Oak Harbor eliminates Mariner 27-14

MOUNT VERNON – The Oak Harbor High School football team faced the seemingly impossible. The Wildcats were faced with a Mariner defense that’s been a brick wall all season, a defense that had opposing offenses bouncing ineffectually off in the opposite direction.

But Oak Harbor smashed that wall to pieces Tuesday night, and as a result the Wildcats are headed back to the state playoffs.

Senior running back Blake Ward led Oak Harbor’s offense with three rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats defeated the Marauders 27-14 in a Northwest 4A District game at Mount Vernon High School.

Oak Harbor (10-1), the No. 1 seed from the Western Conference 4A North Division, heads back to state, where the Wildcats were eliminated in the first round last year. Oak Harbor plays host to Ballard at 7 p.m. Saturday at Mount Vernon.

” (Returning to state) feels great,” said the 6-foot, 210-pound Ward, who bruised the Marauders on his way to 142 yards on 28 carries. “We played excellent. The line was tearing it up, the backs were running hard and our quarterback, John Lobbesteal, was on every play. We came to play tonight.”

Mariner, the second seed from the Wesco South, ended its season 9-2.

Oak Harbor was undeterred by a Mariner defense that had been virtually impenetrable this season, pitching four shutouts and holding opponents to just eight points per game. The Wildcats racked up 365 yards of total offense, including 223 on the ground, and the 27 points was the most the Marauders have given up in a game this season.

Lobbesteal also got in on the act, completing 10 of 15 passes for 142 yards. Eight of his 10 completions resulted in Wildcat first downs.

” (Mariner) has a great defense, they’re tough and they play the run really well,” Oak Harbor coach Dave Ward said. “We were able to mix in the pass. They had to respect the run because we were blocking hard and staying on our blocks. That opened up some holes for the receivers.”

Oak Harbor began taking control of the game in the second quarter behind its power running game. Bruce Ward polished off a 65-yard, 11-play drive – all runs – with a 1-yard TD plunge to tie the score at 7-7 with 6 minutes, 31 seconds left in the half. Early in the third quarter, Bruce Ward scored on a 27-yard TD to give Oak Harbor a 14-7 lead with 8:52 left in the period.

Mariner tied the score early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Moa Palepale found Ken Mishima on a timing pattern down the left sideline, resulting in a 48-yard touchdown. Oak Harbor’s offense simply went back to work. The Wildcats proceeded to march 77 yards on 12 plays, culminating in another Bruce Ward 1-yard TD plunge, giving Oak Harbor a 20-14 lead after the extra-point kick went wide.

After a pair of fruitless possessions, Ward’s punt pinned Mariner back at its own 4-yard line. Two plays later the Wildcats put the game away when, with 1:54 remaining, Drew Jenkins intercepted a tipped pass and weaved his way 22 yards into the end zone to make it 27-14.

“Our defense was on the field too much,” Mariner coach John Ondriezek said. “They wore us out. They’re a quick and aggressive football team. At times we had them stopped, but then we’d give up a big third-down play to sustain the drive.

“We’re disappointed to lose this game, obviously,” Ondriezek added. “But we had a great season. The kids have a lot to be proud of.”

Mariner running back Sinna Srei began the game as effective as anything Oak Harbor had going on offense. Mariner’s second possession consisted solely of four Srei runs that totaled 71 yards. His 19-yard scamper off left tackle gave the Marauders a 7-0 lead at 6:31 of the first quarter.

However, on Mariner’s third drive, Srei limped off with a leg injury, and although he later returned, he was never effective again. He finished with 115 yards on 11 carries.

Palepale finished 4-for-11 for 68 yards and was intercepted twice.

At Mount Vernon