LAKEWOOD — The Cougars fell victim to the big play early on against the Red Raiders in a 29-12 cross-over game loss Nov. 5.

Losing more than a dozen players to discipline problems, Lakewood was forced to add a few new wrinkles to its offense.

“We just kept it positive and worked on keeping Bellingham off balance by throwing in a little single wing,” said Lakewood coach Dan Teeter. “It was fun and I think it created a few alignment problems for them, but it wasn’t enough.”

The three-back running offense was a strikingly different game plan than the normally pass-oriented Cougars. And it worked for a couple of possessions, as the Cougars were able to get moderate gains.

But Bellingham scored on its second possession of the game on a 77-yard run, blocked a punt and scored again on a 15-yard pass to jump out to a 14-0 lead. A 48-yard TD pass later in the half gave the Red Raiders a 21-0 halftime lead.

The loss dropped the Cougars to a 3-7 record at the conclusion of their season.

One of the bright spots on the Lakewood offense and defense was the play of senior Nathan Hasselman on both sides of the ball. The 6-4, 180 pound outside linebacker recorded six tackles, including two for losses and a sack. He also caught a screen pass behind the line and ran it 64 yards through the Bellingham defense for a score.

“He is a naturally gifted athlete,” Teeter said of Hasselman. “He was an animal on defense. We tried to get him to come out and play all four of his years and if he had, I bet a number of schools would be looking at him.”

Lakewood scored again just four plays later after getting back possession from a Dustin Stanton interception. This time sophomore Christian Melton ran it in for a 7-yard score.

Teeter also praised senior Quincy Robinson, who started the game at quarterback and played turnover-free.

“That really says a lot about his character, and that of the rest of the team — they kept on playing hard despite everything,” Teeter said. “I can’t say enough about the effort that this team put out there tonight.”

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