|
Lions
Shock the State!!
Lynden Lions
(12-2) 35 Prosser
Mustangs (13-1) 34
Courtesy of
Bellingham Herald
Team of destiny. Cinderella story. State champs.
All three usually generic sports clichés describe the Lynden Lions
2008 football season. After starting the season a modest 2-2,
the Lions rolled off ten consecutive wins that concluded with
Saturday afternoon’s thrilling come from behind double overtime
victory against the previously undefeated Prosser Mustangs to win a
State Championship for the second time in the past three years.
Lynden trailed for nearly all of regulation before a miraculous 2
minutes and 22 seconds where the Lions rolled off 15 consecutive points
sent Lynden fans into a frenzy and the game into overtime. Lynden
finishes the season at 12-2 and with arguably the most satisfying
win in program history!
Game Recap: The Prosser Mustangs were rarely
challenged throughout the course of the 2008 football season. They
breezed through the regular season and bowled their way through the
state playoffs. The first quarter against the Lions netted the
similar results for the Mustangs as they controlled the line of
scrimmage and jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
On the opening drive of the game, Prosser marched the ball down the
field while mixing the run and pass. They capped off their
possession with a halfback dive up the middle by Prosser running
back Dylan Bolt to give the Mustangs the early lead.
Lynden’s defense looked vulnerable as Prosser quarterback Jordan
Durbin picked apart Lynden’s zone defense like he was playing a game
of NCAA Football 09.
On the ensuing kick-off, Lynden playmaker Blair Bomber
fumbled a ball that bounced awkwardly across the Tacoma Dome field
turf before breaking to the outside and streaking past Prosser’s
kick-off coverage. He crossed the fifty and made one more cut
across the field before he was finally caught inside the Prosser red
zone. However, the Lions muffed a golden opportunity to tie the
game right away as the offense went four and out. A measurement of
David Gaylord’s short yardage 4th down run came up
just inches short of the line to gain.
The Prosser Mustangs continued to move the ball steadily down the
field on offense as Lynden couldn’t produce an answer for Boise
State recruit and Prosser wide receiver Kirby Moore. Later
in the first quarter, Moore took a screen pass and broke an
array of Lynden tackles before taking it 51 yards and into the end
zone. At the end of the quarter, Prosser held a 14-0 lead and all
the momentum.
In the 2nd quarter, the Lynden defense began to settle
down and contain a pass-happy Prosser attack. Driving deep into
Mustang territory late in the half, Lynden QB Jordan Hastings
lofted a fade pass to six foot five inch WR Ryan Seto that
was intercepted in the left corner of the end zone. The Lions had
squandered another opportunity to cut into a 14-0 deficit as they
went into the half down two scores.
The Lynden spread offense clicked on the opening drive of the second
half. The Lions moved the ball easily down the field against an
undersized Prosser defense. After finding themselves in the Prosser
red zone again, the Lions finally broke through with a 12-yard slant
route from Hastings to Seto that cut the lead to
14-6. However, the ensuing PAT was missed wide to the left, and
Lynden found themselves down 8 points with their 2008 season running
short on time.
For the remainder of the 3rd quarter and late into the 4th
the Lynden and Prosser defense took over the game. Both teams
struggled to sustain a drive, and the Lions missed an opportunity to
tie the score when a long ball from Hastings glanced off the
fingertips of Bomber. Lynden fans let a collective groan as the
next pass was intercepted by Prosser safety Kirby Moore. The
Mustangs then capitalized on the interception as Durbin hit
Moore over the top of Bomber for a 38-yard touchdown
pass that seemed to seal the Lion’s fate with 2:22 seconds left in
regulation. The events that followed will forever go down in Lynden
High School history.
It is not clear whether Prosser K Miguel Munoz meant to pooch
the ball on the ensuing kickoff, or if he simply stubbed his foot on
the Tacoma Dome carpet. However, we do know the ball traveled only
ten yards and Lynden Sr. DT James Allen kept his composure
while making a fair catch near midfield. From there, it took the
Lion offense only four plays to score as Hastings hit Ryan
Seto across the middle and he barreled through Prosser defenders
and in for the score to cut the lead to 8 points. Following the
touchdown, Lynden recovered the onside kick when Sr. Jace
Baxter-Bowen leapt into the air and stole the ball away from the
Mustang hands team.
After a spectacular 41-yard catch by Sr. WR
Jordan Weeks over three Mustang defenders on the following
drive, Sr. workhouse David Gaylord rumbled into the end zone
from 4 yards out to cut the score to 21-19. Gaylord then
slipped past the Prosser defense on the 2-point conversion and
Hastings
found him alone in the end zone to tie
the game at 21-21 with 53 seconds remaining. The Lions then held
off a furious Prosser drive into Lynden territory when Jr. S
Brett Bajema intercepted a Durbin pass at the goal line
as time expired.
In the first OT, Prosser faced a 4th and 9 from the 24
yard line before Durbin hit little-used Prosser receiver Matt Young
in the corner of the end zone for the score. However, Lynden
immediately responded when Hastings hit Bomber an out
route to even the score at 28-28. The Lions took the ball again to
start the second OT, and the Prosser defense could not respond as
Gaylord scored his second rushing touchdown of the game. The
Mustangs then continued to utilize Moore as he caught his 14th
pass of the game from Durbin to score his 3rd
touchdown and cut Lynden’s lead to 35-34.
After calling a timeout, Prosser coach Tom Moore made a bold
decision to try to go for the 2 point conversion and the win. From
3 yards outside the goal line Durbin rolled out to his right
and found no one open. Lynden Sr. (LB) Taylor Creighton hit
Durbin as he released the ball, and Ryan Seto knocked
it down to seal the 4th football State Championship in
the history of Lynden High School.
Lynden Wins Half-Time Relay: A 14-0 halftime deficit didn’t
deter members of the Lynden student section from beating Prosser
fans in a relay that spanned the length of the field. With a fan
standing at every ten yards apart from goal line to goal line,
participants shoveled the ball ten yards at a time across the field
and back. After the victory, Lynden high school student and
lyndenfootball.com writer Adam Lewis had the opportunity to kick a
20 yard field goal. His kick grazed the lowest cross bar and
toppled through the uprights. Lewis left the field with his hands
raised in triumph. His kick brought back memories of a 16-13 Cougar
Apple Cup win in double OT that ended with a 37 yard field goal by
Nico Grasu.
|
