DEMING – Mount Baker went off for nearly 500 yards of offense as the Mountaineers blasted Blaine 49-12 at Bob Tisdale Field on Friday night.
Controversy struck just nine plays into the game when Mount Baker senior quarterback Luke Smith attempted his first pass of the game. He went deep down the left sideline for senior wide receiver Dean Allred, and after Allred caught the pass while leaping in the air, it had appeared that Borderite sophomore cornerback Peyton Bouma had come down with the ball in his hands in the end zone.
After a consultation between multiple officials, the play was eventually ruled as a 28-yard touchdown for the Mountaineers. Surprisingly, that would be shortest of seven touchdowns that Mount Baker when on to score.
Blaine junior Kai Kerwin returned the ensuing kickoff into Baker territory, but were ultimately stymied on fourth down and had to give up possession.
Two players later, the Mountaineers ran their patented counter play with sophomores sophomores Aaron Torres and Kell Reardon pulling from the left side. Senior halfback Brady Bruland took the handoff, made two quick cuts back to the inside, and sped his way down the field for a 74-yard touchdown run.
Mount Baker led 14-0 after the first quarter.
The Borderites were forced to punt, and three plays later Smith went to the air once again and found senior Shaun Dugger on a play-action pass that covered 41 yards and ended with six points.
Blaine came back with a strong drive, which included a 29-yard run by senior Jaiden Paez to begin the drive and a 19-yard completion from senior Colin Davis to senior Thomas Cox on fourth down. The Borderites were able to cap the drive with a 1-yard plunge by Davis.
Mount Baker was then faced with a 4th-and-3 at the Blaine 34-yard line with a little over two minutes to go in the half. The Mountaineers were able to covert as Smith tossed his third touchdown pass of the first half by hitting Allred over the middle.
The Mounties led 28-6 at the half.
Down by three scores, the Borderites were forced to put the ball in the air in the second half a little more than they are used to, and Baker was able to grab three quarterback sacks with seniors Dylan Moa and Caden Mosher each nabbing one, as well as Reardon.
The Mountaineers scored three more rushing touchdowns in the second half, all of which was came off the same counter play that Bruland scored on in the first quarter. Bruland scored on a 46-yarder, while junior backup halfback Brice Cooper scored on runs of 70 yards and 43 yards.
Bruland finished with 197 yards rushing on just 11 carries to lead his team. The 5-foot-11 176-pounder also led his team defensively with 10.5 tackles.
Paez scored a touchdown for the Borderites in the fourth quarter, which capped off his night of 119 yards on 23 carries.
Mount Baker (5-3) could have have its next week game at Omak (4-4) moved from Friday to Thursday because of a possible third place tie, in which a mini-playoff would need to be scheduled as soon as possible.
Blaine (5-3) will host Meridian (5-3) on Thursday at 6:00.
Mount Baker 49 Blaine 12 BLA 0 6 0 6 - 12 MB 14 14 14 7 - 49 MB - Allred 28 pass from L. Smith (E. Smith kick) MB - Bruland 74 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Dugger 41 pass from L. Smith (E. Smith kick) BLA - Davis 1 run (kick blocked) MB - Allred 34 pass from L. Smith (E. Smith kick) MB - Bruland 46 run (E. Smith kick) MB - Cooper 70 run (E. Smith kick) BLA - Paez 4 run (run failed) MB - Cooper 43 run (E. Smith kick) BLA MB 40-176 Rush Att-Yards 30-364 10-21-1 Comp-Att-Int 5-8-0 136 Passing Yards 129 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BLA: Paez 23-119, Davis 13-57, Shipp 1-2, Brown 3-(-2). MB: Bruland 11-197, Cooper 4-111, D. Moa 8-33, K. Moa 3-19, Dugger 3-16, L. Smith 1-(-12). PASSING - BLA: Davis 3-11-0-47, Brown 7-9-1-89, Villarreal 0-1-0-0. MB: L. Smith 5-7-0-129, Tigilau 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING - BLA: Cox 3-47, Kerwin 3-40, Koreski 2-9, Shipp 1-21, Bouma 1-19. MB: Allred 3-84, Dugger 2-45.
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