FB 2015-09-11 vs Ferndale

By David Svien

They got their bite back.

A week after being knocked around, a resurgent Oak Harbor High School football squad roared back to life, upending a ranked team on its home field.

Despite playing without seven key players, the fired-up Wildcats rolled up 368 yards of offense en route to a 31-28 upset of Ferndale Friday, Sept. 11.

The Golden Eagles, who won their opener in overtime, entered the game ranked 10th in the state in the latest 3A polls.

Now 1-1 on the young season, Oak Harbor will enjoy a rare week off, which should enable most of its dinged-up stars to get healthy in time for the Wesco North opener.

That game is Sept. 25 in Oak Harbor (7 PM kickoff) and undefeated Everett (2-0) is the next upset victim on the menu.

Coming off of a 55-6 loss on opening night, the 'Cats were looking for a spark and Savion Passmore delivered.

The only one of Oak Harbor's top five running backs in uniform, he ripped through the Ferndale defense (or lack of one) for 146 yards on 15 carries.

He had help, as well, with all-league wide receiver Dyllan Harris sliding into the backfield, where he posted 101 yards on 12 carries. Quinn Karney provided the third prong in a three-prong attack, rumbling for 45 yards on 14 carries.

With a crisp 302 yards on the ground, Oak Harbor didn't need much from its quarterbacks, but what the Wildcats did get was efficiency.

Taylor Kolste and Tyler Snavely combined to complete six of 12 passes for 66 yards, with Harris hauling in just about everything. He finished with five snags for 59 yards.

While the Wildcat defense didn't force a punt, it did bring the Golden Eagles to a crashing halt three times, forced the ball to be turned over with a fourth-down stop.

Toss in a relatively cleanly-played game (only two penalties) and much-improved special teams play (which included a 23-yard field goal off of the toe of Eric Jensen) and Oak Harbor was all about the precision.

The 'Cats spread out their touchdowns, getting scores from Mac Nuanez (one-yard run), Passmore (57-yard run) and Harris (13-yard run and one-yard run).


Photos from the game are posted HERE.


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