Wildcats flag football state-bound

Wildcats varsity flag football is heading to state in its inaugural season.

Friday, Oak Harbor beat the Ferndale Golden Eagles 42-7 to advance to the district championship immediately after, which it lost to the Monroe Bearcats 28-14. Saturday, the Wildcats completed a comeback to force double overtime against the Everett Seagulls, beating them 23-22 and punching their ticket to state.

Interceptions and incompletions abundant in the Wildcats’ games on Friday only hurt them on the scoreboard against the Bearcats. While Oak Harbor trounced Monroe 44-14 in the teams’ only meeting in the regular season, head coach Mike Lonborg said the Bearcats made important adjustments since then.

“They learned from the first time they played us, and they didn’t let us beat them over the top,” he explained. “Monroe did a good job with the zone that they ran. They did a good job, so credit to them. But we just didn’t execute when we needed to.”

Solid defense on Monroe’s part, as well as Oak Harbor’s frequent penalties, contributed to the Wildcats’ loss as well, just their second in the regular and postseason combined.

Lonborg said he would encourage his team to “erase today and move on” ahead of Saturday’s game.

Oak Harbor struggled with over the top throws once again in the first half against Everett, and the Seagulls succeeded in limiting the time and space the Wildcats’ offense could work with. Oak Harbor fell into a 14-0 deficit.

When the Wildcats finally put themselves on the board, they did so in dramatic fashion. Senior quarterback Layla Suto sent a throw high over the field and senior Mia McGaha caught the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with about 12 seconds remaining before halftime.

The touchdown served as a momentum boost for an otherwise sleepy Wildcat offense.

“We did a good job with clock management and the girls did a good job with pushing it and just executing,” Lonborg said.

Everett recorded another touchdown with under seven minutes remaining in the game, pulling head 21-7, and Oak Harbor responded with two touchdowns to tie the game in the last four minutes of regulation.

Each team had three attempts to score on either a one-point play from the 5-yard line, a two-point play from the 10-yard line or a 3-point play from the 15-yard line in overtime.

After a scoreless first overtime period, Everett intercepted an Oak Harbor play and scored one point. When the Wildcats were on the attack once again, McGaha caught the ball in the end zone on a one-point play to tie the game at 22, and senior Scarlett Nations followed up with another catch to seal the Wildcats’ 23-22 win.

Of his team’s offense waking up in the second half, Lonborg said they “started hitting passes a little bit faster. Everett started playing a little bit more defensive and giving us openings, and (Suto) started hitting the passes.”

Saturday’s win could not have been possible without the “high pointing”exhibited, a skill the Wildcats made a point to improve, Lonborg said.

“It has been something we’ve been working on the last week, is high pointing, because we’ve got two really good receivers,” he explained. “We have multiple good receivers, but (senior Reagan) Syring and McGaha are really good, and they have good height and athleticism. And if we can put the ball where we want, put it where it’s up high, they can go up and get it.”

Oak Harbor plays the Seattle Prep. Panthers on Feb. 7; the loser is eliminated from the playoffs. The Panthers finished the regular season 8-6-0 against league opponents and 10-7-0 overall according to the WIAA, and most recently lost 21-7 to the Eastside Catholic Crusaders on Jan. 31.