4 games you should not have missed in Week 2 of Washington high school football

In other WIAA champions-only matchup, Okanogan (2B) runs away from Liberty Bell (1B), 42-22

Carter Kuchenbuch led Okanogan to WIAA Class 2B football championships last fall over Napavine in Seattle. / Photo by Todd Milles

Class 2B king Okanogan High School had no idea what it was walking into Friday night on its bus ride to Twisp.

What it ended up being was a whole lot of craziness.

In front of a packed crowd supporting 2023 Class 1B champion Liberty Bell (now in 2B), the Mountain Lions bedazzled their visitors with a speedy sandlot-type brand of football that terrorized the eight-man ranks the past two seasons.

But in the end, Okanogan's power rushing attack prevailed, 42-22.

"They were fast ...and that quarterback (Lucien Paz) keeps creating until he finds his brotler (Remington Paz)," Okanogan coach Erick Judd said. "We just had to be patient and weather the storm."

Ah, but what a storm it was.

It rained big plays for Liberty Bell - a Paz-to-Paz 94-yard touchdown catch and run; Bode Thompson's 58-yard scoring sweep; and finally Remington Paz's jaw-dropping 56-yard touchdown catch off a fake punt on the final play of the first half to tie the game at 22-22.

But after halftime, it was all Bulldogs.

Quarterback Carter Kuchenbuch scored a pair of touchdown runs in the second half, including his 2-yard go-ahead score midway through the third quarter.

Kuchenbuch's 4-yard touchdown gave Okanogan a 36-22 lead in the fourth quarter, and minutes later, Tanner Grooms' 10-yard score put the game out of reach.

Kuchenbuch rushed for 113 yards and four touchdowns.

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OAK HARBOR BOOTS FERNDALE

The Wildcats led big. Then they trailed Ferndale. But finally, they found a way,

And Oak Harbor defeated the 3A Wesco powerhouse, 32-29, for its first victory in the series since 2018.

Connor Cash threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including his 20-yard score to Carson Lang that tied the game at 29-29 early in the fourth quarter.

After a Ferndale drive stalled past midfield, the Wildcats drove 60 yards over the final six minutes to set up Wyatt Cardon's 21-yard field goal with one second remaining.

Oak Harbor is now 2-0.

"It says a lot," Oak Harbor coach Marcus Hughes. "These kids are pretty resilient."

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SKYVIEW HAS INSANE COMEBACK

Defending Class 4A Lake Stevens isn't the only one 0-2 after two week. So is state runner-up Graham-Kapowsin.

The Eagles have Skyview to thank for that. The Storm wiped out a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to post a 21-17 victory at Kiggins Bowl.

James Poindexter hit Gavin Packer with the game-winning 2-yard touchdown pass with 4.4 seconds remaining to cap the incredible comeback.

The play that will haunt the Eagles with 90 seconds remaining came on a great defensive stop. Safety DJ Ta'ape came up wit Graham-Kapowsin's fourth interception. Instead of sliding down to end the play - and essentially the game - he tried returning it, only to see the ball jarred from his grasp on a big hit from Rex Allinger. Packer recovered the fumble for the Storm.

Eight plays later, Skyview won it on Packer's juggling catch inside the left pylon.

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DECATUR IN 3A NPSL DRIVER'S SEAT

Nobody over the past weeks is having more enjoyment than Decatur coach Matt Vaeena.

After his Gators shocked Federal Way, 35-34, on Friday night, rallying from 21 points down with nine minutes remaining, Decatur is in the catbird seat for its first league championship in school history.

The key? Spencer Holloway's efficiency running a sped-up offense.

"We needed to score fast and not waste any plays," Vaeena said.

Decatur finished off the rally on Holloway's 23-yard touchdown pass to Maddox Heyliger on fourth down with 2:26 to go. The Gators got the two-point conversion to take a 35-34 lead.

The Gators forced a turnover a minute later to sew up another win over a 3A NPSL contender. They beat Enumclaw in their season opener.

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