Lions Scoreboard

LYNDEN, COLEMAN CATCH A TITLE BIRTH

Unranked Lynden escapes overtime; Bellevue's next

See the new 2001 Photo Album

Stats at a Glance

2001 Statistical Leaders

Top-ranked Lakes trampled in playoffs by feet of Lions

The Lynden Tribune

Lynden will play a team it already defeated Sept. 15.
      Nobody ever listens to a kicker's predictions. They will now at Lynden High School. On his 18th birthday, Lynden kicker Elijah Tadema nailed a game-winning 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to give the Lions a 24-21 win over top-ranked Lakes in the first round of the 3A state football playoffs at Lakewood Stadium outside of Tacoma Friday night.
Lynden will now play Rainier Beach in the second round at Seattle Memorial Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m. Rainier Beach defeated Black Hills 41-27 Saturday night. Lynden beat Rainier Beach in Seattle 21-14 the second week of the season.
Lynden (8-2) came from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to upset the Lancers (9-1). The Lions started their final scoring drive with 2:08 to play on their own 43-yard line. T.J. Busch, who rushed for 200 yards on the night, earned two early first downs in the drive, and quarterback Eric Powell hit Kaleb Coleman to bring Lynden to the 24-yard line with 20 seconds left.
Busch ran for another first down to the 21, then pushed it ahead to the 17 with six seconds left. After two timeouts, Tadema came on to seal the win with a kick from the right hash mark.
"I was a little bit jittery, so the timeouts gave me a second to put things in perspective," Tadema said. "I was more excited than nervous. I kept my head down and kicked like I was in practice."
Lynden coach Curt Kramme said the week's practice proved effective. "I was yelling at them in practice that it might come down to one kick," Kramme said. But Kramme was just as nervous as everyone else. "I have seen NFL guys miss shorter kicks than that."
Tadema had missed a 27-yard attempt wide right on the first possession of the game. Lakes then scored first when Anthony Russo returned a punt for an 85-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Lynden tied the game on the next possession when Busch broke a 25-yard sweep to the right for the score. Lakes added a second touchdown behind Akeem Anthony's seven-yard touchdown scamper. Anthony had 147 yards on the night. The extra point was blocked by Darrell Visser to keep the score 13-6 Lakes at halftime.
The Lancers took a 21-7 lead on the first series in the second half when Russo added his second touchdown of the game on a seven-yard sweep.
Three possessions later, after Darrell Visser made a stop on fourth down, Busch nearly single-handedly took the Lions 70 yards and earned a nine-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 21-14.
Brandon Stauffer had a sack to start the Lancers' next possession and Lakes was forced to punt, giving Lynden the ball on its own 48. Powell then hooked up with Visser deep over the middle. Visser outreached two defenders to bring in the catch and add on the run for the 48-yard touchdown reception. Tadema added the extra point to tie the game at 21-21.
"All game it seemed like I was open on the deeper routes," Visser said. "Eric got me the ball and I got in."
Visser then knocked the ball away on a Lakes' long third-down halfback option. After Lynden and Lakes traded punts, the Lions took the ball for the final drive.
"Football is a real test of personal will and our players got the job done," Kramme said. "We are battle-tested and it paid off in the clutch."
Lakes hadn't really been tested all season, and when the Lions offense started scoring the Lynden defense was able to pressure the Lancers' offense.
Lynden put seven defenders in the box and had only four defenders deep most of the game against Foster quarterback Felix Sweetman. "He (Felix) seemed to be tentative in his reads and he didn't look too sure of himself," Kramme said.
Lynden had trouble stopping Anthony all night, but started to contain him midway through the third quarter. "Our defense had to tough it out," Visser said. "We knew they were quick, but we always knew we had the skill and determination to win this."
"I told everyone all day that it would come down to a field goal," Tadema said. "I was mentally ready for it." Tadema predicted a 3-0 win earlier in the day, and the birthday boy (18) was right about it being a three-point win.

The Lynden Tribune 11-21-01

Lynden's defense steps up with seven quarterback sacks.
      Rainier Beach went through four different quarterbacks in search of the right mix Friday night at Seattle Memorial Stadium.
      But Lynden's defense was too staunch for the Vikings in the Lions' 21-6 3A state quarterfinals victory.
      Lynden (9-2) used seven sacks and 12 tackles for negative yards on defense and a pounding rushing attack to hand Rainier Beach (9-2) its second loss of the season. Both losses were to Lynden.
      After T.J. Busch fumbled on Lynden's first play from scrimmage, he took the next possession inside Vikings territory with a 29-yard burst. From there, quarterback Eric Powell broke free on a keeper for 32 yards for the first score of the game late in the first quarter.
      Rainier Beach acted quickly on its next possession, as starting quarterback Jamal Guy went to work, pinpointing Vikings star Nate Robinson for big gains up the field.
      Eventually Guy found Robinson for a diving eight-yard touchdown catch. The point-after attempt was missed.
      After Brian Dykstra sacked Guy, Lynden took over late in the first half. Busch broke free for a 52-yard run off the right side to give the Lions a 14-6 lead before halftime.
      "We came out intense and wanted to make their quarterback scramble," Dykstra said.
      On the Vikings' last possession of the half, Guy left the game with an ankle injury after another Lynden sack.
      Lynden drove the field 62 yards to start the second half. Jordan Stenersen bounced off the pile and then walked in from two yards out to give Lynden a 21-6 lead that would hold up for the rest of the game.
      Lynden attempted throwing only twice the entire game, a new strategy for the Lions. "We felt we could run the ball, and we wanted the clock to run," said Lynden coach Curt Kramme.
      The clock management helped rest the Lions' defense. "Our offense was able to spend a lot of time on the field and that really helped us a lot," Dykstra said.
      Rainier Beach tried Robinson at quarterback after Guy went out, but Lynden was able to key on him as the lone weapon.
      Randy Gibson then came on for a short stint before Robinson was moved back to quarterback. The Vikings didn't have any success moving the ball in the second half until the final possession when Robbie Delgardo took over the quarterbacking duties for Rainier Beach. His drive was ended by a Sean Griffith interception.
      "Rainier Beach just shut down," Busch said. "We wanted it more. We put a lot more sweat in the bucket."
      The Lynden defense was able to rattle the Rainier Beach offense, especially after the injury to Guy. Kramme praised his defensive linemen for their ability to foil Rainier Beach in the backfield.
      Lynden also beat the Vikings 21-14 in the second week of the season in Seattle.
      Although not much had changed in the two months, Rainier Beach was not ready for the running attack of Lynden. "Teams get honed in on our toss (to Busch) and wham (to Stenersen), and that opens up the option," Kramme said.
      Busch rushed for 146 yards and Powell added 65 for Lynden.
      Lynden travels to play West Valley of Yakima in Kennewick at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the state semifinals.

LIONS ROAR INTO SEMIS

The Bellingham Herald 11-17-2001

SEATTLE -- The Rainier Beach football team ran 20 more plays and gained 62 more yards than Lynden Friday. In fact, the game was completely dominated ... by the Lions.

Despite losing the statistics game, Lynden won the numbers game. T.J. Busch ran for 146 yards and the defense had seven sacks as the Lions defeated the Vikings 21-6 in a Class 3A state quarterfinal game at Memorial Stadium.

Lynden advanced to play West Valley (Yakima), which defeated Prosser 35-14 Friday night, next week in the state semifinals.

"It was a classic case of bend but don't break," said Lynden coach Curt Kramme, whose team last week knocked off No. 1 Lakes on the road. "They might have gotten more yards than we did, but the bottom line is we scored more points."

The win was the second of the season by Lynden over Rainier Beach, and those losses were the only ones suffered this season by the Metro League champions.

However, the game started off slowly for the Lions as Busch, a 175-pound junior, fumbled the ball away on Lynden's first play.

"That was hard. I just wanted to come back and make up for it," he said.

That he did, picking up 103 of his yards in the first half as the Lions led 14-6 at halftime. The key play of the half, though, came on defense, as Lynden's Matt Vander Sys stopped Beach quarterback Jamal Guy on a fourth-and-3 from the Lion 23. Lynden took advantage, scoring on its next possession when quarterback Eric Powell froze the Viking defense with a fake handoff and took off up the middle for a 32-yard score after a Beach penalty on fourth down gave the Lions a first down.

Rainier Beach responded on the next drive as Nate Robinson made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown. Robinson, a senior, finished with 122 yards rushing and caught six passes for 91 yards, while also playing quarterback on several series.

"Nate Robinson is an incredible player," Kramme said. "I'm really proud of our players for containing him as much as they did."

Busch gave his team a cushion late in the second quarter, breaking outside and running 52 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.

"We just wanted it more," Busch said. "They kind of shut down when they got down. That's been the key for us, we've come together as a team more than any other team."

The Lion defense took it from that point, adding a fumble recovery by Brian Dykstra and an interception by Sean Griffith to its seven sacks, including two each by Curt Lange and Dave Wall.

"Those just happened, we just waited and they ran right at us," Wall said. "We're a hard-hitting team, that's one of the things we do really well. We knew if we could just hold them, their heads would go down."

The Lynden defense knocked Guy out of the game and Beach scrambled for someone to take its snaps in the second half, using three different quarterbacks to no avail. Lynden scored its final touchdown on the first drive of the second half on a 2-yard run by Jordan Stenersen.

Powell finished with 67 yards as Lynden gained 226 yards on the ground and threw just two passes all game. The Lions did not commit a penalty.

"We just came out and did everything that we wanted to do. I'm really proud of the way our kids executed," Kramme said. "The bottom line is, we're still playing. It's a great night for Lynden football."

LYNDEN BOOTS LAKES

The Bellingham Herald 11-10-2001

LAKEWOOD -- Nostradamus has nothing on Elijah Tadema.

When questioned prior to his team's first-round Class 3A state playoff game, Tadema, Lynden's senior kicker, predicted the game would be decided by a field goal and the Lions would win.

Bingo.

Tadema booted a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left as unranked Lynden shocked No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Lakes 24-21 Friday at Lakewood Stadium.

The Lions (8-2) advanced to meet the winner of today's Black Hills at Rainier Beach game next weekend. Lakes' season ended at 9-1.

"Before the game people asked me what I thought the score would be and I said 3-0 Lynden," said Tadema, who celebrated his 18th birthday Friday. "I thought it would come down to a field goal."

The kick put an exclamation point on a stunning comeback by the Lions, who seemed to surprise Lakes with their speed and tenacity. The Lancers led 21-7 with 8:39 left in the third quarter and got an interception followed by a 29-yard pass play. However, the Lynden defense held that time and again on the next Lakes drive, stopping a fourth-and-4 play. The Lions offense then picked up on the momentum.

First junior running back T.J. Busch, who finished with 200 yards on 32 carries, led a 10-play drive with 50 yards on five carries, including a 9-yard run around right end to cut the lead to 21-14 early in the fourth. The Lion defense forced a three-and-out against a Lakes offense that had scored 70 points three times this year, and again the Lynden offense struck, this time quickly. On the second play of the drive, senior quarterback Eric Powell passed deep and found 6-foot-5 senior Darrell Visser, who outjumped two defenders and went 48-yards for a touchdown which tied it at 21 with 7:51 to play.

"All game I said that I was open on deeper routes," said Visser, who also blocked two kicks and came up big on defense. "I was just able to go up and get it, it was a good pass."

The Lynden defense stopped Lakes on two more possessions, setting up the final drive, which Lynden started with 2:08 to play on its own 43. Busch continued to have success running and an 8-yard pass from Powell to Kaleb Coleman followed by two more Busch runs gave Lynden the field position it wanted, just inside the 16 on the right hash marker. Following a Lakes timeout, Tadema, who is in his first year as the full-time kicker, stepped up and sailed the kick through for the go-ahead points.

"I was more excited than nervous," said Tadema, who earlier missed a 27-yard field goal. "I think the timeout helped me because I was a little jittery before that. It helped calm me down."

Lynden coach Curt Kramme said he got on his team earlier this week in practice to take field goal kicking seriously.

"They got yelled at pretty good this week," he said. "I'm constantly telling them in practice that this can be for a win so they have to take it seriously."

He added that he felt good about where his team stood on the final drive.

"I was thinking that we were going overtime," he said. "But we were really running the ball well, so I thought maybe we could get in position to score. You never know on field goals, I've seen NFL guys miss shorter ones. In those situations, it's really the whole group, the kicker, the holder, everyone, who makes it happen."

Lakes still had a shot as Lynden was called for a face mask on the ensuing kickoff. The game can't end on a penalty, so the Lancers took one last shot at the end zone, but quarterback Felix Sweetman's pass was incomplete.

The Lion defense held Sweetman, the Seamount League's leading passer with 1,994 yards and 27 TDs, to just 7-for-19 with 112 yards. Much of Lakes' offense came from 5-6 running back Akeem Anthony, who ran 21 times for 143 yards but touched the ball only once in his team's final three series.

"I think they might have looked past us," Visser said. "We were pretty confident, we knew we could stay with them."

Lynden finished with 264 rushing yards on 50 carries. Busch added a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter that made it 7-7 following an 85-yard kickoff return by Lakes' Anthony Russo.

Kramme said Lynden's schedule, which included games against three teams in the state playoffs, helped it prepare for a close game.

"Our kids were battle-tested, they knew what to expect," he said. "Sometimes winning games by 70 points doesn't help you. The kids just refused to quit. We've been down before in situations like today, and the kids have responded, and they did that today again."

By The Associated Press

KENNEWICK — Kaleb Coleman caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Eric Powell in overtime, giving Lynden a 30-24 victory over West Valley of Yakima yesterday in a Class 3A semifinal football game at Lampson Stadium.

Unranked Lynden (10-2) earned a berth in Friday's championship game against third-ranked Bellevue (12-0) at 7:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.

The Lions fell out of the state rankings after losing their final two games of the regular season to Ferndale and Sehome, but Lynden bounced back to knock off top-ranked Lakes, No. 6 Rainier Beach and No. 8 West Valley in the playoffs.

The Lions held the Rams (10-3) on downs during West Valley's possession in overtime. Then Powell found Coleman for a diving grab in the end zone on Lynden's second play in the extra period.

The pair also hooked up for a 77-yard touchdown in the second quarter as Lynden took a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Jordan Stenersen had a 9-yard scoring run and Elijah Tadema added a 29-yard field goal for Lynden.

T.J. Busch, who ran for 77 yards on 24 carries, scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter to give Lynden a 24-7 lead.

West Valley then scored 17 straight points to tie the score. Ryan Hughes scored on a 7-yard run and added a 29-yard field goal, and Josh Williamson caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Andrew Straight with under 2 minutes remaining in regulation.

Powell was 4 of 9 for 110 yards, and Coleman had four receptions for 110 yards for Lynden.

Straight was 13 for 23 for 151 yards, Rob Davis ran for 112 yards and Williamson had six receptions for 57 yards for West Valley.

Lynden finished second behind Ferndale in the Northwest 3A League after losing 7-0 to the Golden Eagles in Week 7. Bellevue beat Ferndale 12-0 in the state quarterfinals.

Lynden runs on Beach: Big plays send Lions to semis

The Seattle Times 11-17-2001

The Lynden Lions had no answer for Rainier Beach's shifty Nate Robinson, no matter where Robinson played on the field.

The Vikings, however, had no answer for Lynden's well-executed ground game, and in the end, the Lions scored their second straight upset win in the Class 3A state football playoffs, eliminating No. 6 Beach 21-6 last night at Seattle's Memorial Stadium.

The Lions (9-2) rushed for 220 yards, led by senior T.J. Busch's 146 yards on 19 carries, despite the Vikings' 62-37 edge in offensive plays. But the Lions made the most important plays, beginning with quarterback Eric Powell's 32-yard burst off a fake handoff for a touchdown late in the first quarter, and never trailed.

Robinson, used all over the field by Beach Coach Mark Haley, turned in an eye-popping performance. The senior speedster ran for 108 yards on 20 carries, caught seven passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, completed 1 of 8 passes for 13 yards and returned a number of kicks and punts.

He was also the Vikings' last line of defense in trying to tackle Busch and Powell when either ran through huge holes for big gains.

"They came at us with a good game plan," said Haley, whose Vikings lost to Lynden 21-14 during the regular season, also in Seattle. "We just had some breakdowns. They were going to stop Nate. They were going with his first motion. He was getting tired, but he wanted the ball in his hands."

Pressed into duty at quarterback — one of three players Haley tried at that position after starter Jamal Guy left with an ankle injury just before halftime — Robinson fell victim to the Lions' pass rush and his own fatigue. Relieved from that duty on the final drive of the game for Rainier Beach, he caught five Robbie Delgardo passes, but Lynden's Sean Griffith picked off a Delgardo pass with just over a minute to play to ice the Lions' trip to the state semifinals.

Lynden, which toppled top-ranked Lakes in the first round, will face West Valley of Yakima in a semifinal game next Saturday at an Eastern Washington site. The 3A state title game is at the Tacoma Dome on Nov. 30.

After Robinson caught a nine-yard toss from Guy to cap a nine-play, 66-yard drive in the second quarter, Beach (9-2) looked like it could move the ball on the Lions. But two possessions later, the Lions, facing a third-and-13 at their own 48-yard line, gave the ball to Busch, who got to the outside and beat the Vikings to the end zone for a 52-yard run.

"He's just a high-school weapon," Lynden Coach Curt Kramme said of Busch. "I kind of expected this. I knew we were good. We've had a tough schedule and it's helped us."

Fullback Jordan Stenersen added the Lions' final score on a 2-yard plunge in the third quarter.

The Lions gather in a huddle before a Lynden Home Game.

T.J. Busch evades a Squalicum defender in a 20 to 16 win.

The Lynden defensive line gets a pep talk before a Friday night game.

Numbers Look Good for Lynden

Rainer Beach enters the state quarter-finals with an outstanding record of 9-1. The one loss? Lynden beat Rainer Beach 21 to 14 in an exhibition game at Memorial Stadium.

This week, Lynden will face off against Rainer Beach again at Memorial Stadium in Seattle for the right to advance to the semifinals.