3A football: Ferndale earns date with Bellevue

TACOMA — Bring on Bellevue.

The Ferndale Golden Eagles are ready to test their wings against the top-ranked Wolverines, expected by many to roll to their fourth consecutive Class 3A state football championship.

Ferndale says not so fast.

Led by do-everything junior Jacob Locker, the 14th-ranked Eagles (13-1) soared past No. 6 Kelso 45-6 in a semifinal game last night at the Tacoma Dome. Earlier in the day, Bellevue (12-0) did its part with a 41-21 victory over Lynden. The two meet in the championship game next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.

The Eagles, whose only loss was to Lynden (26-6) in the seventh week of the season, have established themselves as a worthy opponent. They knocked off No. 3 Kennedy and No. 7 Rainier Beach to get to the semis.

Now, they get their chance against Bellevue. And while there is much respect for the Wolverines and their accomplishments, there is no intimidation.

"There's no doubt they're an amazing team," said Locker, a junior quarterback who ran for one touchdown, passed for another and returned a punt 66 yards for a third. "They have a numerous amount of weapons. We've got to figure out how to stop that and we're going to have to figure out how to move the ball on them. If we figure that out, we might give them a good game."

The Eagles expect nothing less from themselves.

"We're expecting to come out and play our best game of the year," Locker said. "All you can do is come out and play as hard as you can. You run your best stuff at them, and if that's not good enough, it wasn't meant to be."

The Eagles were at their best in the first half last night, racing to a 38-0 lead thanks largely to the play of Locker (6 feet 2, 220 pounds). He scored their first two touchdowns, on a 24-yard bootleg and on the punt return. He later added a 67-yard touchdown pass to Rocki Sundusky.

Defensively, Locker snuffed Kelso's only scoring threat in the first half, intercepting a Cort Carpenter pass at the 7-yard line. He returned it 93 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a blocking penalty brought the ball back to the Ferndale 29. The Eagles drove to the Kelso 15, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Mike Shaw with 18 seconds left in the half, giving them a 31-0 half.

And they weren't done yet. Kelso (11-2), which also lost only to Class 4A Mountain View, fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Dominique Alejandre returned it 10 yards to the 2-yard line with seven ticks on the clock. After an incomplete pass, Adam Wilgus dove over for the touchdown and Ferndale took a 38-0 lead into the locker room.

At that point, the Eagles had 273 yards of total offense to Kelso's nine.

"The kids came out and wanted to make a statement," Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich said. "We came out ready to play."

Kelso coach Pat Hymes said his team was simply overmatched.

"They physically knocked us around," he said. "We had the football game handed to us and they beat us up one side and down the other. ... We have not been shut down like that the whole season."

Kelso's lone touchdown came after the Ferndale reserves fumbled a handoff at their 23-yard line with 5:42 to play. Tyler Minium eventually scored on a 2-yard run.

The Hilanders finished with 73 total yards. Ferndale amassed 418, including 104 rushing by John Baker.

Ferndale and Bellevue have some history. The Wolverines' 15-game win streak in the playoffs includes a 14-0 victory over the Golden Eagles in the 2001 quarterfinals. And their last playoff loss came against Ferndale, in the 1999 quarters. Hymes believes Ferndale can challenge Bellevue.

"I think it's going to be a great matchup," he said.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com