BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – In an opening night game that pushed the three-hour mark due to a myriad of penalties, and various injuries from both teams, Squalicum overcame its mistakes and used a salty defense to pitch a 26-0 shutout over Sehome at Civic Stadium on Friday night.
The game started promising for the Mariners as they ran the ball effectively on their first possession, moving the ball into Storm territory. A delay of game penalty, however, turned a short third-down attempt into a 3rd-and-7 and the Mariners could not convert on the next two plays, turning the ball over on downs. The teams then traded punts in a disjointed opening quarter.
Starting their next possession at their 18-yard line, the Storm survived multiple procedure penalties and were able to complete three passes covering 40 yards to move the ball into Mariner territory.
Using a variety of backs including Brock Scammell, Maddox Strickland, and quarterback Asher Asbjornsen, Squalicum ran the ball on the next eight plays. A 10-yard tackle-breaking run by Strickland put the first points on the board and the Storm led 7-0 one play into the second quarter after the PAT.
Sehome picked up a quick first down on a pass from junior quarterback Jad Geiger to senior wide receiver Gunnar Anderson on the following drive. The Mariners could not covert on the next set of downs as the Storm defense stiffened and forced a punt.
Sophomore fullback Tucker Hofstedt got into the running action for Squalicum as well, and took a quick handoff on a trap play up the middle for a 32-yard gain. That run put the Storm in field goal range where junior placekicker Elias Larranaga connected on his second field goal of the quarter. The 31-yarder increased the Squalicum lead to 13-0 with just over two minutes remaining before halftime.
Geiger quickly led the Mariners down into field goal territory connecting three times with Anderson energizing the neon wearing Sehome students on the home side. With time running low, a 35-yard field goal attempt by Bane Mitchell was blocked, keeping the score 13-0 Storm on top at the break.
The second half had fewer penalties as the teams settled in a bit. The Sehome defense came out strong, led by Senior defensive tackle Logan Rogers, forcing a three and out and a Squalicum punt.
Sehome sophomore running back Cash Barns was able to find some running room on the next Mariner drive and it looked like they were in business with a first down inside the Storm 30, but the Storm defense would not yield, and turned the Mariners away. A Barnes rush on a 4th-and-1 was stuffed, thwarting Sehome’s best scoring opportunity of the second half.
Squalicum put the game away in the fourth quarter with two more scores by Asbjornsen, a 68-yard scamper and then a one-yard plunge. The final score was set-up by a 57-yard burst by Strickland before being corralled by Sehome sophomore defensive back Ollie Johnson. The final PAT was blocked, but as the white-out clad Squalicum students rushed the field, the scoreboard read Squalicum 26, Sehome 0.
The Squalicum defense received quarterback sacks from Scammell, Strickland, Hofstedt and senior Carlos Solis-Cruz, and the Sehome defense was led by Rogers who had multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage, and senior linebacker Eljas Lara who finished with six tackles.
The Storm snapped the Mariners 4 game winning streak in the series, an important first conference win in the competitive 2A Northwest Conference.
Squalicum (1-0) will host Anacortes (1-0) at 7:00 on Thursday at Civic Stadium, and the Mariners (0-1) will face a tough, uphill climb as they travel to Archbishop Murphy (1-0) on Friday to battle the Wildcats at 7:00.
Squalicum 26 Sehome 0 SQU 0 13 0 13 - 26 SEH 0 0 0 0 - 0 SQU - Strickland 10 run (Larranaga kick) SQU - Larranaga 24 FG SQU - Larranaga 31 FG SQU - Asbjornsen 68 run (Larranaga kick) SQU - Asbjornsen 1 run (kick blocked) SQU SEH 31-286 Rush Att-Yards 27-99 4-6-0 Comp-Att-Int 8-22-0 75 Passing Yards 70 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SQU: Asbjornsen 7-116, Strickland 6-82, Hofstedt 9-52, Scammell 5-19, Calloway 2-15, Sone 2-2. SEH: Barnes 13-80, Hatzl 6-38, Geiger 8-(-19). PASSING - SQU: Asbjornsen 4-6-0-75. SEH: Geiger 8-22-0-70. RECEIVING - SQU: Sone 2-51, Hofstedt 2-24. SEH: Anderson 5-57, LaPlant 2-11, Begtsson 1-2.
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