East Valley fights past Lynden for semi berth

YAKIMA – The once-in-a-generation season that the unbeaten East Valley team is enjoying this fall hit a snag pretty much any team would be happy to deal with.

“Not many teams get to say this,” longtime Red Devils coach Eric Berg said in the postgame huddle, “but you’re going to be practicing on Thanksgiving.”

It took all that third-seeded East Valley had to get by No. 6 Lynden 27-24 at West Valley's Clasen Field. 

The Lions have a pedigree – 10 championships over three classifications, and nothing short of the quarterfinals since 2018 – few teams boast.

It also took an impassioned halftime speech from Berg. 

“We had a heart-to-heart about persevering and sticking together and they did that,” Berg said.

After pasting all but a couple of its opponents this season, East Valley found itself in a donnybrook against the Lions, who won the 2021 and 2022 championships.

Punched in the mouth – and occasionally stubbing their toe – the Red Devils had more to overcome in this one.

“Coach always says, ‘setback, comeback,’ and that was our mindset through the whole thing," EV senior quarterback Jaxon Berg said. “It was never over.”

Lynden’s ground game racked up 224 yards against an East Valley defense that capped the regular season with three straight shutouts. The Lions churned up nearly 150 rushing yards in the first half, with two time-draining drives.

The first of those in the first quarter ended with Lynden quarterback Lukas Laji scurrying in from 11 yards out for a touchdown with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils barely ran a dozen plays before intermission, and didn't get on the scoreboard until nearly 5 minutes into the second quarter Cody Gasseling scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 21-yard drive. 

Greyson Stevens' punt return of nearly 60 yards had put East Valley just shy of the red zone.

The Lions, though, answered back, holding the ball all but 31.5 seconds of the final 7:17 of the second quarter before Lalji threw the first of his two touchdown passes to Samm Puello Arango.

Jaxon Berg made the most of it of the time, driving the Red Devils 61 yards for a touchdown on just three plays.

He first hit running back Braden Albrecht for an 8-yard pass, then connected with Montana State-bound receiver Greyson Stevens for 22 more yards.

Nearing field-goal range, Berg found Gasseling, EV's resident Swiss Army Knife, in stride for a 31-yard score.

Although the snap on the ensuing point after went awry, the Red Devils took the momentum to the locker room.

Unfortunately, East Valley couldn’t seize on the opportunity in the third.

After a bad snap aided in a 1-yard Lynden punt on the opening possession of the third quarter, the Red Devils drove to Lynden’s 2-yard line, but were unable to find the end zone and turned it over on downs.

Lynden then drove to EV’s 22-yard line and extended the lead to 17-13 on Malachi Koenen’s 39-yard field goal.

East Valley answered with Gasseling breaking off a 36-yard run to set up a Berg-to-Stevens 27-yard touchdown pass.

The Red Devils then forced a three-and-out, and began another scoring march.

All 56 yards of the drive came on the ground, with Gasseling plunging in from two to give EV a 27-17 lead.

Gasseling finished with 129 yards on 16 carries, as he handled much of the load with Albrecht still a bit hobbled from an injury suffered two weeks earlier.

“Cody’s a thoroughbred, he just gets after it,” Eric Berg said.

Lynden, however, wasn’t done, and Lalji tossed his second scoring pass to Puello Arango with 6:23 left in the contest.

The Lions then forced a punt, which Stevens dropped at the 4-yard line.

East Valley held, and got the ball back at the Lions; 41-yard-line.

Five consecutive Gasseling runs – one a redo after EV was whistled for helping him along – all but salted the victory away. A dramatic measurement on fourth down took care of that.

“I look forward to it.,” Gasseling said of the extra workload. “I just put my head down and run downhill.”

The Red Devils advance to the state semifinals where they’ll meet No. 2 Tumwater, a 27-6 winner against Franklin Pierce on Saturday.

A date and westside location for the game will be announced early next week.

East Valley matched a school record with its 12th victory of the season. The Red Devils won their first 12 games of the 2004 season, en route to their last conference championship and a berth in the 2A title game.

“It’s a testament to all the work we’ve put in for all four years, even the last 10 years we’ve all been together in this community,” Jaxon Berg said.