B.C. team shuts out Blaine football 21–0

After two early mistakes, Blaine football couldn’t recover in a 21–0 loss on September 13 at home. The Borderites have a 1–1 record after the loss to Lord Tweedsmuir, a Surrey, B.C., team that went undefeated in the regular season last year and is currently ranked among the best in the province.

Blaine gave away the first touchdown. The Borderites dropped the kick return and then fumbled the first snap. Lord Tweedsmuir recovered it on the 15-yard line and marched into the end zone in a few possessions.

Blaine couldn’t get a first-down on its next possession, and Lord Tweedsmuir returned the Borderite punt to the 50-yard line before eventually running in a second touchdown. Lord Tweedsmuir’s extra-point kick made the score 14–0 in the first quarter.

From there, the Borderites played a competitive game but just couldn’t score. They came within 10 yards of the end zone twice – once at the end of the second quarter and again at the end of the third.

“We struggled to get into any rhythm on offense,” said Blaine head coach Jay Dodd. “We had some chances and we did move the ball from time to time but we still have a lot of things to get better at. We’re just not quite clicking yet on offense.”

Lord Tweedsmuir scored its third touchdown on a 9-yard run in the third quarter. The team’s offense relied partly on running plays along the perimeter of the field, something Blaine’s defense successfully blocked later in the game. 

“Our defense played great, for the most part, all game long,” Dodd said. “We forced five or six punts and we were close to creating a couple of turnovers. Wyatt Cole, Mason [Vega] and Gavino [Rodriguez] played great.”

Blaine put together 195 total offensive yards (Lord Tweedsmuir had 247). Borderites quarterback Will McKinney completed 11 of 30 passes for 102 yards, and senior wide receiver Kavika Hee snagged six receptions for 64 yards. Scott Baldwin caught three passes for 24 yards, and Vega and Zane Rector each caught one pass.

Blaine’s wide receivers are all new to the position. Though he hopes the pass completion percentage will climb toward 50 or 60 percent, Dodd said his crop of receivers is improving.

“There are very specific things about the position that they’re still learning on the run and haven’t perfected yet,” he said. “We have to keep working on those details of how to find the open space. I know they’re going to get there, it’s just a matter of continuing to get better every day and trying to learn those things.”

Blaine’s most experienced running back, Oscar Caridad, was out of town. Joshua Lopez ran the ball 20 times for 65 yards.

Next, Blaine plays at Lynden Christian (1–0) at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 20. The following game, Friday, September 27 at home against Burlington-Edison, is the first conference game of the season.