Royal beating: Braves post big Homecoming win

They rolled out the red carpet at Whittaker Field on Friday.

Not for the visiting Bellingham football team, but for the La Conner High Homecoming Court.

Yet crowning achievements weren’t limited to special coronation festivities at halftime.

The Braves saw to that with a 24-7 royal beating of Bellingham, a key non-league triumph that gives La Conner added momentum going into a two-game stretch drive opposite NW2B rivals Friday Harbor and Orcas that wraps up the regular season.

The hosts clicked on all cylinders against Bellingham.

La Conner, which topped 400 yards in total offense, blanked the Red Raiders until the final stanza.

“Overall,” said Braves head coach Johnny Lee, whose club improved to 6-1 overall, “I thought this was one of our better played games of the season. I felt we were extremely effective defensively due to our guys being aggressive at the point of attack. We covered well downfield and played physical on the defensive line.

“Offensively,” he noted, “we were very well balanced, and our screen game was huge for us.”

It was quarterback James Hulbert who deftly delivered those screen passes, completing 13 of 22 passes.

One of those tosses, an 11-yard third period strike to Cameron Hansen, capped the scoring for La Conner and gave the Braves a cushy 24-0 margin going into the fourth quarter.

The short passing game set up an effective La Conner ground attack.

Seth Schuh churned out a game-high 116 yards on just 12 carries, two of which resulted in TDs.

Schuh got the Braves on the board with a 68-yard touchdown burst in the opening frame. He reached paydirt again on a five-yard blast before intermission.

Schuh likewise made his presence felt on defense, recording a sack in the end zone for a safety.

“It was a delayed blitz,” Lee said of the deuce, which put La Conner on top 16-0 just after halftime. “It was a huge momentum play that was pretty exciting.”

Budda Luna and Kolbe Rassler further stymied Bellingham with interceptions.

“Those also helped turn momentum,” said Lee.

It was all downhill from there for La Conner, which played keep away to great effect for much of the night.

“I felt Budda, Seth, and Cameron made some great plays running the ball, and Max Miller had some key receptions,” Lee said.

Miller finished with three grabs for 20 yards.

Nick Reese, who ran twice for six yards, did most of his work in the trenches as La Conner controlled the line of scrimmage throughout.

“Nick played very gritty,” stressed Lee.

The finished product was a polished performance, much to the delight of La Conner fans.

“It was a great Homecoming crowd,” Lee said, “and the guys put on quite a show for their Homecoming onlookers.”

The Braves next sail for Friday Harbor in an attempt to complete a two-game regular season series sweep of the Wolverines.

Kickoff for this Friday’s conference matchup is set for 6:30 p.m.