Islanders Break 23-Year Playoff Drought With 21-14 Win Over Ferndale

The football team won its first post-season playoff game for the first time since Head Coach Brett Ogata played for the team in the 1980's, defeating Ferndale, 21-14.

Mercer Island (8-2) fans , and that's certainly what they got in the first quarter of this WIAA 3A District 2 playoff. The Ferndale Golden Eagles (5-5) quickly put 7 points on the board while the Islanders suffered from a holding call that erased a Jeff Lindquist run to the endzone, and a near miss on an Alex Wood field goal attempt that bounced off a goal post.

Then the Islanders defense warmed up, and the offense followed in the 2nd quarter when Quarterback Jeff Lindquist connected with Brent Tsang to tie it up at 7 apiece. With a minute to go in the half, Lindquist threw a picture-perfect 73-yard pass to Nicky Sinclair to pull ahead, 14-7. 

Missed catches by Ferndale and an Islander interception by Parker Scott preserved the Islander lead until late in the 3rd quarter when Ferndale's Kyle Prather ran for a touchdown, making it 14-14.

With 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, another long pass, 33-yards from Lindquist to Connor Bernal in the endzone, put the Islanders ahead 21-14. Cameron Ogard's interception with 3 minutes to go kept the Golden Eagles at bay.

Lindquist was 14 of 25 passing.

Coach Brett Ogata told reporters after the win he was happy for the Mercer Island community after breaking a 23-year drought in winning a state playoff game. The last time the Islanders won in 1988, Ogata himself was a standout receiver on the team. 

The Islanders will find out tomorrow who they face in the first round of the 3A state playoffs, after the favored Meadowdale Mavericks take on the Prairie (Vancouver) Falcons at home in Edmonds Saturday at p.m.