DEMING – The Mountaineers finally got to play a home game, and they gave their fans a lot to root for as they defeated the Borderites 48-14 at Bob Tisdale Field on Saturday night.
Mount Baker junior running back Marcques George started out with a bang, scoring on touchdown runs of 21 and 59 yards in the first quarter alone, and after Davin Beason hit Jesse Sande on a 9-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, the Mountaineers held an early 21-0 lead.
Blaine began to claw back in the second quarter, and was able to score its own 9-yard touchdown pass, from Avery Dohner to Scott Baldwin, and again from five yards out, from Dohner to Anden Holley.
The Borderites went into halftime down 21-14, but the second half belonged to the Mounties.
Sande struck fast early in the third quarter when he picked off a Dohner pass and raced 20 yards untouched for a score. It was Mount Baker’s third pick-six of the season, and the third time that the Borderites were victims of a pick-six.
The Mountaineers held on to the momentum throughout the rest of the game as Beason completed two touchdown passes to
senior Wyatt Pettigrew, while also scoring on a 2-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. Pettigrew also picked up his Whatcom County-leading fourth interception of the season.
It was vintage Baker football as the Mountaineers rushed for 392 yards on 50 carries. George finished with a career-high 246 yards on 20 carries, and Sande rushed for 100 yards for the eighth time in his career.
Jaxon Kortlever led Blaine in receiving with six receptions for 107 yards, all in the first half.
Mount Baker (4-2) will go back on the road on Friday to take on Lynden Christian (3-2) in a game that will likely determine the Northwest Conference 1A championship. The Borderites (3-2) will travel to Meridian (3-3) to take on the Trojans on Saturday at 5:00.
Blaine 14 Mount Baker 48 BLA 0 14 0 0 - 14 MB 14 7 13 14 - 48 MB - George 21 run (Robles kick) MB - George 59 run (Robles kick) MB - Sande 9 pass from Beason (Robles kick) BLA - Baldwin 9 pass from Dohner (King kick) BLA - An. Holley 5 pass from Dohner (King kick) MB - Sande 20 interception return (kick failed) MB - Pettigrew 14 pass from Beason (Robles kick) MB - Beason 2 run (Robles kick) MB - Pettigrew 25 pass from Beason (Robles kick) BLA MB 23-54 Rush Att-Yards 54-392 12-30-2 Comp-Att-Int 4-9-0 159 Passing Yards 87 Individual Leaders RUSHING - BLA: Creasey 12-31, Cranford 10-27, Dohner 1-(-4). MB: George 20-246, Sande 18-100, Beason 8-23, West 3-14, Johnny 2-7, D. Moa 1-5, Hanstead 2-(-3). PASSING - BLA: Dohner 12-30-2-159. MB: Beason 4-9-0-87. RECEIVING - BLA: Kortlever 6-107, Baldwin 2-36, Koreski 1-5, An. Holley 1-5, Idhe 1-4, Creasey 1-2. MB: Pettigrew 2-39, Hanstead 1-39, Sande 1-9.
