"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."