CHEHALIS — The four-hour drive didn’t matter. Neither did facing a state-participant opponent, its packed student section or its giant inflatable football helmet.
Not even a slow start offensively could stop Lynden as the Lions came into Chehalis and hammered the W.F. West Bearcats 33-7 for a non-league road victory Friday, Sept. 9.
It was the first time Lynden has played in Chehalis, and the Lions made the most of it, overcoming a sluggish start and one lone Bearcat touchdown just before the half.
The Lions were actually one game away from facing W.F. West in the state playoffs last season, and wanted to see how they would shape up with other state-caliber 2A teams.
“They called us and said they wanted to play, and we respect that,” Lynden coach Blake VanDalen said. “We wanted to play someone we normally don’t get to see. They’ve got some dudes, and we’re proud of our kids rising to the occasion.”
The first half was an intense run-game battle as Lynden broke the scoreless stalemate on its second drive of the game when quarterback Kaedan Hermanutz stretched the ball across the goal line with a defender wrapping him up to put Lynden ahead 7-0 with 5:03 left in the first quarter.
Lynden struck again on its next drive as running back Lane Heeringa blasted into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
But W.F. West wasn’t just going away, as all-league senior quarterback Gavin Fugate took a QB sneak 5 yards up the middle to make it 13-7 with 40 seconds left before the half.
Lynden responded by marching downfield, setting up senior kicker Troy Petz’ 40-yard field goal that gave Lynden a 16-7 advantage at the break.
Up by just two scores, VanDalen wanted to challenge his team to own the second half.
“We talked about mental focus,” VanDalen said. “We were making mistakes, and no team is good enough to succeed at a high level when you’re making mistakes. We just had to clean it up. In the second half, we were much more efficient.”
As the Lions’ defense locked down and held steady, the offense kept pounding until backup sophomore quarterback Brant Heppner found paydirt on a 3-yard designed run up the middle to put Lynden up 24-7 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
A botched W.F. West snap from shotgun on the Bearcats’ next possession flew into the end zone, where Heeringa fell on it for another score, making it 31-7 with 4:32 left in the third.
Another botched W.F. West snap, this time on a punt, went into the back of the end zone for a safety, ending the scoring at 33-7.
Heeringa finished with 16 carries for 67 yards and two scores, while Campbell Nolte added nine carries for 59 yards and Hermanutz tallied 40 yards on 11 carries.
Lynden improves to 2-0 on the season after defeating Class 3A Ferndale in its season opener last week. VanDalen said he likes what he’s seen from his squad so far.
“We had two tough non-league games, so to be 2-0 is cool, but we’re really 0-0, because next week is the first game that counts,” said VanDalen, referencing Lynden’s league opener versus Squalicum next week.
Squalicum is coming off a state semifinals appearance and lost to Lynden in a tight, 15-12 slugfest last season. VanDalen knows it will likely be a knockdown battle again.
“Coach [Nick] Lucey does a great job and we’re good friends,” VanDalen said. “They know us and we know them. It’s time to get back into the league conference and get ‘er done.”
Lynden and Squalicum face off at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Civic Stadium.
Box score
LIONS 33, BEARCATS 7
Lynden 7 9 15 2 — 33
W.F. West 0 7 0 0 — 7
Scoring Summary
LYN — Kaedan Hermanutz 7-yard run
LYN — Lane Heeringa 5-yard run
WFW — Gavin Fugate 5-yard run
LYN — Troy Petz 40-yard field goal
LYN — Brant Heppner 3-yard run
LYN — Heeringa fumble recovery
LYN — Safety
Team Stats LYN WFW
First Downs 15 8
Rushing Yards 208 33
Passing Yards 62 125
Total Yards 270 158
Comp-Att-Int 6-16-0 8-18-3
Individual Stats
Rushing: LYN — Heeringa 16/67/TD, Campbell Nolte 9/59, Hermanutz 11/40; WFW — Tucker Land 6/24, Fugate 13/18/TD
Passing: LYN — Hermanutz 3-10/23, Heppner 2-5/40; WFW — Fugate 8-18/125
Receiving: LYN — Isaiah Stanley 2/29; WFW — Evan Stajduhar 3/85
