OAK HARBOR — Dave Ward clearly knows football.
Ward coached the Oak Harbor High School football team to a state championship last year, but he still listens to advice. It’s a good thing he heeded his wife’s suggestion Friday night.
“Before I left the house to come to the game, my wife (Chris Ward) said, ‘Now if you get a chance, get the field goal.’ And that thought crossed my mind: I’m not gonna go home tonight and have her say, ‘I told you you should’ve.’”
Chris Ward’s advice came in handy as her husband decided to kick a field goal late in a back-and-forth Western Conference North Division clash against the Lake Stevens Vikings at Wildcat Memorial Stadium. Kevin Flavin’s 22-yard kick in the fourth quarter provided the deciding points in Oak Harbor’s 24-21 triumph before a packed stadium on homecoming night.
“He’s a junior transfer (from Colorado) and he’s kicking really well, field goals and kickoffs,” Dave Ward said of Flavin, whose clutch kick helped unbeaten Oak Harbor improve to 6-0 in the division (7-0 overall). Mike Bell (six receptions, 117 yards, one touchdown) and Chris Valencia (one rushing TD and a key interception) came up big for the Wildcats, who trailed 14-0 after one quarter but battled back.
“They were just tough,” Ward said of Lake Stevens (4-2, 5-2). “They jumped on us early. … (But) our guys really believe that we’re gonna find a way to make things happen.”
Oak Harbor, which got three sacks from defensive end Tyler Elliot, increased its winning streak to 14. Its last loss came last season against Lake Stevens. The score was 24-21, just like Friday, but this time fifth-ranked Oak Harbor (WashingtonPreps.com Class 4A poll) finished on top.
“It just feels great to be on the other end. We got off to a good start (this season), but now we gotta come out and work hard,” Oak Harbor quarterback Johnny Encinas said.
Encinas was 15-for-29 passing with 210 yards and two TDs, but he was intercepted five times. Lake Stevens defensive backs Dustin Adams (three picks) and Sean Driscoll (two) were the culprits.
“I had a really bad game, but my teammates picked me up, and that’s what football’s about,” Encinas said.
Lake Stevens got off to a great start, scoring TDs on its first two possessions. But Oak Harbor outscored Lake Stevens 14-0 in the second quarter to create a tie by intermission.
“We put in a few new wrinkles in our offense that … caught them off guard a little bit,” Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said.
After their defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession, the Vikings traveled 45 yards in six plays. QB Nick Baker (13-for-23, 148 yards) finished the drive with a 1-yard sneak. The big play in the series was a 26-yard run by Adams, who tallied 110 combined yards, rushing and receiving.
Adams caught a perfect pass from Baker on a 23-yard slant route to make it 14-0. However, Oak Harbor used a quick-strike passing attack to even the score. First, Encinas found Bell on a 52-yard scoring pass. Then the quarterback found Jake Rouser over the middle on a 10-yard TD that tied it with 53 seconds to go in the half.
The teams traded TDs in the third quarter, but Lake Stevens suffered a setback when star running back Isaac Molstre injured his ankle on a running play. Molstre, who came into the game with 858 rushing yards and six TDs, did not return.
“That had a huge effect on what we could do on both sides of the ball. Isaac (who also starts at defensive back) is a special player,” said Tri, who didn’t know the extent of Molstre’s injury.
Oak Harbor’s game-winning drive began about 10 seconds after Adams made his third interception of the game and his sixth in two weeks. On the next play, Valencia picked off Baker near midfield and zipped to the Lake Stevens 12-yard line. It set up Flavin’s field goal on fourth-and-3 with 8:47 to play in the game.
“He’s stepping up when we need him,” Valencia said of the 5-foot-10, 145-pound Flavin. “He’s a clutch kicker.”
At Oak Harbor H.S.
Lake Stevens14070-21
Oak Harbor01473-24
Lake Stevens-Baker 1 run (Frost kick)
Lake Stevens-Adams 23 pass from Baker (Frost kick)
Oak Harbor-Bell 52 pass Encinas (Johnston kick)
Oak Harbor-Rouser 10 pass from Encinas (Johnston kick)
Oak Harbor-Valencia 1 run (Johnston kick)
Lake Stevens-Dickinson 1 run (Frost kick)
Oak Harbor-FG Flavin 22
Records-Lake Stevens 4-2 in division, 5-2 overall. Oak Harbor 6-0, 7-0.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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