Taking advantage of Mariner’s inability to catch a punt, the Oak Harbor High School football team defeated the Marauders 27-21 in the season opener for both schools Friday, Sept. 2, at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats punted three times in the game, and all three times Mariner muffed the kick, turning the ball back over to Oak Harbor. The final mistake came with 1:52 left in a 21-21 game. The Wildcats recovered at the Mariner 7-yard line, and Princeton Lollar bulled into the end zone on the next play to score the game’s final points.
In all, Mariner lost four fumbles, threw an interception and was penalized eight times; two penalties came of fourth down and kept Wildcat drives alive. Oak Harbor, on the other hand, lost only one fumble and was penalized just four times.
Oak Harbor opened the scoring after Mariner’s first miscue. On the third play of the game, Sam Zook’s sack of J.J. Walker knocked the ball loose and Mac Nuanez recovered at the Mariner 22.
On third down, Oak Harbor quarterback Jordan Bell threw his first varsity pass, which resulted in his first varsity touchdown. The 18-yard toss was caught by his longtime friend, T.J. Hollins-Passmore, for his first varsity catch and score. Ty Eck kicked the point after.
The Marauders immediately responded. Walker completed three passes for 54 yards to Darius Brown, the final one for a 16-yard TD. On the play, Walker used a Russell Wilson reverse spin move to avoid a heavy Oak Harbor rush.
The Wildcats converted on fourth down twice in their next drive, including a fourth-and-14 from the 24 that resulted in a Bell to Gabe Eck touchdown on the second play of the second quarter. That made Bell 2-for-2 for two scores.
Again, Mariner countered with a quick score. On the fourth play of the drive, Brown threw a halfback pass to Walker for a 37-yard touchdown.
Oak Harbor fumbled to Mariner at the 22-yard line on its next possession. But Mariner went backward. Two penalties and a sack made it fourth-and-37.
A Mariner muffed punt gave Oak Harbor the ball at the Marauder 22-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the four, Hollins-Passmore scored to make it 21-14 at halftime.
Although Oak Harbor didn’t score in the third quarter, it controlled the ball all but six plays, thanks in part to another botched punt by Mariner.
Mariner made up for it early in the fourth quarter when Walker hooked up with Brown for another TD pass, this one covering 86 yards to tie the score with 6:09 left in the game.
A 35-yard run by Taeson Hardin was wiped out with a holding penalty and Oak Harbor lined up to punt from midfield with 2:07 left in the game. Mariner, concerned about a fake, put no one back. As the punt was rolling down field, a Marauder inexplicably jumped on the ball only to have it wrestled away by a Wildcat. That set up Lollar’s game-winning TD.
Hollins-Passmore intercepted Walker at the Oak Harbor 22 to thwart Mariner’s comeback attempt.
Walker finished 8-for-15 for 195 yards. Mariner gained only 31 yards rushing on 16 attempts, and finished with 263 yards of total offense.
Lollar led the Wildcats with 110 rushing yards on 24 carries. Hardin added 83 on 14 rushes. Bell went 5-for-8 for 64 yards, and Oak Harbor totaled 275 yards.
Mariner is one of the favorites to win the Wesco 4A division.
“They were pretty physical and fast,” Oak Harbor coach Jay Turner said. “We knew that coming in.”
He said his club needs to be more efficient on offense, and defensively needs to avoid giving up big plays.
“The defense, for the most part – outside the big plays – played well and rallied to the ball,” he said. “And, I like how the kids responded to adversity; they never quit.”
Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Kamiak, the other Mukilteo high school; the game will be played at Mariner’s Goddard Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. The Knights opened the season with a 17-0 win over Bishop Blanchet Friday.
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T.J. Passmore dives for the end zone in Oak Harbor’s win over Mariner in the season opener. Photo by John Fisken.
