DEMING – It was the 99th meeting between Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley, and only one other time has the victory been so lopsided, as the Mountaineers beat the Pioneers 57-7 at Bob Tisdale Field on Friday night.
In 1966, the Bob Tisdale-led Mounties beat Nooksack 59-0, and on Friday night the Ron Lepper-led Mounties could do no wrong.
The scoring started early when Mount Baker quarterback Mason Jacoby found Garrett Smith on a simple six-yard hitch route, and the 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver made a quick move on his defender and raced 54 yards for a touchdown. Senior running back Jason Lee found the end zone moments later on an 11-yard run, and Jacoby found Smith again, this time on a 13-yard slant pattern. After one quarter it was 20-0.
There were more fireworks in the second quarter as Jacoby tossed his third touchdown of the game, this time to junior Ayden Rodriguez, and fellow junior fullback Toby Jefferson raced through the line of scrimmage for a 41-yard scamper. The mistakes mounted for the Pioneers and nearing halftime a high snap from center went over quarterback Cole Eldridge’s head and into the end zone where Eldridge recovered in the end zone for a safety.
Up 36-0 going into the second half, the Mounties were able to rest a majority of their starters, especially after senior safety Mark Tikhonov stepped in front of an Eldridge pass and returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown.
Tikhonov played the rest of the night at quarterback, handing the ball to numerous backs and keeping the ball himself from time to time. The Mountaineers capitalized on another long-sustained drive in the beginning of the fourth quarter when sophomore reserve wingback Tyler Kentner scored from six yards out.
Backup quarterback Keldon Weidkamp led the Pioneers on a long drive of their own nearing the end of the game, and he hooked up with running back Braden Leyba on a well-thrown 20-yard touchdown pass.
Baker would answer right back, however, when Aidan Conner’s deep kickoff was received at the 10-yard line by Kentner, and he streaked through the coverage team and scored on a 90-yard kickoff return. Not a bad evening for Kentner. He has now touched the ball twice in his young varsity career, and has scored two touchdowns.
Linebackers Davin Beason and Waylon Kentner each had big games once again for the Mounties. Beason led his team in tackles and had a forced fumble, while Kentner was in on three tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and had a fumble recovery.
Mount Baker (6-0) will have a huge matchup this Friday at home when it hosts Lynden Christian (4-1). Nooksack Valley (2-4) will host Meridian (1-5) on Friday.
Nooksack Valley 7
Mount Baker 57
NV 0 0 0 7 – 7
MB 20 16 7 14 – 57
MB – Smith 54 pass from Jacoby (Zavala kick)
MB – Lee 11 run (Zavala kick)
MB – Smith 13 pass from Jacoby (kick failed)
MB – Rodriguez 27 pass from Jacoby (Zavala kick)
MB – Jefferson 41 run (Zavala kick)
MB – Safety, Flowers tackled Eldridge in end zone
MB – Tikhonov 74 interception return (Zavala kick)
MB – T. Kentner 6 run (Zavala kick)
NV – Leyba 20 pass from Weidkamp (Conner kick)
MB – T. Kentner 90 kick return (Zavala kick)
NV MB
26-52 Rushing Att-Yards 35-233
10-24-1 Comp-Att-Int 7-11-1
113 Passing yards 147
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – NV: Winter 11-60, Leyba 4-24, Whittern 1-5, Weidkamp 1-0, Eldridge 9-(-37). MB: Jefferson 17-112, Lee 9-65, Rodriguez 3-30, Tikhonov 2-12, Sande 3-8, T. Kentner 1-6.
PASSING – NV: Eldridge 7-20-1-54, Weidkamp 3-4-0-59. MB: Jacoby 7-11-1-147.
RECEIVING – NV: Leyba 3-29, Eldridge 2-39, Winter 2-32, Veening 1-6, Weidkamp 1-4, Bauman 1-3. MB: Rodriguez 4-72, Smith 3-75.
