DEMING – In a rivalry game that goes back 95 years, Mount Baker defeated Blaine 34-7 at Bob Tisdale Field on Friday night.
The Mountaineers possessed the ball first, but didn’t have it very long as Borderite sophomore linebacker James Loos recovered a fumble and the visitors were in business early.
Blaine then drove into the red zone, but that was when Mount Baker’s All-State defensive end Kell Reardon began to make his presence known. He hurried a pass on third down, and then followed it up with a sack on fourth down to give the ball back to the Mountaineers who possessed the ball for the remainder of the scoreless first quarter.
Junior running back Enoc Smith broke free for an 11-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, and Mount Baker took the early 7-0 lead.
The Borderites were able to drive past midfield once again, but were eventually forced to punt after a quarterback sack by senior defensive tackle Aaron Torres on third down. The punt was partially blocked by Reardon, which gave the Mounties good field position once again.
A 40-yard connection from junior quarterback Tyson Barksdale to senior wide receiver Jaeden Louie put the Mountaineers deep into Blaine territory, and that was followed up by a big run by senior Noah Nicol-Mills who played on the offensive line last week, but was back in his familiar #9 jersey on senior night. Moments later, Barksdale was able to lower his shoulders and score from a yard out.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Mount Baker obtained the ball once again with just 21 seconds left in the half. Smith broke a couple of long runs, but nothing that would bring any points to the scoreboard and halftime arrived with Baker holding on to a 14-0 lead.
The Borderites were able to move the ball in the second half, but were only able to come up with one touchdown to show for it as junior quarterback Connor Brown scrambled and found sophomore wide receiver on an 18-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
Brown also found junior wide receiver Isaac Bouma multiple times… 13 times to be exact, for 201 yards. Mount Baker’s defense demonstrated a “bend, but don’t break” style, which allowed almost 300 yards, but just seven points.
The Mountaineers found the end zone three times in the second half, as the three senior running backs, Andrew Monteith, Gage Smith and Noah Nicol-Mills, were each able to cross the goal line in the their final game at Bob Tisdale Field.
Gage Smith also led Mount Baker with 10 tackles to go with his forced fumble. Blaine’s defense was led by senior linebacker Axel Shelton who finished with 12.5 tackles.
The Mountaineers (5-2) will travel to Lynden Christian (5-2) on Friday to take on the Lyncs at 7:00. The Borderites (2-5) will host Sultan (3-4) on Thursday at 6:00.
Mount Baker 34 Blaine 7 BLA 0 0 0 7 - 7 MB 0 14 6 14 - 34 MB - E. Smith 11 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Barksdale 1 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Monteith 3 run (kick blocked) MB - N. Nicol-Mills 2 run (E. Smith kick) BLA - Bogaards 18 pass from Brown (Candanoza kick) MB - G. Smith 14 run (E. Smith kick)
BLA MB
19-24 Rush Att-Yards 42-282
23-42-0 Comp-Att-Int 5-9-0
272 Passing Yards 97
Individual Leaders
RUSHING - BLA: Hagee 10-28, Heer 3-10, Kanagie 3-4, Brown 3-(-18). MB: E. Smith 7-85, N. Nicol Mills 14-74, Monteith 13-74, G. Smith 3-26, Barksdale 5-23.
PASSING - BLA: Brown 23-42-0-272. MB: Barksdale 5-9-0-97.
RECEIVING - BLA: I. Bouma 13-201, Candanoza 7-41, Bogaards 3-30. MB: Paglia 2-21, Louie 1-40, McEvoy-Salgado 1-30, G. Smith 1-6.
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