Blaine sports had another busy week, with many games played on the road. In the few home games the Borderites did play, volleyball was able to defend its court in a gusty, 3-2 win over Sedro-Woolley, while football couldn’t keep up with Granite Falls in a 27-6 loss during its homecoming game.
The Borderites held its own against Granite Falls in the first half of the September 26 game at Borderite Stadium. But the second half was a different story.
With the score heading into halftime narrowly in Granite Falls favor, 7-6, the Borderites just needed to put together a few good offensive drives and continue its suffocating defense that allowed a single score in the first half.
The plan immediately went off the rails when Granite Falls recovered a Blaine fumble on the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown just a few plays later.
That would be the start of a 20-point swing in Granite Falls’ favor, with the loss dropping the Borderites to 1-3 on the season.
Blaine showed signs of promise on offense throughout the game, especially in the first half. The offense moved through senior wide receiver Kai Kerwin and the passing attack from sophomore quarterback Connor Brown. The two connected in the second quarter for Blaine’s lone score on the night, a beautiful 45-yard pass down the left sideline.
The Borderites controlled the first half, holding Granite Falls to just 86 yards of offense, while Blaine produced 167 yards of offense.
Penalties seemed to kill Blaine’s momentum on plenty of drives, with first downs and solid gains being called back for holding, especially in the first half.
While Granite Falls ran away with the game in the third quarter, the Borderites still had noteworthy individual performances. Kerwin once again logged over 100 yards receiving in a game, this time bringing in six catches for 104 yards.
Brown had 11 completions on 23 passing attempts for 159 yards and one touchdown and did not throw an interception.
On defense, the Borderites were again led by the linebacker duo of sophomore Matt Campion and junior Axel Shelton. Campion finished with 11.5 tackles and Shelton racked up 9.5 tackles and one tackle for loss. Junior outside linebacker Peyton Bouma had four tackles, two passes defended and an interception.
With the non-conference schedule in the rear-view mirror, the Borderites now look ahead to facing its Northwest Conference rivals. First up for the Borderites is a trip to face undefeated Lynden Christian at 7 p.m. Friday, October 3.
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Last week, the Borderites toughed out a gutsy, five-set win over Northwest Conference foe Sedro Woolley at home on September 24, winning 3-2.
The back-and-forth match saw Sedro-Woolley win set one, Blaine win the second, Sedro-Woolley winning set three, then Blaine winning the final two sets to emerge victorious. The Borderites ended in dominant fashion, winning 25-14 in the fourth set and then 15-5 in the fifth.
Junior outside hitter Teia Dube led the Borderites in multiple columns on the stat sheet, tallying up 19 kills and 20 digs. Senior Ari Johnson wasn’t far behind with 15 kills and 14 digs, while senior Carly Saunders led the team with five service aces and four blocks to go along with 10 kills.
Senior libero Hannah Phelps-McDonald filled her defensive role nicely with 20 digs, and senior Ainslee Ellis tallied a whopping 40 assists.
The Borderites weren’t able to keep the momentum going through the weekend, dropping a match on the road against Meridian in straight sets on September 29. The red hot Meridian team, now on a five-game winning streak and sitting at sixth place in the Northwest Conference, didn’t allow the Borderites to break 20 points in a set.
Despite the loss, Blaine had plenty of solid performances, as Dube again led the team with 14 kills and 12 digs and Johnson racked up three service aces.
The Borderites, sitting at No. 9 in the conference standings with a 3-5 record, will look to eek toward a .500 record with an October 1 matchup on the road against Lynden (after press time).
The Borderites then return home at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 7 to face Mt. Baker.
Stats provided byWhatcomPreps.com
Blaine couldn’t get the offense going against Sedro-Woolley on September 25, losing 2-0 at home.
Both goals by Sedro-Woolley came by way of the penalty kick, always a tough challenge for any goalkeeper to realistically contend with. The loss dropped the Borderites to 3-5 heading into the weekend, and prior to a huge matchup against rival Meridian on September 30.
That matchup, though against a scuffling, near-last place Meridian team, was entertaining with the Trojans jumping out to an early 1-0 lead with a long-range free kick goal from senior Mia Blankenship.
The Borderites responded with their secret weapon throughout the early season: freshman forward Ruby Belarmino, who scored a hat trick.
It was yet another game with multiple goals for Belarmino, who had a two-goal game against Nooksack Valley on September 23.
According to WhatcomPreps.com, Belarmino is ranked third in the Northwest Conference in goals scored, behind Squalicum’s Addisyn Wilson and Sehome’s Ryan Boehm, both of whom are seniors committed to D1 schools. Just nine games into her high school soccer career, Belarmino has already tallied 10 goals.
Blaine (4-5, 2-5 NWC) hopes to see Belarmino keep up the scoring pace against Lynden on Thursday, October 2 (after press time). The Borderites kick off from Lynden at 4 p.m. Blaine will then host Mt. Baker at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 7.
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Blaine cross-country battled with Meridian, Nooksack Valley and Lummi Nation in a Northwest Conference meet on September 24, with the Borderites taking second place in both the boys and girls races.
In the four kilometer race at Meridian, sophomore runner Emmanuel Rios-Martinez led the way for the Borderites with a time of 14:54.5, which placed him fourth among 40 athletes in the boys race.
Sophomore Logan Bennett was the next Borderite behind Rios-Martinez, finishing in 14th place with a time of 17:30.7. Senior Jacob Troupe, who finished in 16th place with a time of 17:33.2, and junior Verdaan Aujla, who finished in 19th place with a time of 17:38.7, followed Bennett closely.
For the girls team, it was tough to compete against a talented Meridian squad that finished with nine of the top-10 times. The Borderites saw great performances from underclassmen like sophomore Carrie Balback, who finished ninth with a time of 18:13.1, and freshman Zoe Hill, who finished 14th with a time of 23:11.7, the third-fastest time for any freshman.
The Borderites are scheduled for a race at the Deming Logging Show Grounds on October 1 (after press time).
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