The Borderites dominated at home on Oct. 22 in a 48-21 win against 2A Sultan, a nonleague opponent. Blaine was fantastic on both sides of the ball, but it was junior quarterback Connor Brown who stood out.
Brown had about as good a game as any quarterback could have. Brown broke Whatcom County records for passing touchdowns and passing yards in a single game, according to WhatcomPreps.com.
He threw for 7 touchdowns and 567 yards on 33 completions. All of Blaine’s scoring plays were passing touchdowns from Brown.
Borderite receivers took turns getting behind Sultan’s defense, and Brown constantly found them deep down the field.
“Our offense finally clicked, and my teammates really helped me out,” Brown said after the game.
He said that everyone was doing their part, which allowed him to make the throws. The linemen were making big blocks, the backs were picking up blitzers and the receivers were getting open.
Several Blaine touchdowns were scored on long catch-and-run passes and some great snags by receivers.
Brown said he has a lot of trust in his receivers because of the relationships he’s developed with them over the years and during their offseason training.
“I grew up with these kids and we come to the field every summer. We put the work in every summer,” Brown said. “Our connection is unlike any other.”
It was clear from the opening drive that the connection was there. On the second play from scrimmage, Brown connected over the middle with junior Isaac Bouma, who took it 68 yards for a touchdown.
Bouma caught 3 touchdowns and had 260 yards — a single-game school record — on 11 receptions (all statistics via WhatcomPreps.com).
Junior receiver Hunter Candanoza had a touchdown and 226 yards on 18 receptions, another single-game school record.
Sophomore Bryan Bogaards had 2 touchdowns and 79 yards on just 3 catches. One of his touchdowns was an outstanding contested grab. A Sultan defender played tight coverage, but Bogaards leaped high, well above the defender, and somehow kept control of the ball as he plummeted to the turf.
Freshman Dmitriy Shvorak also got in on the scoring with a 2-yard receiving touchdown.
Blaine head coach Andy Olson said it felt good to get a win against a tough 2A opponent. It was rewarding to put a big number on the scoreboard, and it reminded his team what it’s capable of.
It’s been a season full of hard-fought games against really good teams, but the win against Sultan shows that Blaine can compete with the best of them, he said.
Olson said they’ll carry the win into next week when they look to take on one of the best 1A teams in the state in Lynden Christian.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Rating Percentage Index had Lynden Christian ranked No. 3 among 1A teams in the state as of Friday afternoon.
But as Olson said, “It’s not who we play, it’s how we play.”
With the win on Oct. 22, Blaine improved to 2-5 overall. They’ll play their final league game of the season at home against Lynden Christian on Thursday night.
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