December 5, 2009 in Sports

West Valley comes up short in state bid

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John Froschauer photo

Lynden players celebrate the 16-6 win over West Valley of the state 2A high school football championship game in Tacoma, Wash. on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009.
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TACOMA, Wash. — Brett Bajema caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score to lead Lynden to a 16-6 win over West Valley and a second consecutive Washington Class 2A state championship.

Bajema scored in the second and fourth quarters Saturday as Lynden (13-1) rallied from a 6-0 first-quarter deficit to win its fifth state title.

Lynden beat Prosser 35-34 (2 OT) for the 2008 title. The Lions also won the 2A crown in 2006 and have two 1A titles.

West Valley (13-1), of Spokane, had hoped to win its first state championship since a 3A title in 1976.

Bajema scored on a 2-yard run with 3:58 left in the game to clinch the victory. He rushed for 118 yards on 14 carries.

Lynden quarterback Jordan Hastings tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bajema with 50 seconds left in the first half. Santiago Lopez kicked the extra point to give the Lions a 7-6 halftime lead.

Lynden set up the touchdown by forcing West Valley to punt from its end zone. An 11-yard punt return by Blair Bomber gave the Lions the ball at the West Valley 31.

Hastings then fired a 20-yard pass to Ryan Seto prior to his touchdown toss.

Hastings completed 13-for-27 passes for 152 yards. Seto had five receptions for 94 yards.

Lynden notched a safety early in the third quarter to go up 9-7. The Lions tackled running back Krys Smith in the end zone for a 1-yard loss.

The game turned sloppy in the third quarter as Lynden threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. West Valley threw an interception and later failed to convert on a fourth-and-one at the Lynden 35.

Drew Clausen threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sam Schoesler to give West Valley a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Clausen completed 3-for-3 passes for 57 yards during the drive, including a 32-yard pass to Mitch Peterson.

For the game, Clausen completed 10-for-15 passes for 112 yards.

Lynden missed a 25-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter. West Valley missed a field goal from 38 early in the second quarter.

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