The Wildcats lit up the scoreboard last Friday night, throwing up 39 points, 29 of them in the 2nd half, but in the end Stanwood was able to score more, and held off a last-second drive by Oak Harbor to win the game 47-39.
Stanwood got the ball first and on the very first play from scrimmage, Judd Ford snagged the runner for a 2-yard loss. Stanwood went on to lose another 3 yards and punted after 3 plays.
Oak Harbor’s first play was a pass to Josh Sayre, good for 7 yards, the second play was an incomplete pass, and the 3rd and 3 play was a short toss to Mike Washington, Jr., who found room and went up the middle and 71 yards later was in the end zone. Ryan Fakkema added the kick and less than 3 minutes into the game it was OH 7, Stanwood 0.
Stanwood was again held to a 3-and-out, but Oak Harbor’s next possession ended on the 2nd play with an interception at the 40 and return to the OH 14. It took 5 plays, but Stanwood found the end zone with 5:01 left in the first to tie the game at 7.
The two teams then traded punts, but Stanwood’s punt was returned to the Stanwood 47, and a leaping Josh Higbee reception brought the ball down to the 9 yard line. Washington caught a pass down to the 4 yard line where the first quarter ended.
Starting the 2nd quarter with 2nd and goal at the 4, the Wildcats were not able to punch it in and called in Fakkema to put 3 more on the board. His kick was good with 10:33 remaining in the half, giving the lead back to Oak Harbor 10-7.
The first Spartan possession of the 2nd quarter ended in a touchdown when a pass play from the OH 27 was tipped and caught by a Stanwood receiver who made it into the end zone, giving the lead back to Stanwood with 8:51 remaining, 14-10.
The Wildcats punted on their next three possessions while Stanwood scored on their next two, running the ball right at the Wildcat defensive line. When the clock ran out on the first half the score stood at Stanwood 28, Oak Harbor 10.
Whatever Coach Turner said to the guys in the locker room at halftime seemed to work, as the ‘Cats took the 2nd half kickoff and marched 65 yards in 10 plays, with Donovan Hunt scoring on a 7-yard pass reception.
The Wildcats held Stanwood on their next series, with Nick Rouser and Jon Witalis teaming up for a 5-yard sack on a Spartan 3rd down play, forcing the punt.
This time it only took 6 plays for the Wildcats to score, driving 77 yards. Donovan Hunt scored on a 2-yard run with 4:53 left and Josh Higbee caught a 2-point conversion pass, leaving OH down by only 3 points, 28-25.
Both teams punted their next possessions, and the 3rd quarter ended with Stanwood holding on to a 28-25 lead and a first down at their own 45 yard line.
The first play of the final quarter was an incomplete pass, and the next, a run, saw Nick Rouser getting his hand on the ball carrier’s arm and strip the ball away, recovered by Oak Harbor. The refs added insult to injury by tacking on a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Stanwood, giving the Wildcats the ball at the Spartan 29. Oak Harbor scored on a 30 yard Hunt reception on 4th and 11. Donovan had to stretch to get the ball across the goal line before being tackled, but the refs said he made it. Oak Harbor was now back in the lead, 32-28, with 10:04 left in the game.
Oak Harbor’s celebration didn’t last long, as Stanwood needed only 2 plays to cover 68 yards, using only 30 seconds.
Stung, but not giving up, OH drove the ball down to the Stanwood 21. On 3rd and 10 from the 21, quarterback Luke Felkner was forced to scramble and went out of bounds at the 19, but was hit hard by a Stanwood defender. Flags flew and it was first and goal for the ‘Cats at the Stanwood 8 yard line. Two runs by Hunt moved the ball to the 1 yard line, where Washington caught a pass for his second score of the game. Oak Harbor led again, 39-35 with 6:11 remaining.
Stanwood went back to their successful ‘run it up the middle’ strategy, and it worked as the Spartans re-took the lead, 41-39 with 2:50 left.
After the Stanwood kickoff, Oak Harbor had the ball at their own 36 yard line. A bad snap ended with Felkner getting sacked at the 17, and on the next play Stanwood put extra pressure on Felkner, sending him back near the goal line. He tried to throw the ball away, but the toss was caught by a Stanwood player at the 5 for an easy touchdown. The kick failed, leaving Oak Harbor down by 8 points, 47-39 and 2:05 remaining in the game.
Starting at their own 48, Felkner completed a pass to Hunt at the 29, but on the next play Felkner tripped after getting the snap, then was intercepted at the 6 yard line and only 1:04 left.
Although some in the crowd started to leave, the game was not over, as Oak Harbor still had all 3 timeouts. They used them on defense, and the boys forced the Spartans to punt with 36 seconds left
After the punt, the ball was placed at the Stanwood 42 and 28 seconds were on the clock. The first play was a pass to Hunt, complete to the Stanwood 10 yard line. The clock was stopped with 17 seconds left to reset the chains, but Felkner was sacked and could not get the ball snapped and grounded before time expired.
It was a close one, but Stanwood held on to win 47-39.
Next for the varsity team is a trip to 2-4 Arlington on October 16th. The Eagles score an average of over 37 points per game but give up over 31 points per game. Arlington has won only 1 league game so far, a 60-9 blowout of Monroe last Friday night.
61 photos from pregame warmups are posted HERE.
3 video clips from the game are posted HERE.
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