BLAINE – The Mountaineers made quick work of the Wolves on Saturday night as they ripped off a convincing 57-0 victory at Blaine High School.
Mount Baker capped its first drive with a strong 9-yard touchdown run by senior Brice Cooper, who reached with everything he had to get the ball across the goal line.
The Mounties then turned Wapato over on downs, and quickly struck with a 32-yard touchdown pass on the following play from senior quarterback Toga Tigilau to senior wide receiver Jet Ross.
The Wolves were looking at a third-and-long on their next possession, and that was when junior defensive end Kell Reardon’s pressure on the quarterback forced an errant throw which was intercepted by senior defensive end Kaiden Riedesel.
Cooper then quickly scored on a 10-yard touchdown run.
After the two teams traded possessions, Wapato decided to take a deep shot down the near sideline, but it was intercepted by Ross. Two plays later Cooper took a quick pitch around the left end and sped 55 yards for a touchdown, his third of the first quarter.
Senior fullback Kamden Moa and junior wingback Gage Smith each scored rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, while Tigilau and Ross hooked up again for six points on a 28-yard strike off a play-action pass, and Mount Baker led 50-0 at the midway break.
Many backups got their time to shine in the second half as junior running back Gunner McGrath scored his first varsity touchdown in the third quarter with a 14-yard run. Sophomore linebacker Ramsey Mitchell led a strong defensive charge with six tackles, senior defensive end Kody Moa picked up a quarterback sack and sophomore safety Enoc Smith picked off a pass to end the game.
Mount Baker (9-1) received the #3 seed, and earned a first-round bye of the 1A state playoffs. They will play the winner of the Rochester/Omak game in the quarterfinal round.
Mount Baker 57 Wapato 0 WAP 0 0 0 0 - 0 MB 28 22 7 0 - 57 MB - Cooper 9 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 32 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - Cooper 10 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Cooper 55 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Moa 4 run (E. Smith kick) MB - G. Smith 24 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 28 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith run) MB - McGrath 14 run (E. Smitch kick)
WAP MB 26-45 Rush Att-Yards 37-366 13-19-3 Comp-Att-Int 5-11-0 111 Passing Yards 99 Individual Leaders RUSHING - OM: N/A. MB: Cooper 12-148, G. Smith 3-72, N. Nicol-Mills 7-46, Moa 5-33, Monteith 4-32, McGrath 2-19, Galbraith 2-9, J. Nicol-Mills 1-9, Tigilau 1-(-2). PASSING - OM: N/A. MB: Tigilau 5-10-0-99, Barksdale 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - OM: N/A. MB: Ross 3-73, Cooper 1-15, G. Smith 1-11.
