Varsity Football - Snohomish @ OH

In what must have been the fastest game played Friday night, the Snohomish Panthers brought their ground game into Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

Oak Harbor got the opening kickoff, but after a net loss of 2 yards in 3 plays, punted on 4th down. Lewis was punting and was one of the high points of the game. His first punt, from the OH 21 was downed on the Snohomish 39 with 10:28 in the first.

Snohomish's first play from scrimmage was a run all the way to the OH 15, with Rashaad Smith providing the TD-saving tackle. Two plays later, however, the Snohomish QB took it in for 6 points. The kick was good with 9:18 left in the first quarter.

Oak Harbor then took the kickoff at the OH 24, but was unable to move the ball into Snohomish territory before punting down to the Snohomish 22.

For the rest of the 1st quarter, the two teams traded punts and there was no further scoring.

Opening the 2nd, Snohomish had the ball, 3rd & 2 at the OH 36 and used 5 plays to get down to the OH 16. There, Snohomish completed one of only two passes, but it was to a wide open receiver in the OH end zone, and the Panthers were now up 14-0 with over 9 minutes to play until halftime.

The 'Cats got the kickoff with decent field position, at their own 34 and was able to chip away at the Snohomish defense with runs by Hunt, Lewis, Farnum, Clarit and Jordan. With a 4th & 4 at the Snohomish 37, the Wildcats were unable to convert and turned the ball over to Snohomish.

Snohomish was only able to run 3 plays before facing a 4th & 1 at their own 47. The Panthers lined up as if they were going for it, but were unable to draw the Wildcats offside, and called timeout. Coming out of the TO, the Panthers punted to the OH 28. Again, the OH offense showed some spark, and had a first down on the Snohomish 39 with only 19 seconds left in the half. 2 passes fell incomplete, and on 3rd & 10 with only 10 seconds, Jordan was forced to scramble, getting to the 31. Snohomish thought it was halftime and started running off to the locker room, but Jordan used some quick thinking and was able to get a timeout signaled to the officials before time expired. That left OH with a 4th & 4 on the Snohomish 31 with 1 second on the clock. On that final play, Jordan had some time to throw, but went OOB out the end of the end zone to send the teams to the locker room with the 14-0 Snohomish lead.

Coming out of the half, the two teams combined for 5 3-and outs, using most of the 3rd quarter. The only series that did not result in a punt was the Wildcats' first possession. The 'Cats had earned a 1st down on a facemask call, but two plays later fumbled the snap and Snohomish recovered.

With 2:42 to go in the 3rd, Oak Harbor got the ball on their own 48 after a very favorable bounce on the Snohomish punt. Runs by Lewis and Hunt got the ball down to the Snohomish 13. On the 1st down play, Jordan was forced to scramble and fumbled the ball, but he was ruled down at the 16 before the ball was knocked away. On the final play of the 3rd quarter, Derrick Clarit ran the ball down to the 7. Starting the 4th, Jordan scrambled a bit down to the 5, and on the next play ran it into the end zone. I would love to put that TD play up on YouTube, but unfortunately, there was a stadium roof post in the way, and Jordan just happened to run straight away from the camera. Kevin Flavin's kick was good, cutting the Snohomish lead to 7 with 11:07 left in the game.

The Panthers got ball on their own 33, and what looked like a repeat of their first quarter offense, moved down to the Oak Harbor 11 with just over 3 minutes left in the game. It looked like it was over for the Wildcats, but a Snohomish fumble was recovered by Rashaad Smith on the OH 15 with 3:21 remaining. Out at the OH 27, facing a 4th & 8 with the Wildcats in a shotgun formation, the snap was sent well over Jordan's head. He was able to cover it on the 9, but with just one minute left, Snohomish took a couple of knees to end the game, going home with a 14-7 victory.

In other Whidbey Island games, Coupeville lost to Archbishop Murphy 34-0 and South Whidbey beat Sultan 17-7.

In other WESCO North games, Marysville, celebrating 100 years of Tomahawk football, beat Arlington 37-15. In what many would consider a surprise win, Stanwood came out of the winless ranks by beating Monroe 35-14.

In non-league games featuring WESCO north teams, previously undefeated Lake Stevens lost to Jackson, 50-49 in OT. Jackson went for 2 after their TD and was able to convert for the win.

Next for the Wildcats is a road trip to Stanwood next Friday.

44 images from Friday night, most from pregame activity, have been posted HERE.

Look for some YouTube highlight clips on Tuesday.