BLAINE – Lynden Christian came back from a two-touchdown deficit in the second half to win by two touchdowns on the road, 42-28, against the Borderites on Thursday night.
The scoring started out fast as sophomore Saihou Kanagie started the game by returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time a Blaine player returned the opening kickoff for a score since 1997 when Brad Scheib did it against Granite Falls.
The Lyncs were able to tie the game up early in the second quarter when junior quarterback Kellen Blankers kept the ball on an option play and sprinted around the right end for nine yards before crossing the goal line.
Lynden Christian was looking to add more points on the board as Blankers hit senior wide receiver Wyatt Kamphouse who made a diving catch that covered 16 yards, but on the next play, a short pass to the right side was picked off by junior cornerback Hunter Candanoza and returned 67 yards for a touchdown.
Candanoza then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior Connor Brown late in the second quarter, and Blaine led 21-7 at the half.
The last time that the Borderites beat the Lyncs was in 2013, and this year’s group of Lyncs came out of the locker room at halftime with a renewed attitude that it would remain that way.
Senior Justin Kuik who played offensive line last season, and tight end this season, was moved to running back for this game to help fill the void left by All-State senior Chris Kooiman who was out with an injury. Kuik struggled with holding on to the ball in the first half, but he took advantage of his chances in the second half and rattled off three rushing touchdowns.
He also finished with a game-high 122 yards on 16 carries.
His first touchdown brought the Lyncs within one score, and moments later it was a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore Will Macomber that tied the game at 21-21.
A fumble recovery by junior nose tackle Moses Hemnes gave Lynden Christian another short field, and it capitalized with Kuik’s second touchdown run, which gave the visitors their first lead of the game 28-21.
Blaine wasn’t going to fade away, though, as Brown was able to connect on a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior Isaac Bouma, which tied the game at 28-28 late in the third quarter.
Bouma finished with 11 receptions for 157 yards to continue his hot streak.
The ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Borderites, who now had all the momentum, despite the tie on the scoreboard. However, the Lyncs were able to force a turnover on downs and get the ball back in their hands.
Now in the fourth quarter, Kuik’s powerful runs up the middle were picking up big chunks of yards, and Blankers finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jackson Yun, which gave the lead back to Lynden Christian.
The game was setting up for an epic final drive by Blaine, but a pass over the middle was intercepted by junior linebacker Gavin VanLoo who returned back to the Borderite 28-yard line. Five plays later, Kuik scored his third touchdown of the half.
Blaine had one last gasp, but Brown was sacked on fourth down by senior linebacker Kaden Veldman, which sealed the win for the Lyncs.
Lynden Christian (7-2) will await its next opponent as it will play in the 1A Round-of-24 next week, while Blaine (3-6) will host Friday Harbor (6-2) on Thursday at 6:00.
Lynden Christian 42
Blaine 28
LC 0 7 21 14 - 42
BLA 7 14 7 0 - 28
BLA - Kanagie 95 kickoff return (Candanoza kick)
LC - Blankers 9 run (Yun kick)
BLA - Candanoza 67 interception return (Candanoza kick)
BLA - Candanoza 2 pass from Brown (Candanoza kick)
LC - Kuik 4 run (Yun kick)
LC - Macomber 41 interception return (Yun kick)
LC - Kuik 10 run (Yun kick)
BLA - I. Bouma 12 pass from Brown (Candanoza kick)
LC - Yun 18 pass from Blankers (Yun kick)
LC - Kuik 14 run (Yun kick)
LC BLA
26-136 Rush Att-Yards 27-46
14-20-1 Comp-Att-Int 14-27-2
140 Passing Yards 178
Individual Leaders
RUSHING - LC: Kuik 16-122, Berendsen 5-11, Blankers 5-3. BLA: Brown 16-34, Kanagie 6-8, Hagee 5-4.
PASSING - LC: Blankers 14-20-1-140. BLA: Brown 14-27-2-178.
RECEIVING - LC: Kamphouse 9-83, Yun 2-27, Veldman 2-21, Kuik 1-9. BLA: I. Bouma 11-157, Candanoza 2-14, Rose 1-7.
Leave a Reply