright 2-6. PASSING - M-P: N/A. SEH: Wright 9-12-0-176, Geiger 1-1-0-42. RECEIVING - M-P: N/A. SEH: Quiggle 5-105, Anderson 2-49, Duckworth 1-39, Miller 1-19, Neff 1-6.
