BLAINE – Maybe all the Borderites needed was some home cooking? After an 0-2 start to the season, Blaine finally played its first home game and walked away with a 33-19 win over Chelan on Friday night.
The Borderites got on the board first on a 4th-and-20 play when sophomore quarterback Connor Brown rolled to his left and tossed a 30-yard pass into the endzone which was caught by freshman wide receiver Jackson Bogaards for a touchdown. Bogaards became just the third player in school history to catch a touchdown pass as a freshman, the first two being Joey Paciorek and Anthony Ball.
Blaine scored again in the second quarter when senior safety Kai Kerwin intercepted a pass and took it 87 yards for a touchdown, and the Borderites held a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Despite strong defense by Blaine all night long, the Goats were able to get into the endzone at the end of the half, and the Borderites led 14-7 at the break.
Blaine once again captured a two-touchdown lead when Brown found fellow sophomore Hunter Candanoza on a 6-yard touchdown pass, but Chelan went on to score the next two touchdowns. The Goats decided to go for a two-point conversion after their second touchdown, which would have given them a one-point lead, but a pass to the back-left corner of the endzone was broken up by Bogaards.
Any momentum the Chelan had to that point was quickly erased on the next play from scrimmage as Borderite junior running back Jaiden Johannesson sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown, which electrified the orange and black sideline as well as the home fans.
Blaine was able to put one final stamp on the game when Brown hit Kerwin on a 26-yard fade route for a touchdown. Kerwin finished with six catches for 80 yards.
The Borderite defense held the Goats to just 10 rushing yards on 27 carries, and was led by sophomore linebacker Matt Campion who had nine tackles, three tackles for loss, a pass broken up, and interception and a fumble recovery. Junior linebacker Axel Shelton led his team with 10 tackles, and Kerwin registered eight stops.
Blaine (1-2) will host Granite Falls (2-0) on Friday at 7:00.
Blaine 33 Chelan 19 CHE 0 7 6 6 - 19 BLA 8 6 6 13 - 33 BLA - Bogaards 30 pass from C. Brown (Kerwin pass from C. Brown) BLA - Kerwin 87 interception return (kick failed) CHE - 5 yard touchdown pass (kick good) BLA - Candanoza 6 pass from C. Brown (pass failed) CHE - 1 yard touchdown run (kick failed) CHE - 9 yard touchdown run (pass failed) BLA - Johannesson 60 run (pass failed) BLA - Kerwin 26 pass from C. Brown (P. Bouma kick) CHE BLA 27-10 Rush Att-Yards 23-63 13-30-2 Comp-Att-Int 12-29-2 132 Passing Yards 176 Individual Leaders RUSHING - CHE: N/A. BLA: Johannesson 6-67, C. Brown 9-33, Kerwin 5-(-1), bad snap 2-(-36). PASSING - CHE: N/A. BLA: C. Brown 12-28-2-176, Kerwin 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - CHE: N/A. BLA: Kerwin 6-80, P. Bouma 4-60, Bogaards 1-30, Candanoza 1-6.
Kai Kerwin broke a 33 year record.The last record was 80 yards, Kai got an interception and ran for 85 yards for. TD!!!