Senior Tigers advance to championship, Juniors end great season…

Junior Tiger Quarterback Jerray Napier hands off to Willy Blackman while a strong offensive line holds back the Anacortes Seahawks.

In 2008, Sedro Woolley beat Friday Harbor’s sixth and seventh grade Junior team in the championship. 2009 split up the Junior and Senior teams, with the now seventh and eighth graders hoped to counter the defeat by playing in the championships again. Here’s the report from special football correspondent Kris Brown (drop by Printonyx for more details – she’ll tell ya):

Juniors come up short in valiant effort, lose 12-8 to Anacortes
The number two ranked Friday Harbor Juniors faced the number three ranked Anacortes Seahawks Saturday at Nugent Field in Oak Harbor. Outnumbered 2 to 1 in players, fans and cheerleaders, the Juniors were on the same field where the Seniors came from behind to win last Saturday.

Nothing went as usual: Tiger defense allowed two touchdowns while their  offense was intercepted twice and fumbled twice on scoring attempts. Trailing 12-0 at the half, the Friday Harbor offensive line fought hard to finally open a hole for Willy Blackman to run in a touchdown late in the third quarter. Gabe Lawson scored two points to bring the score to 12-8.

Tiger defense held Anacortes scoreless in the second half but needed a touchdown to win. With less than a minute left in the game, the Tigers couldn’t convert on 4th and 1. They handed the ball over to the Seahawks who ran out the clock for the win.

Juniors ended the 2009 season one game short of the championship with a 6-3 record under head coach Brock Hauck, defensive coach Rick Morris and assistant coaches Dan McKay, Hogan Rishel and Terry Ormond. They outscored their opponents by an impressive 176-83 in conference play.

Senior Tiger quarterback CJ Woods (2) gets ready to hand off to Nate Steenkolk (far right) in the first drive against the Sedro Woolley Cubs.

Seniors avenge 2008 loss to Sedro, advance to championship with 46-22 win
At Memorial Stadium in Oak Harbor, under the lights, the fifth ranked Senior Tigers met the number one ranked Sedro Woolley Cubs. Friday Harbor was outnumbered in every way: 17 Tigers faced 30 Cubs, with two-thirds fewer fans and three-quarter fewer cheerleaders.

Sedro Woolley scored first with a touchdown run. Friday Harbor answered with a touchdown pass, scored two, followed by a touchdown run. The Cubs tied the game at 14-14 with a touchdown run in the second quarter.

With the overwhelming support of the just-defeated Tiger Juniors, the Friday Harbor cheerleaders and fans roared in the stands as the Tiger seniors scored twice before the half. Linebacker Carson Brown chased down a Cub runner for twenty yards for a key tackle which dashed Sedro’s hopes of scoring again in the first half.

The Tigers pulled together offensively in the third quarter and never looked back. Nate Steenkolk ran 55 yards for a touchdown despite losing his shoe to a Cub defender at the 20 yard line. Wide receiver Caleb Warner caught two touchdown passes. Tight end/quarterback Alex Kurtz threw a touchdown pass and caught another. Wide receiver Levi Demaris caught a touchdown pass from CJ Woods. Steenkolk helped score 40 points as he threw two touchdowns, ran in three (including an interception), kicked a point after, passed for two conversions and lost a shoe on more than one occasion.

Other defensive highlights included Nelson Wynn’s sack for a loss, Dusty West’s fumble recovery and Vinny Carter’s interception for a touchback. “The boys did great,” was the simple wrap-up from head coach Glen Hargrove after the 46-22 win.

The Senior Tigers will meet seventh-ranked Burlington Tigers next weekend for the championship.  Burlington pulled a surprise victory over second-ranked Bellingham last week before beating sixth-ranked Lakewood this week.

This group of Tigers players has advanced three consecutive years to the NCYFL championship game and was part of the “Perfect Season” in 2007.  The championship game will be their last as Tigers before they head to high school. It promises to be memorable.

For game time and location, check out the Friday Harbor Athletic Association website at: fridayharbortigers.blogware.com.

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