Coach: Jay Dodd, 14th season with Blaine (66-67)
Home Field: Blaine High School
Last Season: 5-5 (2-3 NWC 2A Lake Division)
Key Losses: TE/LB Hudson Reid; WR/DB Chase Abshere; RB/DB Alex Mercado; FB/G/LB Jacob Westfall; K/P Bryce Kamrath; WR/S Derek Machula; DE Danyil Tkachov.
Top Returnees: OL/LB Gavino Rodriguez; OL/DL Wyatt Cole; QB Will McKinney; RB/LB Oscar Caridad; RB/S Seth Blomeen; TE/LB Mason Vega; WR/S Zane Rector.
2018 RESULTS
Blaine 65, Earl Marriott (BC) 0
Blaine 27, Cedar Park Christian 23
Lynden Christian 14, Blaine 3
Sehome 25, Blaine 3
Bellingham 14, Blaine 13
Mountlake Terrace 40, Blaine 0
Blaine 49, Cedarcrest 8
Blaine 34, Anacortes 8
Blaine 28, Mountlake Terrace 10
Lynden 47, Blaine 0
2019 SCHEDULE
09/06 – Chief Sealth – 7 PM
09/13 – Lord Tweedsmuir (BC) – 7 PM
09/20 – at Lynden Christian – 7 PM
09/27 – Burlington-Edison – 7 PM
10/04 – at Archbishop Murphy – 7 PM
10/11 – Sedro Woolley – 7 PM
10/18 – Lakewood – 7 PM
10/25 – at Lynden – 7 PM
Gavino Rodriguez – Senior – Guard/Inside Linebacker
Mr. Steady at offensive guard. This will be his third year starting on the offensive line, and his athleticism will allow him to get outside on sweeps and block downfield with the best of them. Last year he led Whatcom County with 10 sacks from his defensive end spot, and he will now be moved to inside linebacker. I would imagine he’ll still be stunting every now and then and breaking through the line of scrimmage
Wyatt Cole – Senior – Offensive Tackle/Defensive Tackle
Perhaps the best returning left tackle in the county. Big and strong, and what an athlete. Awesome size, and he could be moved around the offensive line, as well as a potential full back in certain situations. Just a pure beast at defensive tackle, and can be unblockable at times. Look for Cole to be named All-State on either side of the ball.
Will McKinney – Junior – Quarterback
The biggest jump for a quarterback is always from sophomore year to junior year. He’s put on over 20 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame, and he’s throwing laser beams now. One of the hardest workers on the team, always striving to be the very best player he can be. He will be unleashed this fall.
Oscar Caridad – Senior – Running Back/Outside Linebacker
He’s had a lot of experience over the past two seasons at running back, and his acceleration is top notch. As he keeps learning to read his blocks and adapt, he could have a huge season in 2019. A little undersized at outside linebacker, but his speed makes up for it.
Biggest Strengths: Size on the line and an experienced quarterback. Blaine always seems to have pretty good size up front, and 2019 will be no different. Cole and Rodriguez are great combo on the left side of the line, and the Borderites have another seven players that will see valuable time on the line. McKinney’s experience should help them win close ball games.
Biggest Weakness: A new crop of receivers. When McKinney drops back to pass he will be looking at all new receivers. Sophomore Scott Baldwin caught two passes last year, and that leads the team in varsity receptions for the players coming back. Coach Dodd likes the athletes he has on the outside, now it’s just about learning the routes and not being in awe of the bright lights on Friday nights.
Who will be Blaine’s break-out player?
Seth Blomeen – Junior – Running Back/Safety
He came on strong at the end of last year stepping in at safety for the injured Derek Machula. He made big plays on interceptions, and always seemed to have long returns on them. Now a junior, he will bring great experience from last year to the Borderite defensive backfield. Coach Dodd also might find creative ways to get him the ball on offense either as a running back, or split out wide.
Blaine will have a little different conference schedule than it did last season. After playing in the NWC 2A Lake Division last season, the Borderites have opted to play up in the Sky Division this season.
“I presented the choice of opting to play in the Sky Division to our seniors,” Coach Jay Dodd said, “Every senior wanted the challenge, and I was very excited that they wanted that challenge.”
By opting to play up, it gives the Borderites a better chance at playing in the post season.
Another reason why they have a good chance at playing in the post season is returning quarterback, Will McKinney. Now a junior, he can make all of the throws. The ball is whipping out of his hand, and he has looked really good at practice.
Senior quarterback Robbie Parker has learned a new position and he will be in the mix at running back. Joining him will be speedy senior Oscar Caridad, who is quietly nearing 1000 rushing yards in his career, and senior Chris Ruback. Juniors Seth Blomeen and Joshua Lopez have both impressed coaches as well.
The wide receivers will be a completely new crop, but Coach Dodd likes what he has to work with. Senior Zane Rector played tight end last year, and he will be split out wide this season. Fellow seniors Abhi Grewal and Dakota George, junior Tyson Kirk and sophomores Scott Baldwin and Jaxon Kortlever have all shown flashes. The depth will be key as Coach Dodd finds the right mix. Senior Mason Vega played the last few games of last season at tight end, and as a converted offensive lineman, he can really dominate as a blocker.
The offensive line will be strong, as the left side will be anchored by senior tackle Wyatt Cole (6-3 270) and senior guard Gavino Rodriguez (6-1 220). Seniors Tobin Akre (5-10 215) and Chris Reid (6-1 285) are battling it out for the center position. Reid could also play right guard, where senior Tyler Haggith (6-3 225) and junior Colton Pedersen (5-9 190) are competing. Senior Leo Good (6-4 230) has really grown into his body, and has looked strong at right tackle. Junior Victor Escalante (6-2 225) will also get a good look.
Cole returns to the defensive line where he had 12.5 tackles for loss and four sacks last season. Reid, Haggith and Escalante all have big bodies that could join him up front. Pedersen is a little smaller, but he has great quickness and strength.
Rodriguez has dominated at defensive end the past few years, but he will now start at middle linebacker this season. His speed and tackling ability is a natural fit. Vega is a playmaker at the linebacker position as well, and Caridad’s speed helps him excel at the linebacker spot. Parker could see time there as well, and sophomore Spencer Dalry has great size and ability.
Rector had strong coverage skills at outside linebacker last season, and he will now be moved back to play safety. He joins Blomeen to make one of the best safety combos in the county. George and senior Kavika Hee both have very quick feet and should be able to help the secondary immediately.
Escalante and sophomore Preston King are both above average kickers that bring completely different styles to the field. Escalante is a big, straight-ahead toe puncher that can really boot the ball. King is a long, lanky soccer player that is really consistent on extra points. Escalante is also a very good punter.
2018 STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING
| PLAYER | ATT | YARDS | AVG | TD |
| Alex Mercado | 104 | 561 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Oscar Caridad | 102 | 428 | 4.2 | 3 |
| Jacob Westfall | 19 | 96 | 5.1 | 1 |
| Danyil Tkachov | 23 | 86 | 3.7 | 1 |
| Seth Blomeen | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 1 |
PASSING
| PLAYER | ATT | COM | COM% | YARDS | AVG | TD | INT | RATING |
| Will McKinney | 191 | 86 | 45.0% | 947 | 4.96 | 8 | 9 | 54.6 |
RECEIVING
| PLAYER | REC | YARDS | AVG | TD |
| Chase Abshere | 30 | 403 | 13.4 | 5 |
| Derek Machula | 23 | 216 | 9.4 | 2 |
| Hudson Reid | 15 | 181 | 12.1 | 0 |
| Alex Mercado | 6 | 54 | 9.0 | 0 |
| Scott Baldwin | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 |
KICK RETURNING
| PLAYER | KR | YARDS | AVG | TD |
| Derek Machula | 5 | 160 | 32.0 | 1 |
| Hudson Reid | 6 | 108 | 18.0 | 0 |
| Chase Abshere | 5 | 107 | 21.4 | 0 |
| Alex Mercado | 5 | 98 | 19.6 | 0 |
| Ryan Turnberg | 5 | 76 | 15.2 | 0 |
PUNT RETURNING
| PLAYER | PR | YARDS | AVG | TD |
| Danyil Tkacov | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 |
| Chase Abshere | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 |
PUNTING
| PLAYER | ATT | YARDS | AVG |
| Bryce Kamrath | 37 | 1264 | 34.2 |
DEFENSE (assisted tackles are worth half of a tackle)
| PLAYER | TKLS | TFL | SACKS | INT | FF | FR | PD |
| Hudson Reid | 62.5 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Gavino Rodriguez | 35 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Alex Mercado | 37.5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Wyatt Cole | 27 | 12.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danyil Tkachov | 27.5 | 6.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Westfall | 34.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ethan Deming | 25.5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zane Rector | 16 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Derek Machula | 33.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mason Vega | 21.5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Seth Blomeen | 18.5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Jaden Fritsch | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Oscar Caridad | 13 | 4.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chase Abshere | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Drew Schroeder | 12 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Turnberg | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Ellis | 5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peyton Dixon | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Conner Bolick | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaxon Kortlever | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Justin Nevins | 1.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanner Beson | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Avery Dohner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryce Kamrath | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Westfall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dakota George | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arjun Sihota | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SCORING
| PLAYER | TD | FG | 2PT | XP | PTS |
| Bryce Kamrath | 0 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 51 |
| Alex Mercado | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Chase Abshere | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Derek Machula | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Will McKinney | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Oscar Caridad | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Jacob Westfall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Hudson Reid | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Seth Blomeen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Danyil Tkachov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Victor Escalante | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2019 ROSTER:
| No. | First Name | Last Name | Grd. | OFF | DEF | HT | WT |
| 2 | JOSHUA | LOPEZ | 11 | RB | LB | 5’8″ | 180 |
| 3 | ABHI | GREWAL | 12 | WR | DB | 6’0″ | 150 |
| 4 | KAVIKA | HEE | 12 | WR | DB | 5’8″ | 145 |
| 5 | JAXON | KORTLEVER | 10 | WR | DB | 5’11” | 150 |
| 6 | AVERY | DOHNER | 10 | QB | DB | 6’2″ | 180 |
| 7 | JACOB | SILVA | 11 | WR | DB | 6’0″ | 145 |
| 8 | COLE | THOMAS | 10 | QB | DB | 6’2″ | 155 |
| 9 | PRESTON | KING | 10 | K | K | 6’2″ | 170 |
| 10 | BRADEN | STANOVICH | 11 | WR | LB | 6’1″ | 175 |
| 11 | WILL | MCKINNEY | 11 | QB | LB | 6’3″ | 200 |
| 12 | SCOTT | BALDWIN | 10 | WR | DB | 5’11” | 150 |
| 13 | ROBERT | PARKER | 12 | RB | LB | 5’9″ | 175 |
| 14 | SETH | ZUCH | 10 | WR | DB | 5’10” | 140 |
| 15 | TAYLOR | OLSON | 11 | WR | DB | 5’10” | 145 |
| 16 | CHRIS | RUBACK | 12 | RB | LB | 5’7″ | 170 |
| 17 | SPENCER | DALRY | 10 | TE | LB | 6’2″ | 175 |
| 18 | GABE | CRANFORD | 10 | RB | LB | 5’9″ | 170 |
| 19 | TAYLOR | LEE | 12 | WR | DB | 5’8″ | 115 |
| 20 | PEYTON | DIXON | 10 | RB | LB | 6’0″ | 170 |
| 21 | BARUC | VAZQUEZ | 11 | RB | LB | 5’6″ | 180 |
| 22 | ANDEN | HOLLEY | 10 | TE | LB | 6’2″ | 150 |
| 23 | OSCAR | CARIDAD | 12 | RB | LB | 5’7″ | 170 |
| 24 | ZANE | RECTOR | 12 | WR | DB | 6’0″ | 165 |
| 25 | AIDEN | HOLLEY | 10 | TE | LB | 6’2″ | 145 |
| 27 | ERIK | BERKELEY | 11 | TE | LB | 6’3″ | 170 |
| 29 | DAKOTA | GEORGE | 12 | WR | DB | 6’1″ | 170 |
| 31 | SETH | BLOMEEN | 11 | RB | DB | 5’10” | 165 |
| 34 | ALEX | WELCH | 10 | TE | LB | 6’1″ | 165 |
| 51 | VICTOR | ESCALANTE | 11 | OL | DL | 6’2″ | 225 |
| 52 | COLTON | PEDERSEN | 11 | OL | DL | 5’9″ | 190 |
| 53 | CALEB | KIELPINSKI | 12 | OL | DL | 6’3″ | 190 |
| 54 | TOBIN | AKRE | 12 | OL | DL | 5’10” | 215 |
| 55 | TYLER | HAGGITH | 12 | OL | DL | 6’3″ | 225 |
| 56 | GAVINO | RODRIGUEZ | 12 | OL | LB | 6’1″ | 220 |
| 60 | ARTURO | AVENA | 11 | DL | OL | 5’8″ | 165 |
| 63 | JON | PUHA | 10 | OL | DL | 6’1″ | 200 |
| 64 | LUCAS | MACCLOUD | 12 | OL | DL | 6’1″ | 185 |
| 67 | NICK | MARTIN | 11 | OL | LB | 6’0″ | 170 |
| 68 | CARSON | SOTHY | 10 | OL | DL | 6’2″ | 180 |
| 69 | DIAMOND | HESTER | 12 | OL | DL | 5’10” | 265 |
| 70 | OWEN | HANSEN | 11 | OL | DL | 5’10” | 220 |
| 71 | LEO | GOOD | 12 | OL | DL | 6’4″ | 230 |
| 72 | XAVIER | STEPHENS | 11 | OL | DL | 6’3″ | 250 |
| 73 | CHRISTIAN | FINKBONNER | 10 | OL | DL | 6’3″ | 270 |
| 75 | WYATT | COLE | 12 | OL | DL | 6’3″ | 270 |
| 76 | CHRIS | REID | 12 | OL | DL | 6’1″ | 285 |
| 77 | DRAE | JACKSON | 10 | OL | DL | 5’7″ | 360 |
| 83 | MASON | VEGA | 12 | TE | LB | 6’2″ | 190 |
| 84 | JOSEPH | HAWORTH | 10 | WR | DB | 5’11” | 160 |
| 88 | TYSON | KIRK | 11 | WR | LB | 6’1″ | 180 |
