DEMING – If the Mountaineers wanted to finish their regular season with a statement, then it was mission accomplished.
The Pioneers came to town on a five-game winning streak where they averaged over 55 points per game over that span, and Mount Baker held them scoreless in a 30-0 win at Bob Tisdale Field on Thursday night.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Mountaineers came alive in the second when senior running back Brice Cooper broke loose on a 44-yard touchdown run to put his team on top.
An interception by junior linebacker Noah Nicol-Mills gave Mount Baker the football back quickly at the Omak 7-yard line, and senior fullback Kamden Moa followed a block by sophomore guard Sylis Maple on the very next play and scored a touchdown.
The Mounties found themselves with the football again late in the first half, and they were able to drive 93 yards in one minute and 27 seconds to put another touchdown on the scoreboard on the final play of the half. It happened when senior quarterback Toga Tigilau faked a handoff to Cooper, and then faked another handoff to junior wingback Gage Smith. He then squared up to pass, and targeted Cooper who had sprinted down the left sideline. The pass was tipped by the Pioneer defender, but Cooper’s concentration never wavered as he hauled it in at the five yard line and took it into the endzone.
Mount Baker led 20-0 at the half.
It was another scoreless quarter in the third, but an interception by junior linebacker Andrew Monteith late in the quarter gave the ball back to the Mountaineers.
The home team then crossed midfield, and was able to get into the redzone as it flipped into the final quarter of play, but an incomplete pass on third down forced the Mounties to try a 35-yard field goal. Sophomore kicker Enoc Smith punched it through, and Baker led 23-0 in the fourth.
Omak continued to put time-consuming drives together, as they ran the ball on 80% of their plays, but the Mount Baker defense kept coming up with big plays on fourth down to give the ball back to its offense.
With less than a minute to go Cooper took one last carry, and the senior (on senior night) zigged and zagged through the first wave of defenders before hitting it to the outside. A Pioneer defensive back had the angle on him, but Cooper stiff-armed him to the grass before turning on the after-burners and flying down the near sideline for a 79-yard touchdown.
It was a fitting end to the night, and the regular season.
Baker’s defense was led by Nicol-Mills who finished with 8.5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and the interception. Senior safety Jet Ross came up in the box to make 11.5 tackles, and junior defensive end Kell Reardon added 6.5 tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Junior defensive tackle Aaron Torres had 9.5 tackles, Monteith had seven stops and an interception and junior cornerback Zyan Paglia snagged his fourth interception of the season.
The Mountaineers (8-1) will find out on Sunday who their opponent will be in the 1A “Round-of-24” of state play-in games.
Mount Baker 30 Omak 0 OM 0 0 0 0 - 0 MB 0 20 0 10 - 30 MB - Cooper 44 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Moa 7 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Cooper 30 pass from Tigilau (kick blocked) MB - E. Smith 35 FG MB - Cooper 79 run (E. Smith kick)
OM MB 41-165 Rush Att-Yards 35-278 5-9-3 Comp-Att-Int 6-19-1 25 Passing Yards 77 Individual Leaders RUSHING - OM: N/A. MB: Cooper 12-151, Moa 14-95, Tigilau 4-17, G. Smith 3-11, Nicol-Mills 2-4. PASSING - OM: N/A. MB: Tigilau 6-19-1-77. RECEIVING - OM: N/A. MB: Ross 4-36, Cooper 1-30, G. Smith 1-11.
