Mount Baker finds other ways to beat Nooksack Valley

The last time Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley met, record books were re-written as Mountaineer running back Jed Schleimer rushed for a Washington state record 521 yards.

The Mountaineers have a reputation for smash-mouth, ground-and-pound football, but on Friday, Oct. 16, the game plan was a bit more unpredictable.

“Obviously, after Jed has a big night, you just figure they’re going to probably try to limit that, so it opened up some other things for us,” Mount Baker coach Ron Lepper said.

It didn’t take long for these other things to become available, as quarterback Mason Bass found Thomas Barbo for a 58-yard touchdown on the first snap of the game.

Bass said that he has found success this year trusting his receivers to make big plays such as Barbo’s.

“I just got back there, and I threw it up there for him to go get it, and that’s what he did,” Bass said.

The Pioneers came back quickly, though, with quarterback Casey Bauman finding Joe McNeely for 54 yards and a quick answer to the Mountaineers touchdown. That’s when Schleimer had his turn, scoring twice from within 5 yards (4 yards, followed by 2 yards) to give the Mountaineers a 19-6 lead after the first quarter.

“It set the tone for the rest of the game and we just kept it going… they couldn’t stop our offense,” Schleimer said.

That tone spilled over onto the Mount Baker defense, which allowed just 8 points after that first drive for Nooksack. Lepper said that was huge after his defense struggled to keep Bauman and the Pioneer spread attack off of the field in their previous meeting.

“I wasn’t sure after that first series… then we get a couple three-and-outs; we’re able to put the ball in the end zone, and that’s huge, because Nooksack is good at controlling the ball,” Lepper said.

Another way to close out games in just one half of football: score every time you have possession of the ball. The Mountaineers did just that, scoring six touchdowns and adding a field goal, to create a 43-6 first-half lead that couldn’t be overcome.

Other than Barbo and Schleimer, three other Mountaineers scored in the first half. Vadim Kotsyuba rushed in his first of two touchdowns, Bass snuck in a 1-yard score and Jonathan Ehlers connected on a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half.

Nooksack’s Tre Silva scored on an 18-yard pass from Bauman in the third quarter, and Jeremiah Cronk concluded the night’s scoring with a 5-yard run with five minutes left in the game.

Next week both teams get another set of rematches with Mount Baker taking on Meridian at home, whileNooksack Valley gets Lynden Christian at home.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Mount Baker finds other ways to beat Nooksack Valley."