BLAINE – When Bellingham senior Wyatt Stephan ultimately decided to turn out for football after the season had already started, the Bayhawks knew what they were getting. And, if you are a Whatcom County high school sports fan then you probably knew what to expect as well.
The 6-foot-1 180-pound senior is one of the best basketball players around, and the fastest track athlete in the area. Evidently, putting on the pads and the helmet hasn’t affected his athletic ability too much as he broke a school record, and tied the Whatcom County record, by catching five touchdown passes as Bellingham defeated Blaine 40-23 on Friday night.
He has now caught 19 passes on the season, with nine of them ending up in the end zone. He’s also averaging over 27 yards per reception, and this is just his fourth career varsity football game.
The Bayhawks got on the board first when junior running back Tyler Frost powered his way through the Borderite defense for a 15-yard touchdown. He finished with 66 yards rushing, as he filled in for senior Holden Bates who was out with an injury.
After Stephan’s first touchdown catch from senior quarterback Josh Leonard, Blaine scored on a quick quarterback sneak by junior Colin Davis late in the first quarter, one play after a 39-yard run by junior Jaiden Paez. The Borderites were without junior Colby Shipp, with whom Paez usually shares carries with. As a result, Paez finished with career-highs in carries (22) and rushing yards (115).
Stephan then caught his second touchdown pass in the second quarter, but the Borderites answered back with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by senior Hunter Vezzetti.
The Bayhawks quickly answered back with a 55-yard hookup from Leonard to Stephan, and Blaine was able to get on the board as the first half buzzer went off with a 28-yard field goal by senior Matthew Hayes.
Leonard and Stephan hooked up for two more touchdowns in the second half, one in each quarter, to help Bellingham pull away from Blaine.
The Borderites did score one last touchdown in the fourth quarter when Davis threw a strike down the left sideline which was caught by senior Tyler Bouma who took it 72 yards for a touchdown.
Not to be overlooked was Leonard’s performance. With his five touchdown passes, he became the 19th player in Whatcom County history to reach 40 career touchdown passes.
Bellingham was led on defense by junior inside linebacker Gabe VanHofwegen who finished with 9.5 tackles and two tackles for loss. Defensive ends Sonny Powell (five tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack) and Elias Togagae (5.5 tackles and three tackles for loss) also put forth huge performances.
Blaine received a big day on defense from junior inside linebacker Blake Koreski who had four tackles, one tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.
The Bayhawks (4-3) will travel to Friday Harbor (4-2) on Friday to take on the Wolverines at 6:30, and the Borderites (2-5) will travel to Lynden Christian (5-2) on Friday to take on the Lyncs at 7:00.
Bellingham 40 Blaine 23 BEL 14 13 7 6 - 40 BLA 7 10 0 6 - 23 BEL - Frost 15 run (Isaly kick) BEL - Stephan 19 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) BLA - Davis 1 run (Hayes kick) BEL - Stephan 31 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) BLA - Vezzetti 80 kickoff return (Hayes kick) BEL - Stephan 55 pass from Leonard (pass failed) BLA - Hayes 28 FG BEL - Stephan 33 pass from Leonard (Isaly kick) BLA - Bouma 72 pass from Davis (kick failed) BEL - Stephan 49 pass from Leonard (run failed) BEL BLA 15-73 Rush Att-Yards 33-122 20-28-1 Comp-Att-Int 13-32-2 315 Passing Yards 144 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BEL: Frost 10-66, Jackson 3-5, Leonard 2-2. BLA: Paez 22-115, Davis 9-7, Kerwin 2-0. PASSING - BEL: Leonard 20-28-1-315. BLA: Davis 13-31-2-144, Deming 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - BEL: Tolle 11-76, Stephan 7-197, VanHofwegen 1-34, Henderson 1-8. BLA: Deming 5-29, Minjarez 4-4, Bouma 3-105, Dalry 1-6.
