BELLINGHAM – The Storm defense was completely suffocating, as it held Edmonds-Woodway to 99 total yards on 57 plays as Squalicum defeated the Warriors 28-7 at Civic Stadium on Friday night.
A win was needed to move on to the district playoff game, and a convincing one is what the Storm got. Djouvensky Schlenbaker continued to add to his sophomore record-breaking season with 178 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. He scored both of them in the second quarter and currently sits at 1825 rushing yards on the season, which is the 10th highest season total in Whatcom County history.
Junior quarterback Mason Binning was also able to get wide receiver Dedrick Mitchell involved early and often. Coach Nick Lucey found numerous ways of getting his senior playmaker the ball, and he responded with eight receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were in the second half.
The Squalicum defense had its best overall game of the season, and obtaining first downs wasn’t easy. Defensive linemen Adam McCluskey and Cesar Vazquez, along with outside linebackers Bryson Lamb and Schlenbaker, combined for 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage. There were three other plays that went for no gain.
The Warriors scored late in the game on defense when the center snap sailed over the quarterback’s head, and it was a scoop and score from 26 yards out.
The Storm (7-2) will host Juanita (2-7) at 7:00 on Friday night at Civic Stadium for a bid into the 3A state playoffs.
Edmonds-Woodway 7
Squalicum 28
EW 0 0 0 7 – 7
SQU 0 14 7 7 – 28
SQU – Schlenbaker 16 run (Shrock kick)
SQU – Schlenbaker 51 run (Shrock kick)
SQU – Mitchell 29 pass from Binning (Shrock kick)
SQU – Mitchell 37 pass from Binning (Shrock kick)
EW – 26 yard fumble return for a touchdown (kick good)
EW SQU
24-(-12) Rushing Att-Yards 36-191
13-33-1 Comp-Att-Int 13-21-0
111 Passing yards 143
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – SQU: Schlenbaker 26-178, Owens 6-10, Aslan 4-3. EW: N/A.
PASSING – SQU: Binning 13-21-0-143. EW: N/A.
RECEIVING – SQU: Mitchell 8-109, Pennock 2-12, Owens 1-12, Schlenbaker 1-6, Vazquez 1-4. EW: N/A.
