"High school football: Little Lynden rallies behind team" -- Nov. 24, 2006

Caleb Breakey
The Olympian

Located on Front Street at the heart of Lynden is Les’ Barber Shop, a rectangular room twice the width of a hallway and as long as a tractor trailer. Mounted outside its glass door entrance is a barber’s pole.

A boxed television tuned to North West Cable News sat on a table at the far end of the shop. On top of it laid a book: “The Family Handy Man: Helpful Hints.”

Clippings of grey hair and a few touches of darker trimmings spotted the linoleum floor as Les Molenaar, the shop’s owner, leaned over a middle-aged man to begin another cut.

The two talked about the out-of-town Thanksgiving visitors, the recent stormy weather, and the bank deposit Molenaar lost that day. But it didn’t take long for their conversation to move to Lions football.

Molenaar said he doesn’t see many Lynden players take seats in his barbershop, not since mothers starting cutting hair and beauty schools boomed. Still, Molenaar and most of the 10,000 people in the rural town’s community could point out its football players, whether strolling on the sidewalk by the big windmill or picking up a drink at Muddy Waters Espresso.

After a bit more chatter, Molenaar’s customer finally hinted at the Lions match up against the Tumwater Thunderbirds at 4 p.m. Friday in the Tacoma Dome.

“Lots of people will be out of town tomorrow, big football game,” the customer said.

Molenaar responded: “Especially when it’s indoor — so nice, no rain.”

The room quieted for a few seconds.

“Do you want it shorter on the sides?”

Community involvement thrives in Lynden, a town where family comes first, said Lions head coach Curt Kramme.

“People are crazy about football in Lynden,” said Lions wide receiver and captain Brady Bomber. “We walk around town and people are asking us about the game. They know more than we do about our stats. They’re always telling us ‘good job’ and telling us they’re going to be there on Friday night.”

Lynden High School is across town from Les’ Barber Shop, just short of a five-minute drive within the town’s 25 mph speed limit. Wood plaques are fixed on the outside walls, labeling the school’s departments with white engraved lettering.

Llamas lay in a field about four blocks away. Across the street are houses with finely trimmed lawns — some touting erect U.S. flags and others fronting worn basketball hoops. A rectangular sign with a red heart as its foreground stands at the entrance of the school’s main parking lot: “We love you, Buckle Up.”

Lynden impressed Tumwater head coach Sid Otton, whose daughter attended Western Washington University, which is about a 45 minute drive from Lynden.

“It’s a tremendous little town, a neat community,” he said. “And they’ve always done well in sports.”

The roots of the Lions’ football program trace back to an office in the school’s weight room. There, Kramme and his coaching staff developed schemes that led his team to four state semifinal appearances in the past six years, including consecutive trips to the state finals in 2001 and 2002. The Lions’ coach of 16 years said Lynden makes coaching a bit easier.

“Because our community is such a family-oriented place, the kids’ basic needs are being met somewhere else. I don’t have to be their pseudo-dad,” he said. “That’s not the case in a lot of schools around our state.”

The Lions program has produced stars such as this year’s quarterback Chris Bolt and wide receiver Dirk Dallas, both seniors.

Dallas has 70 catches this year for 1,024 yards, good for 14.6 yards per reception. Bolt has completed 201 of his 312 passes for 2,524 yards and 31 touchdowns.

On the ground, Lynden running back Steven Johnson has 633 yards and wingback Landon VandeHoef broke the school’s record with 26 touchdowns — 18 of those rushes.

Both of their names are well-known in Lynden, just like Dallas, Bolt, and the rest of the team’s players. Bomber said being a football player and a part of the Lynden community is something big cities miss out on, where people care for each other like family.

“I’ve been following the Lynden kids on the radio,” Molenaar said. “I keep up with the kids that way. I kind of remember their parents and where they came from. I keep in touch. It’s always been that way.”

"High school football: Tigers’ road gets much tougher" -- Nov. 21, 2006

Caleb Breakey
The Olympian

The Centralia Tigers have Kellen Moore’s number. No, really, they do.

After toppling Anacortes last week, the Tigers improved their win total to 11 — the same number the Prosser star quarterback touts on his jersey.

But these numbers won’t mean anything when the Tigers (11-1) suit up against the Mustangs (12-0) in the state semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome. Moore will draw plenty attention from the Tigers.

“You have to worry about him and his brother,” Centralia coach John Schultz said.

Bitterly cold weather hasn’t fazed the Tigers this November, but players will face a 35-degree spike in temperature when they start bumping and bruising in the Tacoma Dome. Fans and the cheering atmosphere also pose change for the team, but Schultz said that wouldn’t be a problem for the Tigers.

“You don’t spend time looking up at the crowd,” he said.

Prosser edged Archbishop Murphy in its quarterfinal game last week when Moore found his brother, Kirby, in the end zone with a 19-yard touchdown pass in the game’s final 15 seconds to capture a 14-7 victory. Moore completed 12 of his 18 passes for 142 yards in the win.

Tigers quarterback Cal Cruickshank is coming off a five-touchdown performance in which he threw for 266 yards in a 47-26 quarterfinal thumping of the Seahawks. Wide receiver Isaac Moog was Cruickshank’s favorite receiver in the game, catching six passes for two touchdowns and 127 yards.

Schultz said he’s keeping his team calm, ready and intense. His response to how the Tigers are getting ready for their showdown with the Mustangs?

“They already are,” he said.

"High school football: Tigers trample Anacortes to reach 2A semis" -- Nov. 18, 2006

Caleb Breakey
The Olympian

BELLINGHAM — Before the offense scored two touchdowns in 10 seconds, before the defense dominated, and before quarterback Cal Cruickshank threw for five scores, the Centralia Tigers stood the width of the field and faced the purple wall of the Anacortes Seahawks.

The masses of orange and purple melted into the middle of Civic Stadium to shake hands, each player knowing that a trip to the Tacoma Dome for a semifinal game was at stake.

“We’ve definitely been thinking about it,” said Tigers’ wide receiver Isaac Moog. “It’s been in the back of our minds.”

Now it’s reality. The Tigers scored two touchdowns in 10 seconds late in the first quarter en route to a 47-26 victory on Saturday and will suit up against Prosser in Tacoma next week.

Moog caught six passes for two touchdowns and finished as the game’s leading receiver with 127 yards.

Cruickshank, who threw for 266 yards along with his five scores, said the Tigers are ready for Prosser and its passing game.

“You have your butterflies, but we’re confident,” he said. “We’ve been looking forward to it forever. We’re ready.”

Both teams tackled forcefully, and some of the loud thuds evoked responses from the crowd.

“They’re physical,” Tigers head coach John Schultz said. “We just happened to be more physical.”

Running backs Colten Wesen and Justin Gabbard covered most of the ground between end zones for the Tigers. Gabbard rushed six times for 72 yards and Wesen carried the ball 13 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

The Tiger’s Tyler Gussin got touches near the end zone and rounded out the trio of backs with 39 yards and another pair of touchdowns. Wide receiver Sean Meehan also scored, hauling in 26-yard touchdown pass from Cruickshank early in the third quarter.

Schultz and Cruickshank said the Tigers’ attention now turns to film of Prosser.

“If we ball control, eat the clock up and throw, it will be a great game,” Schultz said.

"LC's win clouded by head injury" -- Sept. 17, 2006

CALEB BREAKEY
FOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

LYNDEN - Lynden Christian's crowd turned quiet in a close game.

Down seven in the third quarter, Lyncs defensive lineman Niels Brisbane's foot stepped onto the helmet of Ridgefield's Philip Esquivel during a pass play of Lynden Christian's 15-14 non-conference victory on Saturday.

The Spudders' offensive lineman was stepped on while sprawled on the ground during the plays' scuffle, jamming his neck. It took about 30 minutes before four people lifted Esquivel onto a stretcher and placed him into a Lynden ambulance.

A doctor helping Esquivel said, "He feels everything - he's neurologically intact."

Before the ambulance left, Ridgefield coach George Black said the threat level was lowered from red to yellow.

The Lyncs rebounded after the scare with a touchdown and two-point conversion to secure the win.

"It was a strange game," Lyncs coach Dan Kaemingk said. "Any time you get a stoppage of play for that long in the middle of it, it's kind of hard to put the whole game together."

The Lyncs got on the scoreboard during a Spudders' punt attempt in the first quarter when defensive back Nic Bargen broke through the Ridgefield line and leaped toward the ball. The punter booted it into Bargen's chest, a loud thud that brought Lynden Christian fans to their feet. Bargen's momentum carried him to the reflected ball as he stumbled in for the game's first score.

Running back Mike Martin covered most of the ground between the end zones for the Lyncs, gaining 110 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Kyle Kennaw threw for 48 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts, and ran for 45 more.

Both team's offenses played sporadically, combining for five first downs in the first half. The Spudders gained its first positive yardage with 2:12 left in the first quarter, but came back with a touchdown just before halftime and struck again early in the third quarter.

Then Kennaw connected with split end Zach De Boer on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 8:48 left in the game, and the Lyncs converted the two-point play to halt the Spudders.

"We were beating ourselves in the first half," De Boer said, "but Kyle always just throws it up to me and I used my height to my advantage."