BLAINE — Lynden avenged its loss to Ferndale last season by delivering a 24-7, season-opening victory over the Golden Eagles in a non-league battle at Blaine High School on Friday.
The Lions’ lone blemish during their Class 2A state championship run was a loss to Class 3A rival Ferndale. With unfinished business to attend to Friday, Lynden came out hungry.
Lynden head coach Blake VanDalen attributed the victory to the impressive performance of the team’s defense and the preparation his assistant coaches ingrained in the athletes.
“They did a great job of preparing the kids, and we were defensively way ahead of where I thought we would be,” VanDalen said.
It was tough sledding through the first quarter as both offenses struggled to move the ball effectively, with no touchdowns from either offense in the first half.
The Lions got on the board first thanks to their showstopping special teams. Senior punter Troy Petz received a high snap on the Lions’ 35-yard line and decided to take it himself, weaving through Golden Eagle defenders and streaking down the far sideline for a 64-yard touchdown run.
Petz said he appreciates the trust his coaches have in him, allowing him to run with the ball when he needs to. VanDalen compared him to Steph Curry, saying that Petz always has the green light.
Meanwhile, Ferndale could not fall into a rhythm offensively, struggling on the ground and in the air against the stout Lynden defense. VanDalen said they had to prepare for every running back that Ferndale threw at them.
“They’re not a one-trick pony, you’ve got to respect their athletes all over the place,” VanDalen said.
A Petz field goal shortly before halftime gave the Lions a 10-0 lead going into the break. Lynden’s offense came out of the half punishing the Ferndale defense with its stout ground game.
Senior running back Lane Heeringa gashed the defense for a 77-yard run that brought the Lions to Ferndale’s 8-yard line. From there, senior quarterback Kaedan Hermanutz punched in a 2-yard quarterback sneak to increase Lynden’s lead to 17-0.
Ferndale was finally able to start moving the ball on the ground in the fourth, spearheaded by senior running back Jason Nowak, who was praised by head coach Jamie Plenkovich.
“JJ did a really good job,” Plenkovich said. “Nothing’s easy. It’s tough sledding against [Lynden]. He played well.”
Nowak ran angry through the Lions’ defense, setting up a scoring opportunity for the Golden Eagles before disaster struck. Ferndale’s junior starting quarterback Bishop Ootsey went down with an injury, which left the quarterbacking duties to junior backup Connor Walcker.
Walcker made the most of his opportunity and threw a 25-yard touchdown strike to senior tight end Jordan Mason later in the fourth quarter.
The Lions quickly responded and closed out their victory with an over-the-shoulder reception by senior receiver Isaiah Stanley for a touchdown, increasing Lynden’s lead to 24-7.
Stanley said he felt amped up to face his rivals and wanted to play the game one snap at a time.
Despite the Golden Eagles dropping the rivalry game, Plenkovich said they still have plenty of room to improve.
“We got to continue to build off our strengths and find some complementary things we’re good at on the offensive side,” he said. “We’ll grow from this.”
Ferndale next hosts Oak Harbor in another non-league matchup at 6 p.m. on Sept. 10. Lynden hits the road to Chehalis for a non-league match with W.F. West at 7 p.m. on Sept. 9.
