WENATCHEE – Too many big plays, and too many big bodies, got the best of the Mountaineers as the Panthers defeated Mount Baker 29-14 at the Apple Bowl on Friday night.
Wenatchee was able to move the length of the field on it’s opening drive, and ultimately scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Baker was forced to punt, but played pretty good defense on the Panthers’ second possession, and was able to turn the ball over on downs. The Mounties were then able to put together a strong drive over their own and tied the game at 7-7 when senior running back Bryson Moa muscled his way in from two yards out.
It was a quick counter for Wenatchee, though, as a few plays later a 73-yard touchdown pass took place down the right sideline.
After forcing a Mount Baker punt, the Panthers quickly scored again, this time on a 20-yard rushing play, and Wenatchee held a 21-7 lead with 4:33 left in the second quarter.
The Mountaineers rallied, and drove 72 yards on six plays, and topped it off with a 13-yard touchdown run by junior Brady Bruland with 1:59 left until halftime.
Bruland led the Mounties on the ground with 64 yards on 11 carries.
An errant Mountaineer snap on a punting situation deep in their own territory gave the Panthers two points on a safety, and Wenatchee scored another rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Mount Baker had trouble moving the ball on the ground early against the much bigger Panthers, but found decent success through the air as sophomore quarterback Toga Tigilau completed 13-of-24 passes for 168 yards. Senior Landen Hanstead was the main recipient as he hauled in six of them for 75 yards.
Senior defensive ends Alex Maloley and Vance Lawrence were very destructive on defense, as Maloley finished with seven tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks, while Lawrence tallied 9.5 tackles and two sacks.
The Mountaineers (0-2) will be back home on Friday and they will host Toppenish (0-2) at 6:00.
Wenatchee 29 Mount Baker 14 MB 0 14 0 0 - 14 WEN 7 14 2 6 - 29 WEN - 29 yard touchdown pass (kick good) MB - B. Moa 2 run (Zavala kick) WEN - 73 yard touchdown pass (kick good) WEN - 20 yard touchdown run (kick good) MB - Bruland 13 run (Zavala kick) WEN - Safety, ball snapped through end zone WEN - 2 yard touchdown run (kick blocked) MB WEN 30-91 Rush Att-Yards 42-213 13-24-0 Comp-Att-Int 9-13-0 168 Passing Yards 174 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MB: Bruland 11-64, B. Moa 5-20, D. Moa 8-19, Hanstead 2-2, Duggar 1-(-2), Tigilau 3-(-12). WEN: N/A. PASSING - MB: Tigilau 13-24-0-168. WEN: N/A. RECEIVING - MB: Hanstead 6-75, Staton 3-53, Bruland 2-20, Mosher 1-14, Rosse 1-6. WEN: N/A.
