In the final week of fall sports, multiple Blaine teams capped off valiant seasons with remarkable postseason performances, from a pair of cross-country runners competing at the 1A state championships in Pasco, to girls soccer clinching a state berth and football tying a county record on the road.
Blaine girls soccer had its entire season on the line against Nooksack Valley on November 15. The night game under the home lights at Borderite Stadium seemed to present Blaine with all the pressure in the world. But the Borderites looked cool, calm and collected en route to a nail-biting 2-0 state playoff win thanks to a pair of goals from junior Kate Koreski and a clean sheet from junior goalkeeper Marcella Bring.
The Borderites were in control for most of the game, running the offense efficiently through the midfield and not allowing Nooksack Valley’s (3-14-1) forwards a chance to score.
Head coach Gio Quesada said his players had one of their best performances of the year.
“There’s something different with this team,” Quesada said. “Sometimes, you don’t need superstars, you need warriors. This team is full of warriors.”
Blaine got out to a lead 22 minutes into the first half when Koreski scored her first of two goals on the night. Halfway through the second half, Koreski outdid her previous goal with a long, looping strike that found the top right corner of the net. Koreski scored the final three goals for the Borderites in its last two games of the 1A District 1 tournament.
In a team full of warriors, Quesada called Koreski “the general in my army.”
“Kate Koreski is the heart of this team,” Quesada said of the junior do-everything athlete who played three positions against Nooksack Valley. “She’s a model for the young players. She’s that player that always runs the extra mile.”
The win meant the 2025 team earned the first state playoff appearance for Blaine girls soccer since 2003, when Blaine, then classified as a 2A school, made it to the quarterfinal round before falling to Eatonville. Thanks to no bi-district playoff this year that would normally require Blaine to win an additional game before earning a state bid, the Borderites joined Lynden Christian as the two 1A District 1 teams in this year’s tournament.
The opening round against one-seed Cedar Park Christian (16-3-1) on November 11 was not kind to the Borderites. The game ended in a 9-1 loss, closing the chapter for the girls’ season. Blaine’s lone goal came from a 40-yard free kick by junior defender Kaitlyn Ritter Von Trautmann.
Despite the postseason exit, the accomplishment of a state playoff berth remains.
“We, as a coaching staff, are very proud and very grateful for this team,” Quesada said, speaking for assistant coach Nicholas Wheaton. “The last few games they played exactly the way we wanted, and I think part of our success is the team is very open and very coachable.”
Quesada specifically thanked the parents and volunteers who supported the team.
The Borderites finished the year with a 7-14-0 record as they made it further than any girls soccer team in the past two decades.
Blaine sophomore Emmanuel Rios-Martinez and junior Steven Phelps-McDonald competed in the 1A State Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on November 8, with the duo representing Borderite distance running with pride.
In a massive field of 154 runners in the 1A heat, Rios-Martinez finished 88th with a time of 18:11.3, and Phelps-McDonald finished 130th with a time of 19:02.4 in the five-kilometer course.
Rios-Martinez posted his third-best time for a five-kilometer course this season, and Phelps-McDonald posted his fifth-best time, according to head coach Roberto Aguilera.
In a post on social media after the race, Aguilera boasted about the pair of athletes and how they are inspiring the growth of Blaine’s distance running program.
“I am so proud of these two to compete with the best in Washington state and to experience the memories over the weekend,” Aguilera wrote. “They are champions to our XC program for influencing the next generation of state qualifying runners at Blaine.”
Whatcom County runners did well in state overall. Lynden Christian senior Nickolas Luce was the highest-placing 1A Northwest Conference (NWC) runner, receiving second overall with a time of 15:35.5. Meridian earned a second-place team score of 90 with three athletes placing in the top 16 spots.
Lynden Christian sophomore Laila Mellema placed third in the girls 1A heat with a time of 19:23.7, and Meridian placed first as a team with a score of 107.
The Blaine football season wrapped up with a week 10 matchup on the road against Lakewood on November 7, with Blaine losing 35-27.
After getting out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 22-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Connor Brown to sophomore receiver Hunter Candanoza, Lakewood scored 21 unanswered points as the game stretched into the third quarter.
Blaine couldn’t mount a late comeback despite two fourth quarter touchdowns, both on passes from Brown, and the Borderites ended the season with a 2-8 (0-4 NWC) record.
After being just one win away from a 1A state playoff berth last season, the Borderites took a step back this year, but will look to mature and get better on both sides of the ball next season.
The offensive core of Brown slinging to receivers Candanoza, Peyton Bouma and Isaac Bouma could take another big step next year, but the team will surely miss graduating senior Kai Kerwin. Kerwin was productive all year as he racked up multiple receiving touchdowns and 100-yard receiving games.
With four touchdown passes on the night, Brown tied a Whatcom County record for touchdown passes in a season by a sophomore quarterback as he finished the year with 25.
Asher Hagee appears to be another Blaine football player to watch next year, as the freshman running back rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries on the night.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com.
