BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – It was another Homecoming game this week at Civic stadium. Unfortunately for the Squalicum Storm, theirs was spoiled by their crosstown rival Sehome Mariners in a drenching rain on Friday night. Sehome used a strong rushing attack to control the game and come out with a pivotal victory, 42-22.
Sehome received the opening kick and promptly drove 67 yards in nine plays, with senior signal caller Nolan Wright scoring a touchdown on a four yard quarterback keeper. The Mariners took a 7-0 lead with 10:26 remaining in the first quarter.
The ensuing kickoff turned out well for Sehome as the powerful line drive kick by junior Bane Mitchell bounced off a front row Squalicum player and into the hands of the opportunistic Mariners.
The ground assault continued as senior tailback Sawyer Woods took a handoff 30 yards to get Sehome down into to the red zone. The Mariners then scored their second touchdown on a 14-yard strike from Wright to senior receiver Al Miller.
Due to a combination of the weather and an injury, that would be Wright’s only pass completion on the night, but it would be a historic one as it was his 556th completion of his career, the most in Whatcom County history, which broke a tie with former Nooksack Valley quarterback Casey Bauman.
Finally having a chance on offense, Squalicum was put behind the chains with a bad snap and was forced to punt from midfield. The Storm were able to pin the Mariners deep in their own territory on the 16-yard line. The Squalicum defense held strong, with linebackers Avery Weener and Brock Scammell plugging up the rushing lanes and forcing a Sehome punt after three plays.
Finding a bit of a grove on its second possession, Squalicum used misdirection plays and a balance of run and pass to drive down to the Sehome 8-yard line where they faced a fourth and goal. Pulling out a bit of trickery, Squalicum ran a toss pass with Weener finding Ansen Asbjornsen in the back of the end zone for a Storm touchdown.
A bad snap on the PAT caused sophomore holder Asher Asbjornsen to scramble, and he found his way across the line for the 2-point conversion. With under a minute to play in the first quarter, Sehome held a 15-8 advantage.
The second quarter was similar to the first for Sehome, in that they ran the ball behind their strong offensive line. The Mariners marched down 58 yards in nine plays to hit paydirt to quickly answer with a score pushing it back to a two-score advantage for Sehome, 21-8.
Squalicum was undeterred, led by the rushing and scrambling of senior quarterback Cole Burke. Burke completed four passes on the Storm drive, the key play being a deep throwback to Ansen Asbjornsen for a 42-yard touchdown. Connecting on the PAT, Squalicum narrowed the lead to 21-15 which is where the score stood at halftime.
Squalicum received the ball coming out of halftime as the rain picked up to a constant downpour. The Storm offense was able to pick up one first down, but the pass rush of Sehome got pressure and batted down two of Burke’s throws. Defensive linemen junior Logan Rogers and senior Finn Seitz-Gregoire tipped passes in the series, which forced a Storm punt.
The next Mariner possession was a classic. Wright was visibly injured but he continued to play through the pain leading his team on a crucial drive in a must-win game. A methodical, 13-play drive ensued, and Woods took the handoff on each play from scrimmage. 59 yards later, running behind the fine blocking of the offensive line and tight ends, Woods finished it off with a 1-yard plunge for the touchdown. The drive took over 7 minutes and Sehome increased their lead to 28-15.
A Squalicum fumble on its kickoff return doomed the Storm, and Sehome regained possession. The next Sehome offensive drive was again all running plays, seven rushes by Woods. He capped it off with a 14-yard touchdown which put the Mariners ahead 35-15 shortly into the fourth quarter. Woods would finish the game with 306 yards on 42 carries, both of which are now Sehome records.
Playing with a lead, the Sehome defense was aggressive. They stopped Squalicum on a fourth down and also created another turnover. A fumble was caused by a spectacular hit on Storm running back Asher Asbjornsen by senior defensive back Hudson Neff. Mariner junior defensive back Devon Bengtsson grabbed the ball out of the air to give the ball back to his team which then put up one more rushing touchdown, a 1-yard carry by senior running back Laki Fagaautau.
Squalicum answered in the last minute of the game with a 4-yard touchdown run by Burke that concluded the scoring. After a final kneel down for the Mariners, the score on the now working Civic Field main scoreboard displayed Sehome 42, Squalicum 22.
Sehome with the win now has the inside track on the NWC’s 4th bid to the round of 32 state playoff bracket.
The Mariners (5-3) will travel to Archbishop Murphy (7-0) on Friday to take on the Wildcats at 7:00, and the Storm (4-4) will stay in town to battle Bellingham (4-4) on Thursday at 7:30.
Sehome 42 Squalicum 22 SEH 14 7 7 14 - 42 SQU 8 7 0 7 - 22 SEH - Wright 4 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Miller 15 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SQU - Ans. Asbjornsen 8 pass from Weener (Ash. Asbjornsen run) SEH - Woods 1 run (Mitchell kick) SQU - Ans. Asbjornsen 42 pass from Burke (Larranaga kick) SEH - Woods 1 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Woods 14 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Fagaautau 1 run (Mitchell kick) SQU - Burke 4 run (Larranaga kick) SEH SQU 50-374 Rush Att-Yards 33-89 1-6-0 Comp-Att-Int 15-29-0 14 Passing Yards 172 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SEH: Woods 42-306, Fagaautau 4-62, Wright 4-6. SQU: Weener 4-32, Ans. Asbjornsen 8-31, Ash. Asbjornsen 4-21, Burke 7-5. PASSING - SEH: Wright 1-6-0-14. SQU: Burke 14-28-0-164, Weener 1-1-0-8. RECEIVING - SEH: Miller 1-14. SQU: Ans. Asbjornsen 6-91, Watt 3-36, Ash. Asbjornsen 3-19, Binta 2-18.
What is going on with the officials throwing penalty flags for kids celebrating with their teammates upon making a good play . Sehome got called for it twice and neither time was it in front of a Squalicum player. What’s next cheer leaders getting penalized for cheering a TD??