Oak Harbor blasts Seaquam with 2nd-quarter thunder / Football

By Jim Waller • September 2, 2018 1:30 am

The Oak Harbor High School football team was a little late to the party in it season opener against Seaquam Secondary School Friday, Aug. 31, in Delta, B.C., but once the Wildcats got into the swing off things, they were the life of the show.

After a sluggish first quarter, which ended in a 7-7 tie, Oak Harbor exploded for 27 points in the second period to blitz the Seahawks on the way to a 48-19 win.

Now the Wildcats face Marysville-Pilchuck in the home and conference opener when the Tomahawks visit at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7.

M-P throttled Snohomish 63-34 in its opener, rushing for a whopping 525 yards. Trenton Hurst finished with 205 yards on only 16 carries. Bryan Sanders returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and added two more scores.

Oak Harbor 48, Seaquam 19

“(We) really played well in the second quarter,” coach Jay Turner said. “The guys settled down and we were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

Oak Harbor rushed for 366 yards on 49 carries in the win, while quarterback Caleb Fitzgerald missed on only one of six passes for an additional 96 yards.

Dorian Hardin ran for 123 yards on just eight carries, Caden Leckelt chipped in with 92 yards on 10 totes and Aaron Martinez had 82 yard on 14 rushes.

In all, nine Wildcats had multiple carries in the game.

Hardin also caught four passes for 85 yards and snared an interception on defense.

Fitzgerald tossed 11 yards to Shingo Johnston for Oak Harbor’s first score, helping the Wildcats stay with Seaquam in the first quarter. Jake Mitten kicked the extra point.

Martinez started the second quarter surge with a 14-yard scoring run.

Martinez punched it in from the 1 for the Wildcats next score, and Fitzgerald threw to Hardin for the PAT, making it 21-7.

Hardin then burned the Seahawks on a pair of big scoring plays. First, he scored on a 37-yard run, then he caught a 55-yard TD pass from Fitzgerald. Mittens kicked the PAT on the second score, and Oak Harbor led 34-7 at the half.

In the third quarter, Leckelt ran it in from the 14, and Hardin struck again, this time from 44 yards. Leckelt ran for a two-point conversion to finish the Wildcat scoring.

Seaquam scored single touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters.