BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – Back in the friendly confines of Civic Stadium after two games on the road, the Sehome Mariners took on the Burlington Edison Tigers for a 2A Northwest Conference matchup.
Led by all-conference quarterback Nolan Wright and a stingy defense, the Mariners defeated the Tigers 42-7. Wright was making his 36th consecutive start, a streak that began his freshman season.
He wasted little time getting Sehome on the scoreboard by leading a seven play 76-yard drive that was capped by his seven-yard touchdown pass to senior halfback Sawyer Woods. It was Wright’s 85th career touchdown pass which established a new Whatcom County record, which was previously owned by Meridian’s Jordan Slesk who held the record for 21 years.
Burlington-Edison was sharp on offense as well, and answered with a 9-play scoring drive of their own. The Tigers went 73 yards and tied the game on a 3-yard run by senior quarterback Owen Stewart. With 5:02 left to play in the first quarter, the game was tied 7-7.
Sehome then ran off 35 consecutive points with a balance of running and passing throughout the contest.
After the teams traded punts, Wright found senior tight end Tyson Goodman on a 34-yard strike to put the Mariners up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Burlington attempted to answer but was turned away after a 47-yard field goal sailed wide left. A 13-play drive stalled for Sehome due to penalties which forced a punt, but the Mariner defense led by a strong defensive line got the ball back to its offense quickly.
With under a minute to play before halftime, Wright completed three quick passes to bring the Mariners to the Tiger 32-yard line. On second down and five, Al Miller got separation from his defender and was able to deftly haul in a perfectly placed pass in the end zone with only 17 seconds before halftime. The third consecutive PAT by junior placekicker Bane Mitchell put the Mariners up 21-7 at intermission.
Burlington looked to get something going in the third quarter but interceptions by senior safety Hudson Neff and Wright ended its first two drives.
Wright threw an interception of his own, but the Mariners scored on an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Woods halfway through the quarter. Sehome also scored on a seven-yard touchdown reception by senior Carter Duckworth, which gave the Mariners a 35-7 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers kept fighting and were able to get some positive yardage through the air, but a pair of snaps over the head of their quarterback impeded two of their drives. The fast and aggressive Mariner defense allowed only 24 yards rushing by Burlington Edison on the night.
A final score on a 51-yard Woods burst punctuated the Sehome effort and gave the Mariners a 42-7 victory.
Sehome (3-1) will host the Lynden Lions (3-1) at 7:00 next Thursday at Civic Stadium.
Sehome 42 Burlington-Edison 7 B-E 7 0 0 0 - 7 SEH 14 7 14 7 - 42 SEH - Woods 7 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) B-E - Stewart 3 run (kick good) SEH - Goodman 34 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Miller 32 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Woods 8 run (Mitchell kick) SEH - Duckworth 7 pass from Wright (Mitchell kick) SEH - Woods 51 run (Mitchell kick) B-E SEH 21-24 Rush Att-Yards 25-143 17-28-2 Comp-Att-Int 19-29-1 172 Passing Yards 277 Individual Leaders RUSHING - B-E: N/A. SEH: Woods 16-98, Wright 5-21, Neff 1-14, Andren 2-11, Larsen 1-(-1). PASSING - B-E: N/A. SEH: Wright 19-29-1-277. RECEIVING - B-E: N/A. SEH: Miller 6-104, Quiggle 5-79, Goodman 3-44, Neff 2-28, Woods 2-18, Duckworth 1-7.
