LYNDEN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS INFORMATION

September 26th, 2008              Advisor: Mr. Blake Van Dalen

Co-Editors: Adam Lewis and Ryan Seto

Upset Time?

 The Lynden Lions (2-1) (2-0) stroll into Friday night’s contest against the cross-county Ferndale Golden Eagles (3-0) (2-0) coming off of two consecutive conference victories while riding a wave of momentum towards a 2a playoff spot.  However, the Lions have been touted as an underdog by most media outlets after Ferndale has pounded any opponent in their way thus far.  Last week, they demolished a solid Blaine team on the road 55-7, and none of their games this year have even been close.  This will by far be the Lions’ toughest challenge of the 2008 season, but who says upsets can’t happen?  Just ask Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans.

Game Capsule: The match-up tonight pits two teams against each other with completely different offensive styles.  The Golden Eagles run the Winged-T offense to near perfection while the Lions wing the ball around the field in a spread offense attack modeled after national powerhouse Southlake Carroll.  Tonight’s game will be won or lost for whatever team that can make the most big plays.  The Lions and Golden Eagles both feature top-notch athletes on both sides of the ball as it should be exciting watching them go head to head.  Lynden’s Sr. (RB/DE) David Gaylord has 239 rushing yards on the season with three scores while Ferndale’s Spencer Hannah ranks just shortly behind him with 234 yards and three touchdowns. 

What’s At Stake: More than just city pride is on the line when the Golden Eagles and Lions hit the field tonight at Ferndale High School.  The winner of tonight’s match-up will control their own destiny in their pursuit of an overall Northwest Conference championship.  In addition, the Lions haven’t beaten the Golden Eagles since 2004.  That was coincidentally the last time Ferndale has lost a regular season game.  That night Lynden defensive ends Joel McDonald and Lance Wagter were able to put constant pressure on Junior Ferndale quarterback Jake Locker.  The Lion’s defensive line will have to play at a level similar to that to pull off an upset tonight.

What to Expect: This game will be extremely hard fought as the Lions will have extra motivation in an effort to not lose to Ferndale for the fourth consecutive year.  Tonight’s Bellingham Herald’s Game of the Week features some intriguing match-ups that can’t be matched in quality anywhere else in the conference.  Lynden’s punishing defensive unit has given up only 20 points the past two games, and they will try to be up to the challenge of stopping Ferndale’s multi-faceted rushing game.  Their featured runners stem from quarterback Casey Locker, Max Hannah, Spencer Hannah, Jordan Crim, to Jordan Finkbonner, and all could be starting runningbacks in the Northwest Conference.  The other key match-up to tonight’s game will be the Lions receiving core against a super-talented Ferndale defensive backfield.  Whoever can dominate this battle will most likely come away with a victory and bragging rights for the next 364 days.