Varsity football at Snohomish, 10-2-2009

The Wildcats got a big win Friday at Snohomish, beating the Panthers soundly, 34-14.

It didn’t look good at the start, as Oak Harbor went 3-and-out on their first possession and didn’t get into Snohomish territory until nearly the end of the first quarter. They also allowed Snohomish to score a rushing TD in the quarter.

The 2^nd quarter belonged to the Wildcats as they lit up the Panther defense by scoring 3 touchdowns.

It started with a break. Snohomish was lined up to punt and the punter took a low snap and touched his knee to the turf on his own 5 yard line. Oak Harbor’s first play was an incomplete pass, but the second was a toss from Luke Felkner to Mike Washington, Jr. for the touchdown. The kick failed, so it was Snohomish 7, Oak Harbor 6 with 10:04 to go in the first half.

Snohomish returned the Wildcat kickoff to the OH 47, but that’s as far as they got as the Wildcat defense pushed them back and they wound up punting from the 50 yard line.

Oak Harbor had the ball at their own 38 yard line. On the first play, Felkner dropped back, heaved the ball downfield to the Panther 35 where it was nearly intercepted by Snohomish. It wasn’t and the ball bounced off the hands of the defender and right into the hands of receiver Josh Higbee who ran untouched into the end zone. A 2-point PAT attempt failed so with7:59 left until halftime it was OH 12, Snohomish 7. It then got even worse for Snohomish.

The Wildcat kickoff went to the 8 yard line and was returned to the 29, where the Panthers fumbled the ball away to OH on their first play from scrimmage.

This Wildcat drive lasted a little longer than just one or two plays. Felkner ran for 7 yards on the first play, Hunt ran down to the 20, but short of the first down. A Delay of Game flag backed the ‘Cats up 5 yards, but it was no big deal as Hunt caught a pass to bring the ball to the Snohomish 7 yard line. It was Hunt again to the 3, then Washington caught the TD pass with 5:27 left in the half. The snap on the kick attempt was mishandled, but holder Josh Higbee was able to pick up the ball and dance into the end zone for a 2-point conversion. The score now stood at Oak Harbor 20, Snohomish 7.

Snohomish drove into Wildcat territory on their next possession but were forced to punt from the OH 44. The punt rolled down to the 1 yard line, and the ‘Cats could only get it out to the 34 yard line before time expired in the first half.

The Panthers got the ball first in the second half, but Snohomish’s offense continued to sputter as they could only gain 16 yards during their first possession and only 6 on their second. The Wildcats also punted on their first possession of the 2^nd half, but Felkner tossed his 4^th touchdown of the night, this one to Higbee, with 1:11 left in the 3^rd quarter. The Fakkema kick was good to increase the OH lead to 27-7.

Disaster hit the Panthers yet again as Josh Higbee snatched the ball out of the air on the Panther’s first play giving Oak Harbor the ball at the Snohomish 42 with just over a minute to go. Felkner threw the ball to Brad Farnum who snuck between a pair of Panther defenders and into the end zone, but it was called back on a Wildcat holding call. The quarter ended with the Wildcats on the Snohomish 33 yard line and a 27-7 lead.

The OH drive continued to start the 4^th quarter, ending with Josh Higbee’s 3^rd TD reception of the game at the 10:04 mark, pushing the Wildcat lead to 34-7.

With their backs against the wall, Snohomish could no longer afford to punt the ball away, but the result was the same – Oak Harbor ball. The Panthers failed to convert on 4^th and 4, but two plays later a bad snap turned the ball over to Snohomish at the Panther 41 and 7:19 left in the game.

The Panthers were able to get only to the OH 44 before fumbling it back to the Wildcats, but the cheering didn’t last long, as two plays later a bad Oak Harbor snap was fumbled and recovered by Snohomish near midfield. This drive was successful, as the Panthers covered 49 yards in 7 plays to score their 2^nd TD of the game and close the score to 34-14.

Snohomish tried an onside kick, but Higbee picked the ball up and returned it to the Snohomish 37. Oak Harbor punted after 3 plays, but left Snohomish with only 51 seconds to try and make the score respectable. The Panthers first play was called back due to offensive pass interference, and on the final play of the game the Wildcats teamed up to sack the Panther quarterback and leave Snohomish with the 34-14 victory.

5 video clips from the game are posted HERE.