Freshman football - OH vs Snohomish

The Oak Harbor freshman football team faced off against Snohomish at Wildcat Memorial Stadium Wednesday afternoon, and it was an exciting game.

Snohomish got the ball first after the OH kickoff, but ran only 2 plays before Corey Houck intercepted a Snohomish pass at the OH 20, returning it out to the 38. Oak Harbor moved the ball to the Snohomish 41, but could not convert on a 4th & 9. Snohomish took over with 6:20 left in the first and was able to move the ball down to the OH 1. The Panthers fumbled the ball during the 1st & Goal to go play, but were able to recover the ball, and the Snoho QB ran it across the goal line on the next play, putting Snohomish 7-0 with 1:28 remaining in the first.

Michael Mack returned the Snoho kickoff 11 yards, giving the OH offense a first down on the OH 19. The 'Cats got off 2 plays before time expired in the first quarter.

Starting the 2nd, the Wildcats couldn't move the ball and punted from their own 36. Snohomish tried to return the kick, but the returner was tackled at the Snohomish 38 by Tucker Lundstrom. The OH defense let Snohomish get down to the OH 18, but stiffened. Hunter Vail got a sack on one play, a combo of Brent Ryan and Nick Farrell forced a 10-yard loss, and with Snohomish facing a 4th & 22 from the OH 30, Wildcat tacklers forced a fumble which OH recovered on the 18.

Again, though, the offense sputtered, punting after gaining only 9 yards on 3 plays. Snohomish got the ball down to the OH 30, then ran it for a score with 1:29 left in the half.

On the next possession, Oak Harbor went 3-and-out, giving the Panthers the ball on their own 39 and 1 minute left in the half. Snohomish moved away from the run and completed passes of 5 and 21 yards to get the ball to the OH 22 with 4 seconds to go. Snohomish completed the next pass at around the 10, but with 3 Wildcats riding him, the Snohomish receiver was able to fight his way into the endzone as time expired. The kick was good, giving Snohomish a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Wildcat defensive woes continued in the 2nd half, with Oak Harbor punting after 3 plays, then Snohomish overcoming 2 penalties and a 3rd & 25 to complete a pass for a TD with 6:19 left in the 3rd, increasing the Panther lead to 28-0.

After returning the kickoff 6 yards to the OH 35, the Wildcats used a series of runs by Connor Meyer, Peter Franssen and Justin Everett to get the ball moving until it was 1st & 10 on the Snohomish 17. Facing a 4th & 7 on the Snohomish 14, QB Matt Burgoyne handed the ball to Justin Everett who pounded it in for Oak Harbor's first score of the day, with 1:37 left in the 3rd. The 2-point conversion was good making the score 28-8

Snohomish received the OH kickoff at their own 21 and returned it to the 35, but 2 plays later, after a 5-yard facemask penalty on Oak Harbor made it 1st & 3 for Snohomish, the Panthers fumbled and Oak Harbor recovered at the Snoho 45. Justin Everett took the ball down to the 24 on the first play, and on the 2nd play, Burgoyne completed a pass to Janssen for another OH score. The PAT run failed, leaving the score at 28-14 with 0:25 left in the 3rd.

On their next possession, Snohomish used a 27-yard run and a 14- yard completion to get the ball to the OH 3 where they pushed it in for their 5th score of the day and increasing their lead to 35-14.

With only 7:44 left in the game, the Wildcats again found themselves unable to move the ball. After an illegal block penalty, the 'Cats found themselves with a 4th & 18 from the OH 7 and were forced to punt. Snohomish then ran 4 plays before fumbling a snap which OH recovered on the OH 41. Justin Everett ran the ball on the first play to the Snoho 43, then Franssen ran it down to the 35 where he was hit and fumbled, but Cody Hernkind was there to cover the ball, setting up Everett's 35-yard TD run on 3rd & 2. Franssen ran the 2-point conversion in, closing the score to 35-22 in favor of Snohomish.

Oak Harbor kicked off deep, but Snohomish was able to return the ball to the OH 45, but with a 3rd & 2 on the OH 37, Snohomish fumbled again due to pressure by Hunter Vail.

The 'Cats first play was a Burgoyne completion to Cody Sanders, and then runs by Everett and Franssen moved the ball to the Snoho 25. Burgoyne was then sacked on 2 consecutive plays due to a breakdown of the offensive line, but on the 2nd sack, Snohomish was called for a personal foul, putting the ball on the Snohomish 30, 3rd & 15, with 1:18 left in the game. Everett ran the ball down to the 11, then a pass to Cory Houck appeared to be caught and run in for a TD, but the officials ruled the ball bounced off the turf before Houck caught it. Now with 45 seconds left in the game, Everett ran the ball in for another TD with 41 seconds left. The run PAT failed, leaving the score at 35-28.

OH lined stacked the right side of the field for the onside kick attempt, but kicked it to the left, hoping to catch Snohomish off guard. It worked, but the kicker put just a little too much on it and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Snohomish 40. From there, Snohomish took a couple of knees to end the game with a 35-28 win.

77 images, most from the pre-game warmup, have been posted HERE. Two of the players, #31 and #22 are not listed on the roster, so those players are identified by jersey number rather than by name.