They’ve won the 1A NWC crown five straight years, but everyone seems to overlook them in 2017

Just about anybody watching the 1A Northwest Conference is talking about Meridian’s Simon Burkett and Nooksack Valley’s Casey Bauman – a pair of quarterbacks already committed to NCAA Division I schools – playing their senior seasons before heading off to the Big Sky Conference.

Those who aren’t are marveling over the size – both physical and turnout numbers – on the practice fields at Lynden Christian.

Meanwhile, the Mount Baker football team – champion of the 1A NWC the past five seasons and loser of just one league game during that stretch (27-1) – quietly goes about its business, seemingly undaunted by what others are doing.

“We’re just trying to do the things we’ve been doing the past couple of years – play with our hearts and put a good product on the field for people to watch,” Mountaineers senior Kyler Steeves said.

Yes, Mount Baker seems a bit overlooked in 2017, but that’s exactly the way coach Ron Lepper and his team like it. The only people the Mountaineers have something to prove to is themselves.

“We have this acronym – PIE – that we talk about every day,” senior Carson Engholm said. “We all try to prove it every day. We’ve got something to prove, because that’s how we want to play the game. We enjoy doing it together.”

Lepper said PIE was instituted because of the success the team has had the past five seasons to help “make sure we don’t take that for granted.” He said he hopes it reminds players, “who can’t even remember when we weren’t as successful as we’ve been the past few years,” to work hard and take care of what they can control.

So what kind of PIE is Mount Baker in 2017?

“The good kind,” senior Thomas Barbo said, “but most pie is good.”

Mount Baker once again finds itself replacing a talented group of senior leaders off last year’s team.

“We’ve had some pretty good seniors,” Lepper said. “The thing is they can lead and try to pass it on, but then it’s up to the younger group to take it on. It’s like that old saying: ‘You can lead a horse to water.’”

Though the Mountaineers lost the running back who’s led them in rushing each of the past three years with the graduation of Jed Schleimer, they still return plenty of offensive production in Engholm (1,350 yards rushing, 19 TDs last year) and Barbo (720 yards receiving, 9 TDs). Junior, quarterback Kaleb Bass (1,337 yards passing, 14 TDs) returns with a full season under his belt, and Carson Brandland (262 yards rushing, 57 receiving yards, 3 TDs) is among a list of other talented options expected to make an impact.

Up front, though, Mount Baker lost three of its six starters, including giant tight end T.J. Bass. Lepper said there is likely to be some shuffling to find the right combination that will likely include Kyler and Luke Steeves, Braeden Shannon, Jay Allen, Noah Rathjen and Hayden Linderman at tight end.

“We’re probably going to be run heavy,” Lepper said. “We have the weapons to throw the ball, too; we just need to get a coach who’s willing to take a chance on some pass plays.”

Defensively, the Mountaineers also have some big shoes to fill in their front eight, though the Steeves brothers on the line and Allen, Linderman and Brandland at linebacker all saw time last year. The defensive backfield should be in good, experienced hands with the return of Barbo, Engholm and Bass, though Barbo also may see time at linebacker.

“Defensively, we’re just trying to find the combo we need there,” Lepper said. “(Linebacker) Sam Barrett’s been pretty impressive since the open of camp.”

Once it finds the right combination, Baker always hopes to challenge opponents to match the hard-hitting style that has carried it to at least the state quarterfinals five straight years.

“Nothing’s really changed for us,” Lepper said. “We want to play a physical brand of football and give great effort. We’ve got some work to do. Defensively we took a hit to our front eight, and we need to find the pieces there. We lost some pretty good dudes. We’ve been good at replacing guys the last few years, but we need to prove that we can do that again this year. That’s just Baker football. That’s what we do.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "They’ve won the 1A NWC crown five straight years, but everyone seems to overlook them in 2017."