Blaine and Nooksack Valley opened their seasons with two victories each in a week that saw three of the Whatcom County teams idle.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Bellingham made its first appearance in the new Sehome gym a successful one as the Red Raiders opened their season by beating their cross-town rivals on Tuesday, 53-49.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Colm Schaefer led Bellingham with 25 points in the Raiders’ victory over Sehome, and he followed it up with a team-high 16 points in a loss to Sammamish. … Zane Rector had 14 points in Blaine’s season-opening victory over Friday Harbor and added 26 more as the Borderites rallied to beat Archbishop Murphy.
… Liam Hanenburg had 28 points and 12 rebounds as Lynden came up short in its home opener against Gig Harbor. … Cody Coppinger had 19 points to lead unbeaten Nooksack Valley over Sultan.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Blaine opened with a 79-42 trouncing of Friday Harbor on Tuesday, and then bounced back from an 18-point deficit to knock off Archbishop Murphy, 67-61, on Thursday. Damian Kuoppala had 22 points to lead four Borderites in double figures on Tuesday, and Josh Russ added 27 points in the two wins.
Nooksack Valley won a pair of non-league games, easily topping Granite Falls, 64-27, behind Clancy Coppinger’s 17 points and 12 rebounds, and overcoming Sultan, 60-48, on Saturday thanks to the high-energy play of Zach Johnson.
Squalicum won its two home games, beating Everett, 85-42, on Tuesday thanks to 20 points from Lincoln Hofer, and topping Meadowdale, 54-37, on Saturday thanks to Dedrick Mitchell’s 22 points. In-between, the Storm lost at Mountlake Terrace, 75-55, despite Devante Powell’s team-high 20 points.
After defeating city rival Sehome on Tuesday, Bellingham lost non-league contests against Shorewood on Friday, 58-42, despite Aiden Bartlett’s 10 points and 12 rebounds, and against Sammamish on Saturday, 55-45, despite 10 rebounds from Trevor Johnson.
After having games against King’s and Marysville-Pilchuck postponed because of the late-season success of its football team, Lynden opened at home on Saturday, falling to 3A Gig Harbor, 51-48.
With only one returning varsity player, Sehome started its season with three non-league losses, falling to Bellingham at home on Tuesday despite the 17 points of Micah Daheim, and then losing on the road to Arlington on Wednesday, 68-58, and to Cedarcrest on Friday, 63-47.
Mount Baker lost its opener on the road to Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, 58-50, and then gave new coach Ben Zakheim his first win, a 66-33 drubbing of Concrete on Friday.
Ferndale debuted its young squad at home on Tuesday, falling to Snohomish, 56-53, and then going on the road and dropping a 62-52 contest to Shorecrest.
Lummi Nation will open its season this week with home games against Mount Vernon Christian on Monday and rival Tulalip Christian on Friday, and road games at Shoreline Christian on Wednesday and Meridian on Thursday
Lynden Christian postponed games against Port Angeles and Overlake because of the LC football team’s run to the state title game. The Lyncs are scheduled to open their season on Friday at Seattle Christian.
Meridian opens its season with two non-league games at home this week, hosting Lummi Nation on Thursday and LaConner on Friday.
Week 1 Standings
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Burlington-Edison | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Blaine | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Squalicum | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Anacortes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lakewood | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lynden Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Meridian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bellingham | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lynden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ferndale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sehome | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
NORTHWEST 1B CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Providence Christian | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Grace Academy | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Arlington Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fellowship Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lummi Nation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Skykomish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cedar Park Christian (MLT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lopez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WEEK 2
TOP GAME: Lummi Nation, one of the top 1B teams in the state, will see how it stacks up against the big boys when the Blackhawks travel to Meridian on Thursday. The Trojans return their entire starting lineup from a squad that just missed reaching the 1A regionals last year.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 9: Ferndale at Arlington, Fellowship Christian at Lummi Nation
Tuesday, Dec. 10: Oak Harbor at Blaine, Mount Baker at Sehome, Tamanawanis (B.C.) at Lynden
Wednesday, Dec. 11: Lummi Nation at Shoreline Christian
Thursday, Dec. 12: Lummi Nation at Meridian, Summit Sierra at Mount Baker
Friday, Dec. 13: Lynden Christian at Seattle Christian, LaConner at Meridian, Mount Vernon at Mount Baker, Friday Harbor at Nooksack Valley, Ferndale at Everett, Bellingham at Blaine, Tulalip Heritage at Lummi Nation
Saturday, Dec. 14: Lynden at Eastlake, Marysville-Getchell at Sehome, LaConner at Nooksack Valley
