ARLINGTON – Too many turnovers and big plays by the opponent is what did Blaine in as the Borderites fell on the road against Lakewood 35-27 at Dick Cardinal Stadium on Friday night.
Blaine looked strong early on, in both running and passing the ball, and finished its first drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Connor Brown to sophomore wide receiver Hunter Candanoza.
The Cougars retaliated quickly with a 51-yard touchdown pass and the score was tied at 7-7 after one quarter of play.
The Borderites gained big chunks of yards in the second quarter, but turnovers ended those drives and gave opportunities to Lakewood. However the score stood still until the midway break.
The Cougars struck first in the third quarter, and after forcing another turnover, they immediately scored their second touchdown of the quarter and were ahead 21-7.
Blaine closed the gap in the third quarter when Brown hit senior wide receiver Kai Kerwin on a 19-yard touchdown pass, which brought the score to 21-14.
The one-score difference wouldn’t last long as Lakewood returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. The Cougars then scored the opening touchdown of the fourth quarter, and held a big 35-14 lead in the final period.
The Borderites wouldn’t go down without a fight, and were able to move the ball down the field in multiple ways, and were rewarded with a pair of passing touchdowns. The first was a 6-yarder to Candanoza, and the second was a 15-yard laser strike to sophomore Isaac Bouma. Bouma led the way offensively for Blaine with six receptions for 111 yards.
Brown’s four touchdown passes on the night gave him 25 for the season, which ties the Whatcom County record for touchdown passes by a sophomore. Jacob Kaepernick was the first to do so, with Sehome in 2018.
The youth movement didn’t end there as freshman Asher Hagee, who is playing football for the first time this year, showed raw abilities in the backfield and ran the ball 15 times for 92 yards.
Junior linebacker Axel Shelton led the defensive attack with 7.5 tackles, and Blaine finished its season with a record of 2-8.
Lakewood 35 Blaine 27 BLA 7 0 7 13 - 27 LAK 7 0 21 7 - 35 BLA - Candanoza 22 pass from C. Brown (Candanoza kick) LAK - 51 yard touchdown pass (kick good) LAK - 35 yard touchdown run (kick good) LAK - 64 yard touchdown run (kick good) BLA - Kerwin 19 pass from C. Brown (Candanoza kick) LAK - 65 yard kickoff return for a touchdown (kick good) LAK - 4 yard touchdown run (kick good) BLA - Candanoza 6 pass from C. Brown (Candanoza kick) BLA - I. Bouma 15 pass from C. Brown (kick failed) BLA LAK 33-213 Rush Att-Yards 27-206 17-38-3 Comp-Att-Int 15-27-1 232 Passing Yards 217 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BLA: Hagee 15-92, Kerwin 9-83, C. Brown 7-24, Heer 2-14. LAK: N/A. PASSING - BLA: C. Brown 17-38-3-232. LAK: N/A. RECEIVING - BLA: I. Bouma 6-111, Candanoza 6-95, Kerwin 4-26, Heer 1-0. LAK: N/A.
