FOOTBALL
1995 Season
As a sophomore he played mostly on the junior varsity, but did get into a few road games late in the season.
1996 Season
With very little varsity action as a sophomore, it wasn’t known how much time he would get as a junior. But, new head coach Ron Lepper had a pretty good idea. He was inserted into the starting lineup at left guard, and was a fit right from the beginning.
At 250 pounds, and with supreme athletic ability, his ability to pull, move and strike was immediately impressive.
Despite some bus trouble on the way to Lakewood, the visiting Mountaineers won their opener on the road against the Cougars, 48-20. Baker ran the ball for 263 yards, and also scored six rushing touchdowns for the first time in school history.
It was clear what kind of path Baker was going with, and it was going to be LoGrande clearing the path.
In the following week, the home opener, Mount Baker won 21-2, as Joe Schleimer broke a school record with 39 carries for 231 yards.
The Mountaineers lost their WCL opener at home against Lynden Christian, 20-7, but quickly rebounded to beat Concrete on the road 28-0 behind 346 yards rushing and a 7.4 average as a team.
A close win over Blaine, 30-27, was then followed up by two defeats against Nooksack Valley and league champion Meridian.
The Mountaineers won their final two games of the season handedly, 49-0 over Friday Harbor and 61-12 over Granite Falls, but after finishing 6-3, the playoffs were not in the cards.
Mount Baker finished the season rushing for 2423 yards and 28 touchdowns. Both were new school records. LoGrande was named All-WCL 2nd Team as an offensive lineman.
1997 Season
As a senior, a much anticipated season was on its way. Now in his second year as head coach, Ron Lepper transformed his already run-heavy offense into the Wing-T, with LoGrande as a main focal point at left guard.
In the opener at Blaine, the Mountaineers ran for 252 yards, but didn’t score a touchdown on the ground. Instead, it was two touchdown passes that elevated them to a 14-7 victory over the Borderites. It ended up being the lowest amount of rushing yards in a game all season by the Mounties, and the only game where a rushing touchdown did not occur.
The home opener re-wrote the school record book, as well as the Whatcom County record book and the Washington State record book! In the 48-12 win over Granite Falls, Mount Baker ran the ball 62 times for 674 yards (10.9 average) and seven touchdowns. Senior Jacob Prince rushed for 422 yards in the game to establish a new single game state record.
LoGrande led the offensive line once again the following week at Lynden Christian in a tough contest that saw the Mounties come out with a 28-15 win behind 260 yards rushing. The Lyncs would go on to win the Class 1A State Championship later in the season.
Mount Baker came back home to crown King’s 64-3 while scoring seven rushing touchdowns, once again tying a school record, and they also put up 487 rushing yards.
A rainy night in Lakewood resulted in a 13-7 victory over the Cougars the following week, and the rushing attack was still potent with 381 yards.
A non-league 34-0 victory over Chimacum took place and set up one of the biggest games in Mount Baker history for the following week.
It was undefeated Meridian coming into town to take on the undefeated Mountaineers. Bob Tisdale Field never looked so packed as layers of fans surrounded the track after the bleachers filled out hours before the game.
The Trojan passing attack proved to be too much, as the Mounties fell 41-28, despite rushing for 298 yards.
Mount Baker took it out on the rival Pioneers the following week, as the Mountaineers ran 65 plays for 565 yards and six touchdowns…. all on the ground. Baker won 40-0.
Needing a win to secure their first state playoff berth in three years, LoGrande and the Mountaineers defeated Sultan on the road, 38-7, behind 415 rushing yards.
It was a tough first round matchup as Baker drew Elma. In a close battle, the Eagles squeaked out a 28-22 victory to end the season of the Mountaineers. Elma went on to win the Class 2A State Championship.
For his efforts, LoGrande was named All-Conference 1st Team at offensive line, and then was also named All-State 1st Team at offensive line. He was also a captain in the All-State game later in the summer.
Football Career
Mount Baker coach Ron Lepper was once quoted years ago saying that LoGrande was the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached. He’s coached a lot more since then, but it could still be true. During his senior season, Mount Baker averaged over 400 yards rushing per game, which is still a Whatcom County record. His rare combination of size, strength and speed usually overwhelmed opponents. In 2014 he was ranked #188 in the Top 500 Players of All-Time from Whatcom County. He went on to play college football for two years at Mendocino Junior College (Ukiah, CA) where he played both offensive and defensive line, before transferring to Upper Iowa University to finish out his college football career at guard. He also played some Arena League and semi-pro football before finally hanging it up.
WRESTLING
1996-97 Season
In his first year of high school wrestling, LoGrande spend most of the season on the JV squad, but still wrestled in varsity tournaments.
He proved to be varsity material at the Whatcom County League Championship meet at the end of the regular season when he placed fourth place in the heavyweight division, which allowed him to move on to the district tournament.
1997-98 Season
As a senior, LoGrande took over as the varsity heavyweight on the superbly talented Mount Baker wrestling team.
He proved his dominance early on by pinning Cameron Meyers of Lakewood in 16 seconds in his first match of the season.
Baker then dominated the Vashon Island Invitational, and LoGrande took second place in the tournament.
Back in dual action, Mount Baker hosted Lynden and won 64-12, with six of those points coming from LoGrande who pinned Troy Dyer in 20 seconds.
Another tournament went the Mountaineers’ way, this time in Warden, with LoGrande beating Terry Zapien 19-11 in the heavyweight championship match.
Baker then took the Kalama tournament, and LoGrande medaled once again this time taking second place.
Already having a great season, he would face his biggest test in the next dual meet at Nooksack Valley. The Pioneers had Mike LeMere, who was regarded as not just the top heavyweight in the conference, but probably in the state.
The previously unbeaten LeMere was pinned at home by LoGrande in 88 seconds, which helped cap off the 56-10 triumph over the Pioneers.
A week later in Auburn, the Dream Duals took place, and the Mountaineers took second place. During the tournament, LoGrande lost a close match, 10-9, to Lakeside’s Chad Charbonneau, another top contender for the state heavyweight championship.
Mount Baker then won the conference tournament, with 317 points and sent 15 wrestlers on to regionals, including LoGrande who finished in third place, behind LeMere and Chuck Betker of Blaine.
The Class 2A regional tournament was a similar story, as the Mountaineers won again, this time scoring 230.5 points. LoGrande again finished in third, behind LeMere and Betker again, and was headed to state in his first year as a full-time varsity wrestler.
It was a tough start for LoGrande at the state tournament, as he was pinned in the second round by Othello’s Julian Caiceros in his opening match. However, he battled through the consolation bracket over the next day and a half without losing a match. He avenged prior losses to both Charbonneau and Caiceros during that time and captured third place in the state tournament.
Wrestling Career
It was a short career, but a very good one. One year as a varsity wrestler, and he took third place in the Class 2A state heavyweight division. I’m still researching this, but he also may have the fastest pin (16 seconds) for a heavyweight wrestler in school history.
