Oak Harbor routs Cascade

EVERETT — The Oak Harbor football team is proving not to be a one-hit wonder.

Last season, the Wildcats qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in 20 years. If Thursday’s 48-7 dissecting of Cascade at Everett Memorial Stadium is any indication, Oak Harbor may be poised for another postseason.

"We were the a recipient of — how should I put this — a mule-kicking," said Cascade coach Jake Huizinga, whose team fell to 1-4 in the Western Conference North Division and 2-5 overall. "They are a very good team. They are headed for the playoffs. … We were just another stop on their way to the playoffs."

The Wildcats (5-1, 6-1) could all but assure themselves of no worse than a tie for the second and final district playoff spot with a victory at Stanwood next week. Oak Harbor plays Monroe, which beat Cascade last Friday for its first league victory in three seasons, in its final division game before closing the regular season with a non-conference game. Lake Stevens heads into tonight’s game with Marysville-Pilchuck atop the division with a 4-0 record. Stanwood and Snohomish, which play cellar dwellers Monroe and Mount Vernon, respectively, are both 3-1.

The Wildcats utilized their five-headed rushing attack to run for 331 yards. They scored on six of their first eight possessions and picked up 16 first downs. Cascade, which converted five of its seven first downs during its fourth-quarter TD drive, misfired on its first 11 passing attempts and finished the game with 80 yards passing and rushed for 59 yards on 26 attempts.

"We got five guys in the backfield and our line is tearing it up," said Oak Harbor fullback Blake Ward, who led all rushers with 86 yards on 19 attempts and intercepted a pass in a second straight game. "We just all love to play football."

Ward, Kyle Isaacson (55 yards), Dan Raymond (38 yards) Nate Metcalf (46 yards) and Adam Diaz (18 yards) all have more than 175 yards rushing this season, led by Ward’s 495. Sophomore Gabe Vest showed that the Wildcats may be six deep when he took his first carry 65 yards for Oak Harbor’s final score.

Oak Harbor coach Dave Ward, Blake’s father, said much of the credit goes to his offensive line of Andrew Horning, Chris Raimundi, Patrick O’Brien, Jake Jansen and Ryan Payne. They average only 211 pounds, but have opened up large lanes for Oak Harbor backs all season.

"They were excellent," Ward said. "The last two games (including a 19-0 shutout of Snohomish), they’ve really surged off the ball. They are the reason we’ve got some nice holes to run through."

That was never more apparent than during Oak Harbor’s last two TD drives of the first half.

Blake Snow, who completed six of his last nine passing attempts, pinned Oak Harbor inside its 7-yard line twice with punts of 51 and 57 yards. It didn’t bother the Wildcats, who put together drives of 93 and 96 yards on their way to a 20-0 halftime lead.

Raymond, a backup fullback, made several nifty moves during an 18-yard TD run with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter. Ward, who finished the first half with 74 yards on 12 carries, bulled straight ahead for a 5-yard TD 58 seconds before halftime.

Oak Harbor used 23 plays on the two drives while running 11 minutes, 12 seconds off the clock. The Wildcats compiled 214 yards on 31 carries in the half while holding Cascade to 11 carries for 45 yards.

The rout started with a bang when Oak Harbor’s Jeremy Brown returned the opening kickoff 59 yards to the Cascade 31. The Wildcats’ nine-play drive was kept alive when Ward broke a tackle in the backfield to convert a fourth-and-1. His effort set up Isaacson’s 4-yard walk into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 7:40 to go in the first quarter.

Wildcats quarterback John Lobbestael completed five of six passes for 60 yards. Two of the completions came late in the third quarter, eventually leading to Ward’s 1-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 42-0 lead.

James Blunk returned Snow’s punt 51 yards for a TD after Cascade went three-and-out to begin the second half.

At Everett Memorial Stadium