DEMING – It was a rare occurrence, but Mount Baker passed for more yards than it ran for as the Mountaineers crushed Sultan 59-14 at Bob Tisdale Field on Friday night.
Following a 32-yard run by senior Brice Cooper to start the game, senior quarterback Toga Tigilau went deep on the second play from scrimmage and found junior Gage Smith wide open for a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Mount Baker then forced a turnover on downs and Tigilau went to the air three plays later and found senior wide receiver Jet Ross on a 14-yard touchdown.
Senior defensive tackle Trenton George then stripped the football on the Turks’ next play from scrimmage, and it was recovered by junior defensive end Kell Reardon, which set the Mountaineers up at the Sultan 23-yard line.
The Turk defense stiffened up, and held Mount Baker to a 28-yard field goal attempt, which was booted by sophomore Enoc Smith to give Mount Baker a 17-0 lead early.
Sultan then got on the board when a pass play to its tight end went for a 65-yard touchdown, but the Mounties quickly reacted with a strong drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back Kamden Moa. Baker led 24-7 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter was when history took place.
Moa ran for his second touchdown of the game in the quarter, but the touchdown connection through the air between Tigilau and Ross happened three more times before the half. A 46-yarder, a 34-yarder and the final one was from 36 yards out.
When the Mountaineers went into the locker room at halftime, they were up 52-7, and Tigilau became the first player in school history to throw five touchdown passes in a game, and Ross became the first player in school history to catch four touchdown passes in a game.
The starters were allowed one last drive in the game, to begin the third quarter, but it was short-lived as the drive only lasted two plays, with the second being a 61-yard touchdown run by Cooper, who finished with 128 yards rushing on eight carries.
Sultan put together a strong drive against the Baker backups, and scored in the third quarter.
Mount Baker’s defense was led by junior linebacker Noah Nicol-Mills who finished with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass deflected. Junior linebacker Gunner McGrath also had multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage.
The Mountaineers (3-1) will begin conference play on Friday when they travel to Nooksack Valley (2-2) to take on the Pioneers at 7:00.
Mount Baker 59 Sultan 14 SUL 7 0 7 0 - 14 MB 24 28 7 0 - 59 MB - G. Smith 44 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 14 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - E. Smith 28 FG SUL - 65 yard touchdown pass (kick good) MB - Moa 4 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 46 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - Moa 25 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 34 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - Ross 36 pass from Tigilau (E. Smith kick) MB - Cooper 61 run (E. Smith kick) SUL - 5 yard touchdown run (kick good) SUL MB 25-113 Rush Att-Yards 26-230 10-20-0 Comp-Att-Int 11-18-0 145 Passing Yards 257 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SUL: N/A. MB: Cooper 8-128, Moa 6-61, N. Nicol-Mills 5-23, Galbraith 2-8, Tigilau 1-5, DeKriek 2-4, G. Smith 1-1, Barksdale 1-0. PASSING - SUL: N/A. MB: Tigilau 9-14-0-249, Barksdale 2-4-0-8. RECEIVING - SUL: N/A. MB: Ross 6-154, G. Smith 1-44, Cooper 1-38, Paglia 1-13, E. Smith 1-7, James 1-1.
That’s my neff. Let’s go Toga. Cheee doggy