BLAINE – The Borderites had more rushing yards, and passing yards, than the Lyncs, but Lynden Christian made the plays when it mattered most and came away with a 28-7 victory over Blaine on Friday night.
After forcing a quick three-and-out on the first possession of the game, the Borderites went to work with their ground attack, and marched down the field with relative ease before finding themselves with a 3rd-and-4 situation in Lync territory. That was when Blaine attempted its first pass of the game, and it was intercepted by junior Jaxon Huleatt.
Lynden Christian drove down the field, and was aided by a 28-yard pass play from junior quarterback Eli Maberry to senior tight end Trey Bosman, as well as a penalty, and before you knew it, the Lyncs found themselves in the red zone.
The Borderite defense clamped up and the Lyncs were looking at a 4th-and-goal from the nine-yard line, and when a pass over the middle fell incomplete in the end zone, the Blaine sideline rejoiced, before noticing a flag on the the field.
The defensive pass interference call gave Lynden Christian a new set of downs, and Treyson Johnson took the handoff on the following play and scored the first touchdown of the game.
It’s possible that at that moment was when Coach Greg Terpstra may have seen something he liked, because as the second quarter began moments later, he opted to go with a seldom-used formation of two running backs in the backfield and proceeded to run the ball between the tackles.
Not only did the strategy work, but it helped nullify the strength of the Blaine defense, it’s two star defensive ends, Blake Koreski and Zi Yu.
A 49-yard punt return by junior Boyce Robertson set the Lyncs up with great field position on their following possession, and the power running game went into affect as Johnson plowed through the line for his second touchdown of the game.
The Borderites looked to make it a one-score game after picking up big gains before getting inside the five-yard line, but the LC defense put a stop to it and forced an incompletion on fourth down. Moments later, senior running back Hollis Owen bolted through the Blaine defense and scored on a 47-yard touchdown run which gave Lynden Christian a 21-0 lead.
With time ticking down until halftime, the Blaine offense was able to get into the red zone once again, but an interception by Bosman at the 5-yard line halted any scoring opportunities before the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Borderites did get on the board when senior quarterback Colin Davis hit Koreski on a corner route for a 36-yard touchdown, but the Lyncs continued to run the clock with their new two-back system, and pick up timely first downs.
Sophomore Chris Kooiman joined the backfield in the second half and had his share of big runs by breaking multiple tackles.
With Blaine keying on stopping the run, Lynden Christian drew up the perfect play-call at the Borderite 20-yard line, as the Lyncs executed a great hitch-and-go and Mabbery lofted the ball into the end zone for Robertson who hauled it in for six more points.
Blaine had one last long drive, but was stopped inside the 5-yard line once again just before the final buzzer. A fitting way to end, as the Lynden Christian defense played the perfect “bend, but don’t break” defense all game.
The Lyncs (3-2) will travel to Civic Stadium on Saturday to take on Sehome (3-2) at 1:00, and the Borderites (4-1) will travel to Nooksack Valley (4-1) on Friday to battle the Pioneers at 7:00.
Lynden Christian 28 Blaine 7 LC 7 14 0 7 - 28 BLA 0 0 0 7 - 7 LC - Johnson 4 run (Penner kick) LC - Johnson 5 run (Penner kick) LC - H. Owen 47 run (Penner kick) BLA - Koreski 36 pass from Davis (Villareal kick) LC - Robertson 20 pass from Maberry (Penner kick) LC BLA 28-162 Rush Att-Yards 42-224 8-13-0 Comp-Att-Int 10-22-2 87 Passing Yards 145 Individual Leaders RUSHING - LC: H. Owen 8-65, Kooiman 9-61, Johnson 6-33, Maberry 5-3. BLA: Paez 21-127, Davis 12-62, Shipp 9-35. PASSING - LC: Maberry 8-13-0-87. BLA: Davis 10-22-2-145. RECEIVING - LC: Robertson 4-39, Bosman 2-42, Jay. Huleatt 1-3, Johnson 1-3. BLA: Paez 6-63, Shipp 2-49, Koreski 1-36, Kerwin 1-(-3).
