RECORD: 7-2 – COACH: Tom Manke
LEAGUE: 2-2 (3rd Place in the NWL)
CLASSIFICATION: “AA” – Playoffs: None
POINTS PER GAME: 25.4 – POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME: 4.9
POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +20.5
GAME BY GAME:
Week 1: Ferndale 26, Mount Vernon 7
Week 2: Ferndale 24, Sehome 0
Week 3: Ferndale 21, Sedro Woolley 0
Week 4: Ferndale 47, Stanwood 0
Week 5: Burlington-Edison 10, Ferndale 0
Week 6: Bellingham 27, Ferndale 26
Week 7: Ferndale 42, Monroe 0
Week 8: Ferndale 34, Queen Anne 0
Week 9: Ferndale 9, Mount Vernon 0
They were third place in the league, and they didn’t make the playoffs. But, what an awesome team! They shut out six of their opponents in their seven wins, and their two losses were by a total of 11 points.
Seniors Kurt Hanson and Scot Schwisow split time at quarterback. Hanson completed 11 passes for 206 yards and five touchdowns, with Schwisow amassing 12 completions for 164 yards and three scores. Of course, the Golden Eagles were more ground-oriented, and Hanson ran for 79 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior John Locker had another outstanding season, rushing for 866 yards (6.0 average) and nine touchdowns, and he was named All-League 1st Team for the second year in a row. He was joined by senior Glenn Niemela who rushed for 455 yards (5.7) and three scores. The three-headed rushing attack wouldn’t have been complete without junior Greg Ebe and his 211 yards rushing (5.6) and four touchdowns.
6-foot-4 senior tight end Greg Daws made huge plays for the Golden Eagles, catching nine passes for 136 yards (15.1) and five touchdowns. Senior Kurt Evans caught seven passes for 69 yards (9.9), and sophomore tight end Greg Finkbonner caught a pair of touchdown passes.
The offensive line was led by the 170-pound senior, John Brandt. He was named All-League 1st Team, and cleared many paths for Locker and company. Fellow senior Dennis Butolph also pushed his weight around up front, and the Ferndale rushing attack totaled 1745 yards, and averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and this was before the time when offensive linemen could use their hands at all!
The defensive line was led by junior Ken Altona, and Daws. Altona was an All-League 1st Team selection, and Daws was named All-League 2nd Team. At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, Ebe had the perfect combination of size and speed to dominate at linebacker, and he was named All-League 1st Team. Locker led the secondary, and was named All-League 1st Team. Finkbonner also scored a defensive touchdown against Mount Vernon.
Senior Fabio Froes handled the kicking duties, and he hit on 19 extra points and three field goals. Ebe also returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown against Sehome.