Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

PREP FOOTBALL: Blaine advances with 28-0 win

DUVALL - When Tucker Morgan showed up at football practice for the first time this fall Blaine's coaching staff wasn't quite sure what to expect from the senior transfer cornerback from Class 2B Pe Ell High School.

What the Borderites wound up getting was one of the most productive defensive backs in school history and possibly in the state at the Class 2A level this season.

Morgan intercepted three passes to raise his season total to nine and Blaine's defense picked up its third consecutive shutout, dropping Cedarcrest 28-0 in a Class 2A Northwest District game in Duvall on Friday, Nov. 6.

The win locks up a state tournament bid for Blaine (7-3) against an opponent as yet to be determined. If the remaining district games to be played on Saturday, Nov. 7 go to seed the Borderites would be on the road to meet the top seed from District Four which would be W.F. West.

"We came in knowing that we had to be the aggressor tonight," Morgan said. "We knew that we had to hit them hard and just out work them."

The Borderites defense made a statement early in the game, forcing a fumble late in the first quarter to set up Blaine's first score. Following the turnover the Borderites took over on Cedarcrest's 29-yard line and two plays later Trevor Chau hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 6-0.

Caleb Statham put Blaine up 14-0 halfway through the second quarter when he burst up the middle for a 65-yard touchdown dash. Morgan grabbed his first interception on the next series and returned it to the Red Wolves' 8-yard line to set up Blaine's third score. A 2-yard touchdown pass to Todd Bird pushed the Borderites lead to 21-0 at halftime.

"When we were able to go up three scores there right before the half on a night like tonight that was a big deal," Blaine coach Jay Dodd said. "I thought Tucker Morgan just did an outstanding job for us tonight. That first interception he had gave us a short field and we were able to score and that was a big turning point for us."

While Morgan was making big plays in the defensive secondary, Blaine's front seven was doing the dirty work up front. The Borderites held Cedarcrest's standout fullback Jacob Kriegbaum to just 64 yards on 16 carries and pressured Red Wolves quarterback Tommy Edwards into making mistakes.

"Our defense has stayed disciplined," senior Joel Garza said. "We've all been doing our jobs. We've been getting to our spots, making good reads, and tackling well. Solid defense means you're playing as a team and that's what we've been doing."

A 29-yard touchdown strike to Chau halfway through the third quarter put Blaine up 28-0 and forced the Red Wolves to abandon their running game and start throwing. That proved costly for Cedarcrest's Wing-T offense as Morgan grabbed his second and third interceptions of the game in the quarter.

Statham finished with 116 yards on 16 carries and Chau had five catches for 80 yards to lead Blaine. The loss was just the second of the season for Cedarcrest, which had been dominant in conference play. The Red Wolves only other loss this season was to second-ranked Archbishop Murphy.

"Right now we're pretty much in the same position that we were in last year, but that's OK," Dodd said. "We did it once and we can do it again. Our kids like being the underdogs. Our kids really like being told they can't do something. You look at what happened out there tonight, we came in here against a Cedarcrest team that only lost one game to Archbishop Murphy and that was by a touchdown. Not a lot of people gave us a chance in this one. We like to play in these kinds of games."

Blaine 6 15 7 0- 28

Cedarcrest 0 0 0 0- 0

First Quarter

Blaine - Trevor Chau 27 pass from Jordan McCarty (kick blocked)

Second Quarter

Blaine - Caleb Statham 65 run (Jordan McCarty pass to Todd Bird)

Blaine - Todd Bird 2 pass from Jordan McCarty (Keith Sentkowski kick)

Third Quarter

Blaine - Trevor Chau 29 pass from Jordan McCarty (Keith Sentkowski kick)

Blaine Cedar.

First downs 12 8

Rushing Att-Yards 31-145 33-69

Comp-Att-Int 7-13-1 5-15-4

Passing yards 98 39

Penalties-yards 4-30 5-65

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-2

Individual leaders

RUSHING - Blaine: Caleb Statham 16-116, David Craig 3-10, Tyler Chau 5-6, Cody Dampier 4-20, Jordan McCarty 2-(-1), Sean Allen 1-(-6); Cedarcrest: Jacob Kriegbaum16-64, Jansen Woetz 9-43, Tommy Edwards 5-(-18), Jackson Pleis 2-(-1), Alex Gibbs 1-(-19).

PASSING - Blaine: Jordan McCarty 7-13-1-98. Cedarcrest: Tommy Edwards 5-15-4-39

RECEIVING - Blaine: Trevor Chau 5-80, Todd Bird 2-18. Cedarcrest: Jared Klingenberg 2-27, Zach Wilhelm 1-4, Mark Bishop 2-8.