TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
SPORTS
Cougars roll past Bulldogs, 35-0
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker sophomore quar-
terback Paul Hobson’s pass
spiraled toward the end zone,
seemingly destined to lead to a
game-tying Bulldog touchdown
against the Cascade Cougars.
Less than 20 seconds later,
the ball was in Cascade senior
Colin Smittle’s arms as he
sprinted across the goal line at
the other end of Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium, a handful
of Baker players in his wake.
And suddenly the Cougars’
lead was 13-0.
That brief but decisive
sequence at the end of the fi rst
quarter Saturday afternoon,
Sept. 4 doused Baker’s momen-
tum.
And the young Bulldogs,
with just six seniors on the
roster compared with Cascade’s
15, never regained it.
“I think it was a pivotal mo-
ment at that time,” Baker coach
Jason Ramos said. “It could be
7-7 instead of 14-0. You never
know how the game would
transpire if that play had gone
a different way.”
The Cougars went on to a
35-0 win in the season opener
for both teams on a warm day
when smoke from California
wildfi res cast a dingy pall over
the stadium.
Smittle’s 98-yard intercep-
tion return foiled what turned
out to be Baker’s best offensive
possession of the game.
Cascade took a 7-0 lead
three minutes into the game.
After taking the opening
Baker kickoff out to their own
34, the Cougars, who relied
heavily on their running game
with quarterback Jacob Hage
and a trio of running backs, all
four of them seniors, marched
66 yards on seven plays, all
runs.
Blake Lewis gained most of
the ground, gaining 43 yards
of four rushes, including a
30-yard rumble to the Baker 9
during which he broke multiple
tackles.
Lewis then bulled his way
to the 1, and scored on the next
play. Smittle’s extra point gave
the Cougars a 7-0 led with 9:07
left in the fi rst quarter.
Baker freshman Jaren Long
took the ensuing kickoff around
the right side and then weaved
his way through the Cascade
coverage team to give the
Bulldogs good fi eld position at
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker sophomore quarterback Paul Hobson throws
from near his own goal line on Saturday, Sept. 4 at
Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
their own 42.
Hobson connected with
sophomore Hudson Spike on
a 19-yard pass, and 15 yards
were tacked on for a roughing
the passer penalty, moving the
ball to the Cascade 23.
But the Bulldogs faced a 4th
and 11, Hobson’s pass to junior
Tate Powell came up three
yards short, and Baker turned
the ball over on downs.
Cascade quickly moved the
ball back into Baker territory,
the big play Hage’s 40-yard
pass to Smittle, who broke loose
down the right sideline.
The Cougars appeared
poised to score again, but
running back Rogue Newton
fumbled, and Baker senior
Drake Harper pounced on the
loose ball at the Baker 11 with
4:59 left in the fi rst quarter.
The Bulldogs, mixing runs
and passes effectively, marched
downfi eld.
Senior running back Gauge
Bloomer, the lone Bulldog who
played a major role in Baker’s
38-21 win at Cascade in a
November 2019 playoff game,
ran for fi ve yards and then took
a Hobson pass for four.
Hobson nimbly avoided a
fi erce Cascade blitz on third
down to fi nd Spike for a 14-
yard gain and a fi rst down.
Facing another third down,
Hobson hit sophomore Malaki
Myer on a crossing route for 30
yards, and a late hit penalty on
the Cougars moved the ball to
the Cascade 26.
Myer took another Hobson
pass for 13 yards to the Cougar
12 with 1:36 left in the fi rst
quarter.
The next play was Smittle’s
interception.
The Cougars took full
advantage of the dramatic shift
in momentum.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cas-
cade coach Brandon Bennett
caught Baker off guard with an
onside kick that the Cougars
recovered at the Baker 49.
Lewis ran twice for 38
yards.
Cascade senior Shawn
Kuenzi fumbled but recovered,
and on the fi nal play of the fi rst
quarter Lewis bulled his way to
the Baker 1.
On the fi rst play of the
second quarter he took it in
for his second touchdown,
and Smittle’s extra point gave
Cascade a 21-0 lead.
Ramos said the combination
of Smittle’s interception return,
and Cascade recovering the
onside kick, “put us in a hole.”
“Early on I thought we did
well to string some plays to-
gether and answer their (fi rst)
scoring drive,” Ramos said.
After Cascade took the 21-0
lead, Baker gained 43 yards
on its ensuing possession but
turned the ball over again on
downs.
The Cougars, after relying
largely on Lewis in the fi rst
quarter, shuttled in fellow
senior running back Lance Van
Hoose in the second quarter,
and he promptly went for 27
yards to move the ball deep into
Baker territory.
But one play later Van
Hoose fumbled, and Harper
again recovered, this time at
the Baker 21.
The Bulldogs couldn’t take
advantage, though, gaining
just three yards on three plays
before punting.
On Cascade’s next posses-
sion Van Hoose held onto the
ball, gaining 48 yards in four
carries, including a 28-yard
sprint for a touchdown with
3:42 left in the fi rst half. Smittle
24-yard gain.
Then Lewis returned, run-
ning for seven yards and cap-
ping the drive with a 10-yard
touchdown run with 37 seconds
left in the fi rst half.
With the Cougars leading
by 35 points, the second half
was played with a running
clock. Neither team scored.
Cascade threatened early
in the third quarter but Myer
intercepted Hage’s pass near
the goal line and returned it to
the Baker 14.
While the Cougars’ ground
attack accounted for the
majority of their yards — 274
of 390 — their defense, which
emphasized stopping Bloomer,
was also stellar.
In Baker’s playoff win over
Cascade nearly two years ago,
Bloomer, then a sophomore, led
the Bulldogs with 95 yards.
But on Saturday, with the
Cougars’ front seven dominat-
ing the line of scrimmage and
allowing the narrowest of run-
ning lanes, Bloomer was held
to 16 yards on 13 carries in the
“They did a nice job taking
away inside running lanes,” he
said.
Hobson had a fast start,
completing six of his fi rst seven
passes, but Cascade tightened
its pass defense starting with
Smittle’s game-changing inter-
ception return.
Ramos said he was pleased
with Hobson’s performance,
particularly given that Cas-
cade largely negated Baker’s
running attack.
“I thought he did pretty
well,” Ramos said. “He made
some good throws and then he
forced a few. He’s going to work
through that. We’ve got to give
him more protection.”
Hobson threw a pair of in-
terceptions in the second half.
Ramos said he understands
his sophomore quarterback
was trying to rally his team
from a big defi cit, and he’s
confi dent that Hobson, as he
gains experience, will recog-
nize times when throwing the
ball away is a better option
than trying to make a diffi cult
completion.
Myers had four catches for
45 yards. Spike had two recep-
tions for 33 yards.
Baker had 166 yards in to-
tal offense, including 72 on the
fi rst-quarter drive that ended
with Smittle’s interception and
return for a touchdown.
Baker now travels to
Homedale, Idaho, on Friday,
Sept. 10 for a 6 p.m. PDT
kickoff.
Ramos said he believes
Baker will not let the opening
loss to Cascade — a team he
said could be the toughest the
Bulldogs face this season —
dampen their enthusiasm.
“There will be some positive
takeaways from this,” he said.
“We need to use this as a learn-
ing experience. I don’t think
the kids are going to be done.
It’s going to motivate them to
work hard and get better.”
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Cascade’s trio of senior running backs, led by Blake
Lewis, gained more than 200 yards on the ground
during a 35-0 win over Baker on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Lewis, who scored three of Cascade’s fi ve touchdowns,
is pursued here by Bulldogs including Alex Ritter, No.
55, Drake Harper, No. 16, and Tate Powell, No. 32.
Cascade 14
Baker
0
21
0
0
0
0 — 35
0 — 0
C — Lewis 1 run (Smittle kick)
C — Smittle 98 interception return
(Smittle kick)
C — Lewis 1 run (Smittle kick)
C — Van Hoose 28 run (Smittle kick)
again booted the extra point,
and the Cougars led 28-0.
Cascade’s defense stifl ed
Baker again, holding the
Bulldogs to Bloomer’s one-yard
run and forcing two straight
Hobson incompletions and
another punt.
The Cougars continued
their offensive onslaught.
Newton rambled for 13
yards.
Hage found Smittle for a
fi rst half.
Ramos said Cascade had a
solid strategy to stifl e Bloomer.
“It wasn’t a surprise what
they did — that’s what I would
do, load the box and force us to
make some tough throws.”
Ramos said Baker, which
started three newcomers on the
offensive line, tried to pave the
way for Bloomer but struggled
against the experienced Cou-
gars.
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Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker senior running back Gauge Bloomer, No. 5, had little room to run against the
stout Cascade defense on Saturday, Sept. 4 at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
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