Blaine Borderites football won its first game of the season on September 15 in rousing fashion, demolishing the visiting Vashon Island Pirates 55-0 at home. The victory was head coach Andy Olson’s first win in his new tenure, bringing Blaine up to a 1-2 record.
“It feels great,” Olson said. “I’m happy for the kids. The whole second half was really fun to get some of those kids out there who have been working hard all summer for us. They don’t really get that opportunity to play underneath the lights.”
The Borderites never gave Vashon a chance, scoring on the opening drive with a 25-yard strike from junior quarterback Colin Davis to senior wide receiver Hunter Vezzetti. The drive seemed to stall when the Borderite offensive line was called for two consecutive holding penalties, reminiscent of Blaine’s penalty woes suffered in its two previous losses. Led by Davis, the Blaine offense finished the drive with a touchdown, and the rout was on.
“My favorite drive was the first one when we had back-to-back holding calls,” Olson said. “Instead of imploding, we stayed the course and just did our jobs.”
The Borderites seemed to do more than just their jobs during the Friday night game.
The defense held Vashon to just 37 total yards of offense, and did not allow a single completion over the air. Blaine’s defensive backs intercepted two of Vashon’s five total pass attempts. The defensive line combined for five sacks on the night.
On offense, the combination of quarterback Davis to wideout Vezzetti terrorized Vashon Island’s secondary all game. The duo combined for three touchdowns, and led to a career-high four-touchdown performance from Davis, who was subbed out by the fourth quarter.
The rushing attack was non-stop, as junior back Rommel Paez led the team with 82 yards and a touchdown on just 10 attempts. The team combined for 163 rushing yards on 30 attempts for an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.
Senior receiver, defensive back, quarterback and all-around Swiss army knife Riley Ihde was also a nuisance for the visiting Pirates. Ihde caught a touchdown pass from Davis, returned an interception 40 yards for a pick-six, subbed in at quarterback in the second half, threw a 29-yard score to senior Jesse Deming, then rushed for a 15-yard touchdown on a scramble.
That’s a passing, rushing, receiving and defensive touchdown from one player, in less than three quarters of football.
The attention Ihde was demanding from Vashon’s defense was enough to free up space for Vezzetti to gobble up those three scores through the air, Olson said.
“What’s fun about our offense is it could be anybody’s week,” Olson said. “We’re going to take what the defense gives us, and tonight it just happened to be that they gave us Hunter Vezzetti.”
While a blowout of this magnitude – in front of the home fans, for the head coach’s first win of his tenure and the team’s first of the season – certainly builds confidence, Olson stressed that the final score can often mask problems.
“When you’re on the other side of the scoreboard, it’s usually not as bad as you think it is,” Olson said. “And when you’re on this side of the scoreboard, it’s usually not as good as you think it is.”
Blaine football (1-2) continues into the thick of the regular season, and will now travel to Juanita High School in Kirkland to face Cedar Park Christian School at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 23.
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