NOOKSACK – The Pioneers battled back from a halftime deficit, took the lead late in the third quarter and eventually defeated Life Christian Academy 42-26 at Sid Lambert Field on Friday night.
The Eagles looked sharp early on with their quick-strike passing offense, and after one quarter of play they held a 6-0 lead, and already had 120 yards of offense to Nooksack Valley’s nine yards.
Life Christian Academy scored again early in the second quarter to go up 14-0, but the Pioneers quickly came back with a 5-yard touchdown run by senior running back Matthew Blake and a 27-yard bullet touchdown pass from senior quarterback Evan Brown to junior wide receiver Jaden Jones.
It looked like the score would be tied at 14-14 going into the half, but the Eagles converted on a 4th-and-8 pass play with less than 30 seconds to go in the half. Not only did they convert, but it went for a 41-yard touchdown down the right sideline.
Tension ran high in the third quarter as penalties began to mount up for Life Christian Academy, and two players were ejected from the game, including the Eagle starting quarterback who had thrown for 231 yards in a little over one half of play. They couldn’t afford to lose more players, as they had suited up less than 20 for the game.
Nooksack Valley was able to sustain a drive late in the third, and another connection from Brown to Jones, this time from 12 yards out, tied the game at 20-20 with 1:05 left in the third. Sophomore Tyler Martin’s extra point gave the Pioneers the 21-20 lead.
A dazzling 56-yard run by Blake brought Nooksack Valley to the 5-yard line, and sophomore running back Trey Heutink pounded the ball from there to give the Pioneers an 8-point lead. Brown then called his own number on the next drive from six yards away, and Nooksack Valley was looking right at a 2-0 record to start the season.
The Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but the Pioneers quickly answered back with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brown to senior wide receiver Jaxon Hester. Brown completed 20-of-28 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
The Nooksack Valley defense was led by Blake who had 7.5 tackles, Hester who had 6.5 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and senior linebacker Caleb Visser who totaled six tackles and two stops behind the line of scrimmage. Jones also broke up three passes in the secondary.
The Pioneers (2-0) will travel to King’s (1-1) on Friday to take on the Knights at 7:00.
Nooksack Valley 42 Life Christian Aca. 26 LCA 6 14 0 6 - 26 NV 0 14 7 21 - 42 LCA - 18 yard touchdown run (run failed) LCA - 19 yard touchdown pass (2pt good) NV - Blake 5 run (Martin kick) NV - Jones 27 pass from Brown (Martin kick) LCA - 41 yard touchdown pass (kick failed) NV - Jones 12 pass from Brown (Martin kick) NV - Heutink 5 run (Martin kick) NV - Brown 6 run (Martin kick) LCA - 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown (pass failed) NV - Hester 20 pass from Brown (Martin kick) LCA NV 19-94 Rush Att-Yards 22-133 23-33-0 Comp-Att-Int 20-28-0 237 Passing Yards 211 Individual Leaders RUSHING - ONA: N/A. NV: Blake 15-94, Heutink 4-24, Brown 3-15. PASSING - ONA: N/A. NV: Brown 20-28-0-211. RECEIVING - ONA: N/A. NV: Ackerman 6-82, Hester 6-49, Jones 3-42, Blake 2-16, Coppinger 2-16, Heutink 1-6.
