Hommes leads Lynden to comeback ‘classic’ victory over Blaine
If anything, Lynden coach Curt Kramme may have been guilty of a substantial understatement when he called the Lions’ 31-23 comeback win over Blaine “a classic Northwest Conference football game.”
At the point the Borderites (4-2 overall, 2-2 2A NWC) led 23-10 midway through the third quarter of Lynden’s homecoming Friday, Oct. 7, Blaine had run 54 plays to Lynden’s 20 while getting two touchdowns from Riley Fritsch and field goals of 42, 37 and 39 yards from Kyle Sentkowski. Fritsch finished with 165 yards on 39 carries.
But the Lions (5-1, 4-0) then scored on drives of 80, 62 and 49 yards on their last three possessions. They scored on scrambles of 8 and 13 yards by quarterback Jacob Hommes sandwiched around a 1-yard touchdown by Brody Weinheimer.
Nick Parris, who kicked a 30-yard field goal in the first half, booted an all-important extra point following Weinheimer’s touchdown, giving Lynden a 24-23 lead with 7:54 remaining. Weinheimer scored Lynden’s only first-half touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Hommes.
“Not one bit” the bruising 215-pound Weinheimer replied, when asked if he doubted Lynden’s ability to rally. “I am so proud of each and every one of our guys.”
Hommes finished with 144 yards passing and 88 rushing, with 148 of those yards on the last three drives.
THE FIRST DRIVE
Hommes found Landon Debruin open for a 42-yard completion to the 8, setting up the touchdown that cut Blaine’s lead to 23-17.
THE SECOND DRIVE
Lynden defensive end Trey LaBounty, who played an outstanding game, intercepted a deflected pass at Lynden’s 38 on Blaine’s fourth-and-7 pass from Lynden’s 36. Weinheimer then gained 28 yards on four consecutive rushes, and Hommes threw 13 yards to Aaron Weidenaar to the 10-yard line. After two head-cracking rushes by Hommes netted 9 yards, Weinheimer scored from the 1.
THE THIRD DRIVE
Blaine came up inches short at its own 49 with 6:05 to go. Hommes soon rushed for 15 yards on fourth-and-2 to Blaine’s 26. Two plays later, the hard-running senior quarterback scored from the 13.
THE END FOR BLAINE
“I just want to give Blaine a lot of credit,” Kramme said of Borderites coach Jay Dodd and his team. “As an old Borderite, I know how much Blaine wanted to beat us. This could be something we can build on.”
On Blaine’s final possession, Jalen Kortlever connected on a 4-yard pass to Anthony Ball for Ball’s 11th catch, although Lynden limited the star receiver to 76 yards. Weinheimer, also outstanding defensively, then sacked Kortlever, followed by a key tackle by Jordan Brockmeyer and a game-ending interception by Connor Shine.
Blaine | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0 | — | 23 |
Lynden | 10 | 0 | 7 | 14 | — | 31 |
First quarter
Bla – Riley Fritsch 5 run (Kyle Sentkowski kick)
Lyn – Brody Weinheimer 19 pass from Jacob Hommes (Nick Parris kick)
Lyn – Parris 30 FG
Second quarter
Bla – Sentkowski 42 FG
Bla – Sentkowski 37 FG
Bla – Sentkowski 39 FG
Third quarter
Bla – Fritsch 5 run (Sentkowski kick)
Lyn – Hommes 8 run (Parris kick)
Fourth quarter
Lyn – Weinheimer 1 run (Parris kick)
Lyn – Hommes 13 run (Parris kick)
Bla | Lyn | |
First downs | 16 | 16 |
Rushing Att-yards | 45-120 | 28-133 |
Comp-Att-Int | 15-26-2 | 9-16-1 |
Passing yards | 122 | 144 |
Penalties-yards | 3-25 | 1-5 |
Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING – Blaine: Riley Fritsch 39-165, Jalen Kortlever 6-(-45). Lynden: Jacob Hommes 19-88, Brody Weinheimer 8-37, Rylan Severson 1-8.
PASSING – Blaine: Kortlever 15-26-2-122. Lynden: Hommes 9-16-1-144.
RECEIVING – Blaine: Anthony Ball 11-76, Chase Abshere 1-19, Gunnar Arnason 1-16, Alfonso Demendziev 1-4, Cruz Rodriguez 1-7. Lynden: Severson 4-37, Davis Bode 1-26, Weinheimer 1-19, Landon Debruin 1-42, Aaron Weidenaar 1-13, Connor Shine 1-7.
This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Hommes leads Lynden to comeback ‘classic’ victory over Blaine."