East Valley faces a test on road against Ferndale

East Valley, ranked eighth among State 3A teams, faces a top-ranked Ferndale team that has yet to be tested during Saturday’s 3 p.m. game at Bellingham.

The Knights have been tested, losing to Idaho 5A playoff participant Coeur d’Alene and Gonzaga Prep in the first two weeks before reeling off nine consecutive wins.

The Knights’ offense was the GSL’s best, averaging 358 yards and 37.7 points a game. It was led by the rushing of junior Ryan Campbell, the league’s top rusher with 1,301 yards and 25 touchdowns.

But the EV defense was also stout, leading the league in rushing defense, yielding less than 3 yards a carry.

It’s that rushing defense the Golden Eagles will be testing, as University of Washington-bound quarterback Jake Locker (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) can hurt with his legs as well as his arm.

“With Locker you just have to try to contain him, because you can’t stop him, just like they say on ESPN,” EV coach Adam Fisher said.

Locker, whom EV assistant coach (and former EWU head coach) Dick Zornes termed one of the best high school prospects the state has produced, led a run-oriented Ferndale offense that averaged 56.7 points per game.

“If they are throwing the football, we’ve done something right,” Fisher said, “because they want to run it with Locker and (6-2, 215-pound Adam) Wilgus.”