by Eric Francis
Burlington-Edison’s Achilles Wynn (left) makes a cut Friday night as Anacortes’ Carenza Farrell looks to make the tackle.
BURLINGTON — It didn’t matter who had the ball or where they had it, the Burlington-Edison Tigers football team was in scoring position and the Anacortes Seahawks were in trouble.
The Tigers scored four touchdowns on offense, three on defense and one on special teams Friday during a 59-0 blanking of the Seahawks in a Northwest Conference game.
The Tigers, ranked third in the state among Class 2A schools, improved to 3-0 against Class 2A competition, 5-0 in Northwest Conference play and 5-0 overall. Anacortes fell to 0-3, 0-5 and 0-5.
“You feel a little sorry for them, but at the same time you’re proud you got the JV in there,” said Tiger senior Cole Sager, who scored three touchdowns. “It’s good to get the second and third-string guys in there, so they can get some reps.”
The Tiger defense intercepted six passes, and Sager, Luke Thomas and Stetson Shearer each returned one of them for a touchdown — Shearer’s fourth defensive touchdown of the season. Thomas also got into the scoring column with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Burlington-Edison’s defense held Anacortes to 35 total yards in the game, and actually kept the Seahawks in negative yardage for the second half.
“The defense was stellar,” Tigers coach Bruce Shearer said. “We tried to get a little fancy with our offense in the first half.”
Almost the entire game was played on Anacortes’ half of the field. Late in the third quarter, only three snaps total had taken place past midfield, and only one by the Seahawk offense. The closest Anacortes got to the goal line was the Tiger 29-yard line, and Thomas intercepted the next pass and returned it 75 yards for a score.
Anacortes’ defense proved stout in the first half, keeping the Tiger offense out of the end zone. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Burlington-Edison had scored twice on interception returns and once on a punt return to go with an Andrew Furney 43-yard field goal that made the score 24-0 at the half.
Burlington-Edison’s offense got on track in the third quarter, as Sager blasted in for a pair of touchdown runs and sophomore Dylan Boe, making his second start at quarterback, found former quarterback Troy O’Neill for a twisting 19-yard catch. Thomas’ interception on the final play of the quarter made the score 52-0.
“We stayed focused,” Thomas said. “It’s easy because we’re great friends. We play for each other.”
Boe struggled early, but caught fire in the third quarter and finished 9-of-17 for 156 yards with the one touchdown and an interception. O’Neill, who started at quarterback the team’s first three games, returned to the receiver slot where he started the past two seasons and caught four passes for 88 yards.
Sager finished with a team-high 92 yards on 13 carries for the Tigers,
Landon Macy led Anacortes with 37 yards on 10 carries.
“I feel for those guys,” Bruce Shearer said of the Seahawks. “I’ve been there.”
• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
