Football
One week after earning its first win of the season, and head coach Andy Olson’s first in his tenure for the Borderites, Blaine football lost a heartbreaker on the road against Cedar Park Christian, 9-7 on September 23.
The Borderites were shut out for the first three quarters of the game, with Cedar Park Christian’s only points coming from a first quarter touchdown and a safety after Blaine’s punter recovered his own blocked punt in the endzone.
But Blaine’s defense was able to hold Cedar Park to just those two scores for the entire game, keeping the Borderites within striking distance heading into the second half.
While outperforming Cedar Park in nearly every statistical category – Blaine racked up another impressive game on the ground with 138 rushing yards on 34 attempts – the Borderites couldn’t find that final game-winning drive.
During its first drive of the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Colin Davis dropped a 48-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Hunter Vezzetti for Blaine’s lone scoring play. Trailing by just two points with minutes to play, it seemed that the Borderites had a real chance to win when junior cornerback Thomas Cox intercepted a pass on the very next play from scrimmage.
With a 27-yard field goal ready to be kicked through to give the Borderites a 10-9 lead, the ball was bobbled and turned over to Cedar Park. Blaine’s next possession resulted in a turnover on downs, and the Borderites lost 9-7 in gut-wrenching fashion.
The loss puts Blaine football at 1-3 before conference play begins this week. The Borderites will travel into the foothills to face Mount Baker (1-3), the runners-up in last year’s 1A State Championship game, at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 29.
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Volleyball
In what appears to be a recurring theme so far this season, Blaine volleyball dropped another pair of straight-set losses over the past week. The Borderites faced Lynden Christian at home on September 21, then traveled to Nooksack Valley on September 25, only to drop both games 3 sets to none.
Despite a pair of standout performances from senior Teya Zaddack, who hit .458 with 13 kills, seven digs and two aces against Nooksack Valley, Blaine still couldn’t put together a cohesive team performance, as the Borderites’ conference record drops to 0-5 on the season.
Senior Bella Vezzetti distributed the ball well on Monday night, tallying 10 assists, but it simply wasn’t enough as Blaine dropped each set 25-18, 25-16 and 25-14 to a strong Nooksack Valley team.
Blaine will continue the season with a home game against Sedro-Woolley on September 28 at 7 p.m., followed by an away game against Bellingham on October 2 at 7 p.m.
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Girls Soccer
The Borderites continued their season with a 2-0 loss to Squalicum on September 21, and a 0-0 tie against Meridian at home on September 26. Blaine now sits at a 1-2-2 overall record, with a 0-0-1 conference record.
It has taken quiet a bit of time for Blaine’s offense to get in rhythm this season as the Borderites have been outscored a total of 7-2 in its first five games.
Both of Blaine’s only goals this season have come from senior winger Lucy Dahl, who scored last week’s game winner against Lakewood. But it’s clearly been tough to get the rest of the offense involved in scoring. Both of Blaine’s goals this year have come from corner kicks, which head coach Gio Quesada-Ruiz said was an emphasis in the offseason. But the inability to create chances in the flow of play is looking like a major weakness for this year’s girls soccer team.
In a blustering, rainy game at Borderite Stadium on September 26, neither Blaine nor Meridian were able to generate many offensive chances, and reigning Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, junior goalkeeper Larissa Pluschakov was able to earn her second clean sheet of the season.
The Borderites now face the heart of its conference schedule, and will hope to put more points on the board when they go on the road Thursday, September 28 to face Lynden Christian at 4:30 p.m. On Monday, October 2, Blaine faces off at home against Nooksack Valley for another conference matchup at 7 p.m.
Cross-Country
The Blaine cross-country boys finished in 9th place as a team on Saturday, September 23 at the 16th annual King’s Cross Invitational in Shoreline, posting a team score of 243. Issaquah finished first in the JV Boys race with a team score of 16.
Junior Tucker Greene represented north Whatcom County well, posting a top-20 finishing time of 19:40.58, one of only 25 runners in his division to complete the 3-mile course in under 20 minutes, and the only Borderite to complete the course under that mark.
He was trailed by junior teammates Ian Tuski, who finished 67th with a time of 21:04.86, followed by Owen Woodworth (21:40.33), freshman Verdaan Aujla (22:48.58) and sophomore Rhys Milligan (26:32.09).
After traveling all around western Washington for its first four races of the season, the Blaine cross-country program will finally host a home meet on Wednesday, September 27 at Peace Arch State Park. The race will feature a clash between Blaine and its Northwest Conference foes Burlington-Edison and Ferndale.
Head coach Roberto Aguilera changed the 5,000 meter race venue from its original location at Pipeline Field to Peace Arch State Park. Aguilera described the new course as “fast and flat with two 10 meter hills, few turns, and one sharp uphill turn all on short grass.”
As the race takes place at a state park, there is a $10 day use fee to park a vehicle in the designated parking lot, but spectators can use a Discover Pass if they have one. Free parking is available at a few empty gas stations and parking lots near the park, Aguilera said.
Boys will run at 4:15 p.m. and girls will run at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27.
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