DEMING – Lynden Christian senior Zach Sipma usually lines up at wide receiver on offense, and defensive tackle on defense. While he still did that a little bit, his presence was known at fullback, tight end and defensive end as his Lyncs got revenge by defeating Mount Baker 27-8 at Bob Tisdale Field on Friday night.
Sipma’s defense (two sacks, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery) helped keep Mount Baker out of the end zone for most of the game, and when Lynden Christian began the fourth quarter with a 13-8 lead, he caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from his tight end position, and he rumbled through multiple tacklers in the middle of the Mountaineer defense for a 42-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-2 from the fullback position.
He finished with four carries for 51 yards along with a team-high four receptions for 60 yards.
The Lyncs started out strong on their first drive when senior running back Easton Stremler scored from three yards out. Mount Baker junior running back Toby Jefferson answered Stremler’s score with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own, followed up by a two-point conversion to take the one-point lead.
The rest of the first half was marred by multiple turnovers by both teams. Stremler led LC in rushing with 81 yards on 20 carries, while Jefferson did the same for the Mountaineers with 71 yards on 17 carries.
Just before halftime, Mount Baker quarterback Mason Jacoby found Ayden Rodriguez on a deep pass and run that resulted in a 62-yard gain, which brought the Mounties to the Lynden Christian 10-yard line. It appeared that Rodriguez was going to score, but he was caught by speedster Jackson Corkill. It turned out to be a huge play, as LC senior defensive back Jude Veltkamp intercepted a pass in the end zone just moments later.
Senior Lync quarterback Trajan Schouten found fellow senior Levi Korthuis on a 21-yard scoring strike in the third quarter to regain the lead. Sipma’s heroics in the final period sealed the deal for Lynden Christian.
LC also kept the ball on the ground more than usual, with 44 running plays. Amazingly, none of the 13 passes that were attempted by Lynden Christian hit the ground. 11 were completed, and two were intercepted.
The Lyncs (5-1) will host Nooksack Valley (2-5) on Friday, and Mount Baker (6-1) will travel to Meridian (2-5) on Friday.
Lynden Christian 27
Mount Baker 8
LC 7 0 6 14 – 27
MB 8 0 0 0 – 8
LC – Stremler 3 run (DenBleyker kick)
MB – Jefferson 1 run (Jefferson run)
LC – Korthuis 21 pass from Schouten (pass failed)
LC – Sipma 19 pass from Schouten (DenBleyker kick)
LC – Sipma 42 run (DenBleyker kick)
LC MB
44-146 Rushing Att-Yards 30-81
11-13-2 Comp-Att-Int 7-19-1
133 Passing yards 109
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – LC: Stremler 20-81, Sipma 4-51, Schouten 10-8, Korthuis 3-7, Dykstra 3-6, Corkill 3-0, Bouwman 1-(-7). MB: Jefferson 17-71, Lee 8-14, Jacoby 3-6, Rodriguez 1-(-2), Zavala 1-(-8).
PASSING – LC: Schouten 9-10-1-115, Dykstra 2-3-1-18. MB: Jacoby 7-19-1-109.
RECEIVING – LC: Sipma 4-60, Corkill 3-32, Korthuis 3-31, Feenstra 1-10. MB: Rodriguez 3-75, Kentner 2-20, Lee 2-14.
