LYNDEN —c

“I’d say (this win) was definitely an improvement over last week,” said Cougars coach Dan Teeter when comparing this week with last week’s 47-34 win over Prairie. “We gave up some yards rushing (282 against LC), but that was on a lot of attempts (48), and we were very opportunistic on defense.”

The Cougars forced four turnovers without giving the ball away once against the Lyncs, and kept them guessing the entire game.

Senior quarterback Justin Lane spread the ball and the Cougars were able to throw the Lyncs off their game plan early by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead.

“Their plan was the run the ball and keep it out of the hands of our offense early, but we were able to get to them and change that,” Teeters said.

Lane found Justin Peterson for a 16-yard score to conclude Lakewood’s first drive, and Dustin Stanton finished Lane’s second TD pass with a diving catch in the corner of the endzone.

Lakewood added two more scores in the second quarter, with the first coming on a two-yard run by Christian Melton and the second on a short pass that Brandon Stott turned into a 64-yard touchdown play.

Lane finished the day with 270 yards, completing 15 of 26 pass attempts, which marked his second consecutive 200-yard game this season. His three touchdowns gave him nine on the year so far.

The Cougars took advantage of their speed and LC’s defensive style early on to help build a lead.

“They had a lot of guys packing in the box and that left a lot of one-on-one coverage to our receivers, who have just done a great job catching the ball so far this year,” Teeter said. “I couldn’t ask for a better performance from them.”

Scoring Lakewood’s final touchdown was Donovan Evans on a 58-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, Teeter said the Cougars were effective when they needed to be, shutting down the Lyncs anytime they drove close enough to be near scoring range.

The defensive player of the game was cornerback Chase Wheeler, who had an interception forced a fumble and recovered fumble later in the game.

Teeter said that he’s helping his players find a healthy balance of focus and celebration while starting the season 2-0.

“We don’t want to get over confident,” he said. “We’re still 0-0 in conference play and last year we let a few games slip because of that.”

One of which was against Coupeville in what Teeter called the ugliest game of Lakewood’s 2009 season. The Cougars will get a chance to dispel that bitter taste at home Sept. 17.