Oak Harbor survived two short punts that led to touchdowns and a

stellar defensive effort overcame five intercepted passes as the

Wildcats avenged their only loss from 2006, dumping the Lake Stevens Vikings 24-21 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Friday night’s homecoming game.

The hometown fans were stunned as Lake Stevens took a 14-0 lead after the first 12 minutes of action.

The first of two short punts gave the Vikings the ball at the

Wildcats’ 45-yard line and five plays later, quarterback Nick Baker scored on a 1-yard run. Brennan Frost booted the extra point and Lake Stevens was up 7-0.

At the 1:27 mark of the first quarter, Barker hit Dustin Adams with a 23-yard scoring strike for a 14-0 lead.

The Wildcats got on the board at the 4:40 mark of the second period on a 48-yard Johnny Encinas to Michael Bell pass.

Bell, a 6-foot, 5-inch senior, made a tremendous juggling catch over two Viking defenders to score. Mike Johnston added the first of three extra points and the Wildcats were back in it trailing 14-7.

With 17 seconds remaining before halftime, Encinas hit tight end Jake Rouser on a 10-yard scoring pass and the Wildcats went into the locker room tied 14-14 with the Vikings.

Oak Harbor scored on its first series of downs in the second half on a six-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 1-yard Chris Valencia run to go ahead for the first time, 21-14.

However, the second of two bad punts gave Lake Stevens the ball on

the Wildcats’ 36-yard line with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter and five plays later, Bo Dickinson punched the ball in the end zone to tie the score once again.

In the fourth period, Valencia picked off a Baker pass returning the ball to the Vikings’ 12-yard line and with 8:47 remaining in the

game, Kevin Flavin nailed the 22-yard game-winning field goal.

Lake Stevens had one final opportunity after Encinas threw his fifth interception with 3:14 remaining, but once again the Wildcats’

defense stood up and forced the Vikings to turn the ball over on

downs with just over a minute left in the game.