LYNDEN – Baylor Ayres and Brock Heppner combined for all five touchdowns as the Lions bounced back from last week to defeat Blaine 34-7 at Rollie DeKoster Field on Friday night.
With star running back Steven DiLorenzo resting a sore shoulder, the two quarterbacks put the running game on their healthy shoulders, and the power run game remained proficient on the muddy terrain. Ayres also looked very sharp in the passing game, completing 5-of-8 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also had another touchdown pass called back because of a penalty.
Heppner scored the first touchdown of the game, and he did by following an extremely powerful block by senior Bodie Human. As the focal point of the defense, Human’s efforts haven’t been needed on the offensive side of the ball so far this season, but he made his impact immediately when he collided with Blaine’s superstar linebacker Gavino Rodriguez and cleared a path for Heppner to score.
Ayres scored from 11 yards out in the second quarter as he followed blocks from James Sorenson and Marty Karb to easily get into the end zone. It looked like the Lions would score again just before the half, but Rodriguez was able to punch the ball out of Heppner’s hands and Borderite senior safety Dakota George recovered at the 9-yard line. Along with the forced fumble, Rodriguez was in on 18 total tackles, including eight solo stops.
Lynden went to the air in the third quarter, and Ayres threw a perfectly timed jump ball to Heppner in the corner of the end zone from 19 yards out. With the three touchdown lead, it was time to shorten the game and run the ball. DiLorenzo’s absence gave junior Caleb Wheeler a chance to get some carries, and he ran for 41 yards on eight attempts. Heppner had 74 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, but it was Ayres’ 126 yards on 16 carries that led the way for the Lions.
Heppner also completed 4-of-6 passes for 48 yards, and caught three more passes for 44 yards.
Human did a tremendous job at limiting Blaine running back Oscar Caridad to short gains, as did junior defensive lineman Matthew Furdyk who was able to stop Caridad behind the line of scrimmage three times. Caridad finished with 77 yards on 22 carries.
Heppner and Ayres each scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Borderite junior quarterback was also able to get into the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard QB sneak.
With Lynden’s victory, along with Archbishop Murphy’s 27-14 win at Sedro Woolley, the Lions (6-2) have secured the #1 seed out of the Northwest Conference and will receive a bye this upcoming Friday. The Borderites (1-7) will host Liberty (6-2) this Friday in a district playoff game.
Blaine 7
Lynden 34
BLA 0 0 0 7 – 7
LYN 7 6 7 14 – 34
LYN – Heppner 4 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Ayres 11 run (run failed)
LYN – Heppner 19 pass from Ayres (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Heppner 5 run (Samoukovic kick)
LYN – Ayres 13 run (Samoukovic kick)
BLA – McKinney 1 run (P. King kick)
BLA LYN
33-130 Rushing Att-Yards 39-264
6-13-0 Comp-Att-Int 9-14-0
75 Passing yards 119
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – BLA: Caridad 22-77, Blomeen 4-32, McKinney 7-21. LYN: Ayres 16-126, Heppner 9-74, Wheeler 8-41, Human 4-23, Moore 2-0.
PASSING – BLA: McKinney 6-13-0-75. LYN: Ayres 5-8-0-71, Heppner 4-6-0-48.
RECEIVING – BLA: Vega 2-29, Rector 2-24, Dalry 1-11, Kortlever 1-11. LYN: Heppner 3-44, Potter 2-29, Wheeler 2-27, Lohrer 1-15, E. Bode 1-4.
