RECORD: 7-3 – COACH: Jamie Plenkovich
LEAGUE: 6-2 (3rd Place in the 2A/3A NWC)
CLASSIFICATION: 3A – Playoffs: Lost Play-In Game
POINTS PER GAME: 32.4 – POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME: 20.1
POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +12.3
GAME BY GAME:
Week 1: Ferndale 47, Blaine 21
Week 2: Ferndale 48, Sehome 21
Week 3: Ferndale 28, Garfield 6
Week 4: Ferndale 35, Burlington-Edison 28
Week 5: Ferndale 41, Squalicum 7
Week 6: Sedro Woolley 32, Ferndale 20
Week 7: Ferndale 61, Bellingham 28
Week 8: Lynden 14, Ferndale 6
Week 9: Ferndale 38, Anacortes 0
State Play-In Game: Bellevue 44, Ferndale 0
A more recent version of the Golden Eagles might not have known what it had when the season started. But, they realized soon that they had great team speed, and another great Ferndale team.
Senior Cooper Clark was now into his second season as the starting quarterback, and he finished with 31 completions for 478 yards and five touchdowns. His overall athleticism also allowed him to rush for two more touchdowns.
Running back Joey Akers missed most of the prior season due to an injury, but he more than made up for it with a gigantic senior season. He carried the ball 153 times for 1013 yards (6.6 average) and 13 touchdowns, and he was named All-League 2nd Team. 220-pound junior fullback Marcus Nightingale plowed through the middle of the Ferndale line for 948 yards (6.4) and 11 touchdowns. Lightning-quick junior Daniel Jones rounded out the Golden Eagle backfield, rushing for 446 yards (8.4) and seven touchdowns.
Jones and Akers each totaled over 100 yards receiving (121 and 114, respectively) and they caught four of the five touchdown passes thrown by Clark. 6-foot-3 senior wide receiver Robert Hardin caught a team-high seven passes and junior Christian Cameron caught a touchdown pass. 6-foot-7 sophomore tight end John Weg hauled in five passes for 62 yards (12.4). Senior Hunter Grunhurd anchored the offensive line that pushed it’s way to average 328 yards rushing per game!
Super sophomores Chris Hernandez and Taylor Bellefeuille took the conference by storm as some of the best defensive underclassmen. Hernandez was named All-League 1st Team on the defensive line, while Bellefeuille was named All-League 1st Team at linebacker. Even with those two studs, the defense was anchored by it’s strong secondary. Akers was named All-League 1st Team, and was also named All-State 1st Team, while Clark was an All-League 2nd Team performer. Junior Andrew Higginson-Fernandez booted 37 extra points and one field goal.