BURLINGTON – When Squalicum sophomore D.J. Hill returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown, it gave the Storm a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers were then able to score twice in the final minutes to pull out the 20-16 win at Roland Kirkby Field on Friday night.
Hill’s pick-six was caused by the pressure put on by sophomore outside linebacker Asher Asbjornsen, who racked up 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one pass deflected, and the big play by the two sophomores gave Squalicum a 16-7 lead.
Both teams traded punts after that, but Burlington-Edison then put together a quick 45-yard drive on just three plays which ended with a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:36 left in the game. The Tiger touchdown cut the Storm lead to 16-14.
Squalicum struggled on its next possession, and penalties continued to put them behind the chains and the Storm quickly found themselves back into another punting situation, this time in their own endzone on 4th-and-23 with just over five minutes left in the contest.
Burlington-Edison fielded the punt in Squalicum territory, and drove down the field, but eventually stalled at the 23-yard line. At that point, the Tigers were looking at a 4th-and-9 situation with just over a minute to go in the game. Down by two, instead of opting for a 40-yard field goal attempts, the offense remained on the field and went to the air.
The Tigers found the open man over the middle, and picked up the necessary first down to keep the game alive. They then went on to run the ball into the endzone on the next play from 11 yards out.
The Storm had one last opportunity, and was able to get the ball past midfield, but a strip sack ended their chances for a win.
After falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter, Squalicum went into the locker room ahead 10-7 thanks to a 35-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Elias Larranaga, and a 28-yard touchdown pass from senior Cole Burke to fellow senior Khalil Binta.
The Storm (0-1) will host Marysville-Pilchuck (0-1) on Saturday at 7:00 at Civic Stadium.
Burlington-Edison 20 Squalicum 16 SQU 3 7 0 6 - 16 B-E 7 0 0 13 - 20 B-E - 20 yard touchdown pass (kick good) SQU - Larranaga 35 FG SQU - Binta 28 pass from Burke (Larranaga kick) SQU - Hill 43 interception return (kick failed) B-E - 12 yard touchdown run (kick good) B-E - 11 yard touchdown run (pass failed) SQU B-E 28-93 Rush Att-Yards 40-212 9-20-2 Comp-Att-Int 8-18-2 81 Passing Yards 110 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SQU: Ash. Asbjornsen 10-63, Weener 6-19, Hill 6-15, Burke 5-2, Ans. Asbjornsen 1-(-6). B-E: N/A. PASSING - SQU: Burke 9-20-2-81. B-E: N/A. RECEIVING - SQU: Ans. Asbjornsen 4-34, Clark 3-7, Binta 2-40. B-E: N/A.
