RECORD: 7-4 – COACH: Curt Kramme
LEAGUE: 5-2 (3rd Place in the NWL)
CLASSIFICATION: 3A – PLAYOFFS: Lost Play-in Game
Scoring Stats “Per Game”
Points: 34.8 – Allowed: 26.6 – Differential: +8.2
GAME BY GAME:
Week 1: Lynden 53, Scappoose, OR 32
Week 2: Lynden 41, Holy Cross 0
Week 3: O’Dea 31, Lynden 6
Week 4: Lynden 35, Anacortes 21
Week 5: Lynden 54, Sehome 7
Week 6: Lynden 39, Squalicum 14
Week 7: Ferndale 62, Lynden 14
Week 8: Lynden 21, Bellingham 7
Week 9: Burlington-Edison 42, Lynden 14
Week 10: Lynden 50, Sedro Woolley 20
State Play-in Game: Shorecrest 57, Lynden 56
The 2005 Lions were just coming off a semi-final loss to the eventual state champion Wolverines of Bellevue, and due to a trip to Southlake Carrol High School in Texas, five months after the state playoffs, Lynden football’s offense went through a complete overhaul. The spread offense went into affect in the 2005 season, and they haven’t looked back.
Senior quarterback Alex Ellig was named All-League 2nd Team. He completed 142 passes for 1946 yards and 18 touchdowns, and with the new offense he ran for 333 yards and four more scores. Senior Curt Powell joined Ellig in the backfield, and he ran for 931 yards (5.4 average) and 18 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 238 yards (12.5) and three touchdowns, and he was named All-League 2nd Team. Junior Landon VandeHoef chipped in 123 yards rushing (6.2) average and one touchdown.
The new offense featured four receivers, and perhaps never before were four receivers so balanced, stat-wise. Senior Justin Brann finished his high school career with another great receiving season, catching 33 passes for 425 yards (12.9), one touchdown and was named All-League 2nd Team. Fellow senior Dan Van Beek was also named All-League 2nd Team, and was the team leader in receptions, with 35. He had 442 receiving yards (12.6) and five touchdowns. A pair of juniors also lined up at wide receiver, and they were quite the formidable pair. Dirk Dallas had great size, speed and hands, catching 31 passes for 475 yards (15.3) and five touchdowns while 6-foot-5 inch Chris Bolt could out-jump anyone, catching 28 passes for 478 yards (17.1) and a team-high six touchdowns. Dallas was an All-League 2nd Team selection, while Bolt was named All-League Honorable Mention.
The offensive line was senior-driven, and the main man up front was Cody Gunst. He was named All-League 1st Team. Brandon Louws also had a spectacular season, and was named All-League 2nd Team. Another pair that enjoyed great seasons were A.J. Langford and Brock Anderson, who were each named All-League Honorable Mention. The Lynden offensive attack was very balanced, rushing for 1707 yards, passing for 2148 yards and scoring 48 touchdowns.
The defensive line got after it, with Gunst leading the way. The All-League 2nd Teamer finished with four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Anderson also did quite well on the line, with four tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Senior Eric Walter also stood out on the line. He had two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Anderson and Walter were each named All-League Honorable Mention.
The linebacking corps was led by Jordan Crabtree. The senior finished with a team-high 113 tackles (61 solo), two tackles for loss, two fumble recovery, one forced fumble, one pass broken up and he was named All-League 1st Team. Joining Crabtree was junior standout, Luke Korthuis. He ended the season with 101 tackles (51 solo), four tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and he was named All-League 2nd Team.
The secondary was led by senior Cory Jacoby, who was named All-League Honorable Mention. He had 56 tackles (41 solo), two tackles for loss, six pass deflections, three interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Brann handled all of the kicking duties, with 27 extra points and two field goals kicked. He was named All-League 1st Team at kicker, and was All-League Honorable Mention as a punter. Powell returned a kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown.