Latest / Whatcom Preps Podcast / Whatcom Preps Podcast Episode 436 - 2026 Blaine Borderites Football Preview

Transcript

Whatcom Preps Podcast Episode 436 - 2026 Blaine Borderites Football Preview · Whatcom Preps Podcast

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Greetings and welcome into the Whatcom Preps podcast. This is
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: episode 436. It's the 2026 Blaine Borderite Football Preview and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: I am Tyler Anderson of Whatcom Preps. You know, Blaine,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the last few years is, you know, they've had some
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: good years, some down year, good year, down year, different
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: things and What's crazy is that last year, they were
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: one of the youngest teams as far as just across
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the board, how many non-upper classmen were playing, starting, had
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: significant roles. And when you look at their team again,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: they're still really young, which brings a lot of excitement
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: for the future. But this is the now, and we're
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: going to talk about the Blaine Board of Rights for 2026.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: The head coach in his fourth season at Blaine is
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Andy Olson. He's got a record of 12 and 18.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: And I always talk about when a coach is in
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: his fourth year, how it's always kind of a really,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: not magical, but there's something fun about that year because
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: that means that that senior class is your class. That's
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: the class that when you came in, they were freshmen.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: These are the kids you know extremely well. And there's
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: some really fun things about that. Now, it's not a
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: big senior class this year. But those seniors, I guarantee you,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: are pretty special to Coach Olson. And that's always a
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: fun thing. I always enjoy talking to coaches about that
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: when they are in their fourth year. And they all
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: talk about that same thing. That's the year, that's the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: class that they'll remember forever. And so that's a really
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: cool thing. Last year, Blaine went 2-8. They only had
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: four seniors on the team last year. So a lot
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: of guys return in a lot of key positions there.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: The big losses from last year, Kai Kerwin, Malachi Murillo,
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Hugo Vekved, and Reese Milligan. And it's, you know, it's
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: a lot of young guys. But, man, it is a
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: talented group. And the way they hit the weight room
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: over the summer, and it's all the stuff that needed
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: to get done to improve as a team. And they
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: are doing that. I was able to see them out
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: at a Jamboree. And there were some fun things that
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: they were doing. So I'm really excited to see what
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: they can do. Let's talk about last year's results game
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: by game. They started off the year with a loss
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: to Renton, 55-21. And then they went on the road again,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: lost to Payel, 27-13. Come back home for their first
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: home game of the year and defeat Chelan, 33-19. They
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: were defeated by Granite Falls 27-6. Then they entered league
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: play where they lost to Linden Christian 41-0. Lost to
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Nooksack Valley 52-22. Then they played Friday Harbor on the
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: road and won 42-21. Came back, played Mount Baker, lost 49-20.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: They lost their last league game of the season to
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Meridian 43-25. And finished the year with a 35-27 loss
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: at Lakewood. That was a pretty close game. Pretty fun
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: game for both teams that knew that the postseason was
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: not in the picture. So they just played and had fun.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: And it was actually a really cool game to watch.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: When you look at this year's schedule, a lot of
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: new opponents. So... it'll start off on when week one
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: on that Saturday in the afternoon on the road at Ilwaco.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: And I tell you what, I, you know, I don't
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: know a whole lot about the rest of the state,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: but you know, over the summer I went on one
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: of those rare vacations that people do and drove to
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: seaside Oregon and I drove through Ilwaco and it was
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: like the very last city. Um, and, uh, Isn't that
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: what Guns N' Roses sang about? Take me down to
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the very last city. But it's crazy because Blaine is
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: the very last city. So it's like the exact opposite.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Instead of the northwest corner of the state, it's the
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: southwest corner. So that's a ways away. You're going to
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: be leaving the school at 6 a.m. for that week
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: one game on the road. Hopefully the bus legs will
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: shore up after the first quarter and you'll be able
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: to play well on that one. Then they'll host Meadowdale
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: in week two. Meadowdale is, I believe, a 3A school.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: So that'll be a tough one there. Then they're at
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Bellevue Christian on another Saturday. And then a Saturday afternoon
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: in week four at home against Kings. Kings traditionally very,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: very good. 1A school. And then they will start league
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: play at Nooksack Valley, hosting Meridian at Mount Baker. And
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: then they'll have a non-league game where they host Sultan
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: on a Thursday night at 6 p.m. And then they
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: finish off the season with a home game against Lyndon Christian.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: So you've got a handful of new opponents in there.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: And that's what happens when you get to that new
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: cycle of opponents and scheduling with the home and away,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: stuff like that. Let's take a look at the position
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: by position. Of course, I always start at quarterback. Blaine,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: one of the few teams in the county that does
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: bring back their starting quarterback. Man, did he have a
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: year last year. Connor Brown, just a junior this year.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: He completed 156 passes for 2,170 yards and 25 touchdowns.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: He was breaking school records. He was doing it as
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: a sophomore. Um, and you know, when I got a
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: good look at him at practice and he is shredded,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: he put a ton of time into the weight room,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: looks fantastic, gained another 15 pounds of muscle. It's got
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: a rocket for an arm, extremely talented athlete. And that is,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: you know, it's scary. Uh, he is very, very good. Um,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: so I'm really excited to see how he does, uh,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: He also ran for two touchdowns last year. He caught
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: a pass last year that I think he threw that
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: got batted in the air and he caught it and
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: gained two yards on it. Just one of those kids that,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: you know, is a leader. It's everything that you want
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: when you're looking for that quarterback to lead your high
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: school football team. And really excited to see his improvement
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: this year. And a lot of these guys he'll be
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: throwing to are all back. So, um, yeah, it's pretty cool.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, Kai, Kai Kerwin doesn't return, but everybody else
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: will be there. And that's really fun to see. Cole
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Rose is the backup quarterback. That is a guy that
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: loves the game, you know, tremendous mechanics works at the game,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: even during lunch at school, he works on the game
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: throws routes. So, you know, that's a kid that, already
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: has the passion for the game and then he's following
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: in the footsteps of Connor Brown. So that's a really nice,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: you know, that'll be a great handoff eventually when, when
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Brown graduates. So that's really, really cool to see. And that's,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: that's only going to be beneficial for the border rights.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: And now the big question will be who will be
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: taking handoffs from Connor Brown. There was a lot of
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: different guys last year that were back there that lined
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: up back there. I think five or six different guys that,
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: took handoffs, and none of them really stuck a ton.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: But there's a lot of guys back that have that
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: varsity experience. Look for Tandy here to get a bulk
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: of the carries. He just limited time last year, but
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: averaged almost five yards a carry last year and caught
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: three passes out of the backfield. He's gotten bigger, faster, stronger,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: and it might be his turn. Not extremely explosive, going
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: to break away from you, but if you need to
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: get the yards, he'll get the yards. And he'll break
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: some long runs, but it won't be like Jaden Pius
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: a few years ago. But he can definitely pick up
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: the first down, stuff like that. Asher Hagee is a
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: kid that is a physical specimen, um, you know, six
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: to 200 pounds, uh, just a sophomore and is, you
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: talk about, let's just, just break away. He's got the
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: breakaway speed. He's gonna, he might have runs where he
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: breaks away. Uh, he did get a few carries last year.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: It looked really good in that final game of the
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: year against Lakewood. Um, uh, average six and a half
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: yards to carry at the varsity level as a freshman, uh, Um,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: so he could get, he could kind of turn up
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: his role a little bit and get more carries. Um,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: you might see him if they're going double backfield, you
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: might see him as a fullback because he just loves
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: to hit and he brings that force with that speed
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: and he's got really good size. So you might see
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: that as well. Um, but Asher Hagee is a kid
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: that I am really excited about his future and the
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: immediate future. I think this year he can make an impact.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Rashaun Paez is another kid. I saw him do some
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: really good things at the Jamboree. It broke a long run.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: So that's really cool. And then Sehu Kanaji is a
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: kid that might play some running back, might play some
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: tight end, might do some fullback stuff. He ran a
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: little bit last year as well. So a lot of
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: these guys are returning from last year, but they've all
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: elevated their game and can do different things. I kind
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: of look at Tandy here as the leader in the clubhouse,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: but it might be a lot more running back by committee.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: It could be down and distance determination there. It could
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: be goal line stuff. It could be third down. Who knows?
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: But they can all get the job done. Now, typically,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Blaine will have at least three wide receivers on the
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: field at all times. That's just, for the most part,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: that's just what they present. And they have a great
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: group of wide receivers. Starts with Peyton Bauma. I mean,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: one of the lone seniors on the team. Last year,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: a tremendous year. 49 catches for 761 yards. 15.5 yards
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: a catch. Eight touchdowns. So, great, great numbers. Um, you know,
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: a big tall target at six foot three, he's got
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: great speed. He kind of all the pieces that you
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: want in a high school wide receiver, um, you know,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: a threat to go up and get the ball threat
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: across the middle. Uh, he could catch a hitch, turn
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: and go the distance. So he's obviously, you know, the main,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: main target, um, on the team. And to me, he's,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: he's the best player on this football team. And, um,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Not by a wide margin. There's a few others that
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: are pretty darn good, but he, to me, he's the guy.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: And when he's good and ready to go, he is
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: a lot of fun to watch, and he stands out
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: on film. His brother, Isaac Bauma, is really good as well.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Last year, 16 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: averaged over 17.5 yards a catch, and it was his
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: first year playing football. So he's now also about 6'2,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: 180 pounds. And that is kind of scary because he's
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: turning into his brother. And if he can replicate what
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: his brother did when he was a junior, that's going
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: to be a huge season for both of these Bama kids,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: being on the outside. And then in the slot, you
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: can look at like a Hunter Candenoza, who last year
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: started the year on JV. and was tearing it up,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: and they moved him up, and he kept putting out numbers.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, he caught a lot of passes, 25 receptions
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: last year for 425 yards, 17 yards a catch, five touchdowns.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: There's not a lot of teams in Whatcom County that
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: return this many receptions for this many yards, and they
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: also return their quarterback. So it's all the same guys,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: and that's what's going to be pretty scary. Last year,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: you looked at the Northwest Conference 1A And you could
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: visibly see kind of from top to bottom the spread
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: in varsity experience and talent, stuff like that. And this year,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: it's much tighter. I mean, it's going to be where
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: a lot of teams are going to be beaten. Other teams,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: you know, they're all going to kind of beat each other,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: I think. I don't think it'll be a straight, you know,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: the champion will have no losses. The second-place team will
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: have one loss. The next-place team will have two losses.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: I don't think it'll be like that this year. It's
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: a much tighter team. conference right now. And that makes
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: for tremendous Friday nights. And so that's, what's really, really exciting.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: October is going to be a Friday nights in October
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: is just going to be so much fun. I can't wait. And, um,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: you know, this receiver group for Blaine is pretty special.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: And then other guys that could step right in, you know,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: you look at like a Jackson Bogarts who caught a
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: touchdown pass last year against Shalan as a freshman. Um,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: and this year as a sophomore, uh, He's heavily relied
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: on on the defensive side of the ball, so you
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: might not see him too much on offense, but he
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: could definitely do some damage as a slot receiver. Holden
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Briner's another kid that would probably play more defense, but
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: he's a really smart kid, athletic kid, basketball player, that
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: you could see him be able to get open, catch passes.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: So they've got a lot of different guys. As far
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: as tight end goes, they're kind of traditionally more like
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: an H-back sniffer type you know, a lead blocker and
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: they will go out and catch passes. But you could
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: see Sehu Kanagi in that spot. You could see Asher
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: Hagee in that spot. There's a freshman, Dimitri Shavorak, who
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: when you would look at him, you would never think
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: that he's a freshman. especially in the fall of his
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: freshman year, like the very beginning of his freshman year.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: He's 6'2, 200 pounds, can go and get the ball.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: And he is a future all-conference first-team player. And that
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: future might be pretty quick. So just a freshman, I'm
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: really excited to see what he does. But he might
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: be relied upon more on the defense as well. But
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: he could get some reps on the offensive side of
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: the ball. Who knows? They might split him out. He's
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: a big physical kid. Like I said, just a freshman,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: which is really exciting. And I talk about it all
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: the time. When there's kids that I learn about, that's
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: what makes it so fun. There's always a new crop
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: of kids that are fantastic athletes that I get to
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: learn their story and get to promote them. And that's
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: what makes it so fun. So really, really cool to
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: be able to do that. On the offensive line, they
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: do have to replace two of their starters, the two
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: starting guards, but they do return three spots, so that's
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: really going to be beneficial. One big spot that they
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: return is at center. Leif Engen is about, my goodness, 25,
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: 35 pounds bigger than he was last year, and it
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: was just the physical growth that a sophomore does into
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: a junior and putting in the time in the weight room.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: He looks like a completely different football player. Uh, and
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: I expect him to really anchor that line. Um, you know,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: still not the biggest kid, maybe 190 pounds, 195, something
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: like that. But over the summer and camp going against kids,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: you know, a hundred pounds bigger than him and, and
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: taking it to them. And it's like, why? Well, because
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: he knows how to use his feet. he knows how
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to play the position. He knows, he knows that kind
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: of stuff. And that's, that goes a long way. You know,
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: if you can move your feet on the offensive line, um, that,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: that's the technique. That's what, that's what counts and low
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: man wins and all that kind of stuff. So I'm
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: excited for life's C or junior season. I should say, um, at,
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: at center. I think, I think he is, uh, he's
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: one of the better ones and that's going to be
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: really fun to see. Um, A couple guys that are
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: good underclassmen guards that are going to be starting on
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: the left side. Kyler Reynolds is going to be the
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: biggest one on the offensive line. Just a sophomore, about
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: 285 pounds. And he's going to be a force as
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: well at left guard. It's just going to be getting
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: used to the position and going up against varsity talent
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: week in and week out. On the right side, Maddox Varick,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: who's a weight room warrior. Still learning the game of football,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: but a great piece of clay to mold. About 5'10,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: 235 pounds, and very excited to see what he can do.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: At left tackle, Matt Noah returns. Athletic kid, three-sport athlete,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: basketball player, baseball player. You don't see a lot of
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: starting left tackles that also play basketball and baseball. That
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: tells you what kind of athlete he is. So he
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: will be moving his feet. He'll be just fine. And
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: right tackle Axel Shelton, who again is one of those
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: top players in the program. And he's just, he's a throwback,
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: no nonsense, going to hit you in the mouth, right tackle.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: And then you got a couple backups that can spell
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: a lot of different players. Gavin Zimmerly is a big,
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: strong junior that has been, you know, learning guard and tackle.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: So he's going to be backing up the four spots
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: there and, you know, As soon as something happens, they
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: can rely upon him to go in there. And he's
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: just a big country strong kid, big hands, big feet,
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: about 6'2, 225 pounds. And was thrown in last year
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: to start at right tackle, maybe a little premature, but
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: that's what was needed when they were in week one.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: So got some valuable experience there, but now we'll be
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: able to spell either side of the ball opposite the center.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: And then the backup center is Avery Hicks. So Hicks
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: and Zimmerly, both really good wrestlers, both went to state
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: for wrestling and that could step in and play on
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: that offensive line. Avery Hicks will start on the defensive
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: side at the nose tackle. Like I said, big, strong
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: wrestler that So many teams love having a wrestler at
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: nose tackle with leverage and know how to use your
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: hands and stuff like that. So that'll be beneficial for them.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: And then as a defensive tackle, you got a lot
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: of different guys, Matt Noah, life Angan, um, Blake Collins
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: is another one that played quite a bit on the
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: defensive side last year. Uh, Blake Collins last year at
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: 26 tackles, three and a half tackles for loss. So
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: a lot of experience there up front. Um, uh, And
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: then at the defensive ends, it's going to be kind
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: of more of a traditional 4-3. And on the defensive end,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: you can see guys like Asher Hagee, Dimitri Shvorak, Sehu Kanaji,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Dax Thompson. So you got a lot of different guys
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: there that can rotate in and out. Out of all
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: those guys, the one with the most defensive experience, Sehu Kanaji,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: who last year was more of a linebacker. had 31
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: and a half tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: two fumble recoveries and a pass broken up. Um, but
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: now kind of as they're changing their defense a little bit.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: So as a true defensive end, um, we'll kind of
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: see what he can do, but again, really excited about
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: these athletes on the outside with, with Kanaji and Hagee
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: and Shaforak and Thompson, uh, you know, being able to
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: seal the edge and get after the quarterback and make
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: plays in the backfield. Really, really exciting. Um, the linebacking
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: core is phenomenal. Um, it gets an a from me.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: These are, this is a great, great group. And it's
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: led by Axel Shelton, who is the tackling machine of
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Whatcom County last year, 84 and a half tackles, seven
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: tackles for loss, two sacks, two passes, broken up a
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: forced fumble, a fumble recovery. And, you know, I think
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: coach says he's straight out of the eighties. I mean, I, I,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: I'm shocked. He doesn't have like the horse collar around
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: his neck. Um, He is one of those guys that
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: doesn't talk a lot but leads by example. He's a
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: heat-seeking missile, a true middle linebacker. You kind of look
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: at like– he reminds me– I'm not saying he's Brian Urlacher,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: but when you watched Brian Urlacher play, he was very
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: tall for a middle linebacker. So he really stood out
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: and he made a lot of plays. Axel Shelton is
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: similar to that. He's pretty tall. So he stands out
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: a little bit, but he's always around the ball and
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: making plays. And, man, you have to worry about him constantly.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: And he is the leader of that defense. A great,
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: great player. Tandy here can be a strong sideline backer.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Had an interception last year against Renton. Had 11 tackles
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: last year, but he'll get a lot more playing time.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: And on the other side, Matt Campion. who's a kid
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: also that man, another, you know, wrestler heat seeking missile
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: type kind of plays with reckless abandon and fun to
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: have on that weak side as a linebacker, he's going to,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: she's going to run, she's going to chase you down. Um,
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: it might not look always, um, like form when he,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: when he tackles, he's more like, you know, like a
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: spider monkey that jumps on you and just throws you
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: to the ground. Um, which, hey, if it gets the
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: job done, he's relentless. And that's what you want. You
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: want guys flying around. Last year, a big, big season
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: for him, 65 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: two interceptions, a fumble recovery, a pass broken up. He's
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: looking to be kind of an all-league player at linebacker,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: which is a lot of fun. So those are your
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: main three. And then a kid that's kind of that–
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: when you run a 4-3, especially in high school, there's
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: a lot of running the ball in high school. So
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: it's almost like a 4-4 where you have a guy
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: and every team has a different name for it, whether
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: it's basically a strong safety or monster or a rover
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: or– it's kind of that Troy Polamalu style where– Not
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: that he has free range, but it's a guy that
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: will make plays all over the field. And depending on
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: the offense, he'll probably go to the strong side and
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: be ready to make plays. And that's Peyton Bauma. And
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Peyton Bauma last year, who was more of like a
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: rush end, a defensive end, started dropping back in coverage
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: a little bit, making plays. So he ended up doing
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: all sorts of things. He had 56 and a half tackles,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, four passes broken up,
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery. So he
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: did so many things on defense, was a tremendous defensive player.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: And so, you know, don't be surprised to see him,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: you know, making plays behind the line of scrimmage, blitzing,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: dropping back in coverage, making plays back there. covering top players,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: you know, a guy that really can do anything. And
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: when you have a kid like that, it really allows
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: you to open up the playbook. And so I don't
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: know if I'd classify him as an outside linebacker or
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: as a nickelback or what he is strong safety, but
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: he's just a football player. And that's, what's, that's, what's
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: really fun about him. Also in the secondary, you know,
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: Isaac Bama returns at corner. Like I said, he's gotten
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: a lot bigger, a lot stronger, a lot faster and,
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: 18 and a half tackles, five passes broken up last
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: year and an interception. So I'm excited to see what
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: he can do. Holden Briner on the other side. I
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: think that he's going to be a really good corner
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: as well. So you kind of have those positions locked down.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Jackson Bogards returns at safety after having a tremendous freshman
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: year last year with 22 tackles, six passes broken up.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: That's more than anybody that's returning on the team and
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: an interception. So he'll be back there. as a safety,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: but he's, he's very, very good at in run support.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: So that's a, that's a really nice luxury to have.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Hunter Candenoza played a lot in the secondary as well
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: last year, 13 and a half tackles and an interception.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: And then there's, you know, Connor Brown, if he had to,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: he could play some defense as well. Eight and a
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: half tackles, an interception and a pass broken up last year.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: And then you have three other guys that, that are
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: right there ready to play that can make a difference.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: Andy Westerhoff, Gavin Granstrom, Quinn Addis. So lots of guys that,
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: you know, a lot of these players in the secondary
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: especially will be playing on offense quite a bit. So
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: every once in a while, you know, give them a
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: break and you got these guys that are ready to
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: come in and make a difference. In the kicking game,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Peyton Bauma returns. He kicked 11 extra points last year.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: He can kick off. but I think it might be
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Hunter Candenoza who had three extra points last year. He
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: might be doing the extra points and the short field goals.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Peyton Bama's got more of the power and the kickoff
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: type guy. And it's a way to get him off
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: the field after a touchdown. I mean, he did score
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: eight touchdowns last year. So it might be a good
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: thing that if he breaks a long one, especially, you know,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: you could just give him a blow, get him off
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: the field for a play while, Hunter Candenoza kicks the
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: extra point. So it's nice to have that luxury of
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: another guy that can do it. Um, so that they'll,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: they'll probably go in that direction. Uh, Connor Brown last
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: year punted, uh, average 31.3 yards of punt, you know,
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: traditionally Blaine likes putting their quarterback back there and just
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: to kind of, you know, you never know. Um, and
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: on that turf, you get to kick it over somebody
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: or you kick it to the side, it gets a
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: good bounce and, And Connor Brown's a guy I trust
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: with the ball in his hands to make the right decision,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: whether that's running, passing, punting, whatever. So that's pretty nice, too.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: In the kick return game, a lot of different guys
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: you might see. You could see Jackson Bogarts back there,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Hunter Candenoza, Isaac Bauma, even Connor Brown. So who knows
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: what they're going to do for the kick return game. But,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: you know, Kai Kerwin, was one of the best ones
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: in school history, both in kick returns and punt returns.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: And he graduates. So now he's playing college football in Europe. Man,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: I want to get it right, but I think it's
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: in Italy. So how cool is that? But, yeah, so
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: they have a lot of different weapons they could put
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: back there. And they'll find something that sticks and just
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: go with that. When you look at the Borderites, I
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: definitely think it's very much as an improved team. You
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: knew that after watching last year where they were just
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: so young, but they had these moments of like, holy cow,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: look at that touchdown. Wow, look at that run. Look
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: at this tackle. They were guys that were coming back.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Now they're back. Now they're bigger. Now they're stronger and faster.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: And ready to take on this crazy conference. And, um,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: it's going to be hard to move up in the
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: conference just because of the talent across the board, but
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: they're going to give it a pretty darn good shot.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Teams have to be ready for it. They cannot take
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Blaine lightly. So I'm just throwing up the warning right now. Uh,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: but yeah, it's, uh, it's going to be a fun,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: fun year. They're going to learn a lot in the,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: in the non-league games, and then they'll be ready to
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: go once league starts. Once that hits in October, that's
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: when football gets a little bit more meaningful and kind of, oh, cow,
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: here we go. So that's when it gets awesome. So, yeah,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: this has been Episode 436, the 2026 Blaine-Borderite Football Preview.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I am Tyler Anderson of Walkin' Preps, and we have
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: one more team to talk about that will be later
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: on today. That'll be the Nooksack Valley Pioneers. So be
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: ready for that a few hours later today. Until then,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: check you later.