KIRKLAND – There were chances. There was momentum. There was also little time left, as Cedar Park Christian held on late to defeat Blaine 9-7 at Harold Bergh Field on Saturday night.
Late in the third quarter, the Eagles held a 9-0 advantage, but the momentum shifted when senior defensive end Conner Dalry blew up a running play in the backfield, which caused a fumble. The ball shot out another 25 yards into the backfield, and Dalry was able to scoop it up around midfield.
The Borderite drive stalled, but A.J. Bennet’s punt was downed on the Cedar Park Christian 1-yard line.
After a three-and-out, the Eagle punt was grabbed by senior Justin Minjarez, and a personal foul tacked on 15 yards, which gave the ball to Blaine at the Cedar Park Christian 20-yard line.
It had also appeared that Blaine had scored a rushing touchdown five plays later, but it was called back due to a penalty. Two plays after that, the Eagles intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it to midfield.
The Borderite defense stiffened up once again, and forced another punt as the fourth quarter arrived.
Still down 9-0, the Borderites now had the ball on their own 42-yard line. Five plays later junior quarterback Colin
Davis unloaded a deep ball down the right sideline, and it was caught in stride by senior wide receiver Hunter Vezzetti who scored on the 48-yard pass play. Matthew Hayes hit the extra point, and the Eagle lead was trimmed to two.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Blaine junior cornerback Thomas Cox intercepted a pass which set the Borderites up at midfield. Strong runs by junior Colby Shipp and Jaiden Paez, along with Davis, led Blaine down the field where they settled for a 27-yard field goal attempt to take the lead. Unfortunately, the snap was bobbled, and the ball was given back to the Eagles.
Now with time clicking away, the Borderites needed the ball back quickly, and they were able to force another Eagle punt, which was returned by Minjarez to the Cedar Park Christian 36-yard line.
Two quick passes to Vezzetti, and one pass over the middle to senior slot receiver Jesse Deming but the Borderites inside the 5-yard line.
However, the Cedar Park Christian defense wouldn’t allow any more yards, and it was able to turn Blaine away on four straight plays to end the game.
Blaine was led defensively by Dalry who had 5.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss as well as the forced fumble and the fumble recovery. Junior defensive end Zi Yu was in the backfield for most of the game with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Senior defensive tackle Victor Gervol and junior inside linebacker Blake Koreski also had stops for a loss.
The Borderites (1-3) will begin conference play on Friday at Mount Baker (1-3) on Friday at 7:00.
Cedar Park Christian 9 Blaine 7 BLA 0 0 0 7 - 7 CPC 7 2 0 0 - 9 CPC - 76 yard touchdown pass (kick good) CPC - Safety, punter recovered ball in end zone BLA - Vezzetti 48 pass from Davis (Hayes kick) BLA CPC 34-138 Rush Att-Yards 26-54 12-29-1 Comp-Att-Int 6-19-2 135 Passing Yards 117 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BLA: Davis 15-59, Shipp 8-32, Ihde 3-24, Paez 8-23. CPC: N/A. PASSING - BLA: Davis 12-29-1-135. CPC: N/A. RECEIVING - BLA: Vezzetti 6-81, Deming 3-19, Kerwin 2-19, Minjarez 1-16. CPC: N/A.
