The 3A, 2A, and 1A State Play-In Rounds
Week 10 play-in games for a spot in the official state tournament featured participation from local teams numbering nine in total across Skagit and Whatcom counties. If the other 37 counties in the state had nine qualifiers for every two counties combined, the number would be more than 160 qualifiers — and there are only 88 slots in the three tournaments combined.
Ferndale secured its spot in the 3A State Round of 32 behind a staggering ground game. Senior running backs Elliot Lenssen and Wyatt Broyles combined for 436 rushing yards in a 48-13 victory over Oak Harbor. Lenssen racked up 275 yards and five touchdowns, while Broyles added 161 yards on 17 carries. Junior tight end/linebacker Chance Hatchett also found the end zone on a 1-yard plunge out of a special package led by offensive coordinator Jake Locker. The Golden Eagles (7-2) now host Liberty from Renton in a loser-out game.
Mount Baker Defeats Meridian to Secure Second Seed
In the 1A division, Mount Baker (7-2, 3-1) claimed a 35-20 win over Meridian (5-4, 2-2) to secure the second seed from the Northwest Conference 1A. Andrew Monteith led the Mountaineers with 87 yards and three touchdowns. Meridian quarterback Trey Alexander completed 11 of 18 passes for 116 yards and two scores before exiting at halftime, pushing his senior season total to 2,304 yards. Meanwhile, league champion Lynden Christian (7-2, 4-0) fended off a fierce challenge from Blaine in a 42-28 battle.
The Borderites pushed the Lyncs to a 28-28 tie heading into the fourth quarter before Lynden Christian pulled away. Blaine sophomore Saihou Kanagie opened the contest with a 95-yard kickoff return, marking the first time a Blaine player opened a game with a touchdown since Brad Scheib in 1997. Blaine coach Andy Olson managed the team remotely during the game due to the birth of his daughter, Brodie May. Lynden Christian capitalized with three rushing scores from Jackson Kuik, who stepped in for injured rushing star Chris Kooiman to rush for 122 yards on 16 carries.
Squalicum Defeats Bellingham in Dominant Victory
Squalicum (4-5, 4-4) seized the new fifth qualifying spot with a dominant 56-7 win over Bellingham (3-6, 2-6), jumping out to a 35-point first-quarter lead ignited by Maddox Strickland’s 97-yard opening kickoff return. Providing a 77-yard pick-six—marking the 24th since Nick Lucey took over as coach in 2014, which stands as the highest total for any county team in that span—was Ray Hoffmann. Bellingham’s Ben Leonard completed 23 of 39 passes for 223 yards, tying Nick Knutson’s school record with his 46th career touchdown pass.
Burlington-Edison (6-3, 6-2) rolled past Sehome (3-6, 3-5) with a 43-13 victory, fueled by Ben Daniels’ 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns alongside Bennet Watson’s 100-yard interception return to close out the game. In other 2A action, league champion Lynden fell 35-14 to Archbishop Murphy (5-4, 4-4), while Sedro-Woolley thrashed Edmonds-Woodway 50-14 as senior Kolyn Rochester fired four touchdown passes and ran for two more. Anacortes earned a bye after finishing second in the seeding process.
Non-League Results and Regional Eliminators
Outside of league play, Nooksack Valley (6-3, 1-3) picked up a 21-7 road win against Marysville-Pilchuck, and Mount Vernon (1-8) secured its first win with a 14-7 home victory over Highline. In the 1B ranks, Lummi Nation (4-4) saw its state tournament run end with a 38-36 loss to Northwest Christian in Tenino. In 134 starts, local teams scored 40 or more 44 times.
