Baker gridders top Mac-Hi

After having the prior week off, Baker (7-0 overall and 1-0 in the GOL) was clicking on all cylinders against the Pioneers.

“We had a great performance out of our special teams. Our offense was clicking. And, the defense ade some great plays as well,” said Baker coach Dave Johnson.

“Our boys showed their true athleticism tonight. And we played with a lot of class.

“The guys played very, vry ell in the first half,” Johnson sid.

Baker rolled to a 41-0 halftime lead. The Bulldogs then scored on the first offensive play of the seceond half to cause a running clock due to the 45-point mercy rule.

“We played just the one series on offense in the third quarter, and we played no defense in the fourth quarter,” Johnson said, noting that the Bulldogs had the ball on offense the entire final 12 minutes.

“These kids have competed all along,” the Baker coach said. “We’ve tried to instill that in them all the time. And, the bigger thing is that they’ve bought into it.”

Baker actually scored first in the game as a result of a Bulldog miscue.

Baker won the coin toss to start the game and elected to defer to the second half. So, Dekker Smith prepared to kick off to the Pioneers.

Smith appeared to kick an onside kick which Baker recovered on the Mac-Hi 47.

“We didn’t intend to go for th eonside kick,” Johnson said.

“We’ve been working on a bunched kick formation, and tried it on the opening kick. But, Dekker topped the kick. The Mac-Hi player had turned his back to go back to block and the ball hit him in the back.”

Quarterback Jesse Brown then connected for 34 yards to Trace Richardson to the Mac-Hi 13. Two running plays later Stephen Talbot scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns to give Baker a 6-0 lead.

Baker went up 14-0 about two minutes later when Smith intercepted a Mac-Hi pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.

Then, after forcing a Mac-Hi punt, Brown needed just three plays before hitting Richardson on a 48-yard TD pass giving Baker a 20-0 lead with 6:12 left in the first quarter.

Richardson then intercepted another Mac-Hi arial giving Baker the ball on the Mac-Hi 33.

Two plays later Talbot scored his second touchdown for a 27-0 Baker lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

Talbot appeared to sore another touchdown late in the period when he returned a punt 57 yards to the end zone. But, Baker was whistled for holding on the return.

The first period ended with Baker leading 27-0.

Talbot did get his third TD run on the third play of the second quarter to boost Baker’s lead to 34-0.

Mac-Hi again was forced to punt, and this time Talbot returned the kick from the Baker 23 to the Mac-Hi 21.

Smith appeared to score from 20 yards out on th enext play, but Baker again was whistled for a penalty. So, Brown then found Smith from 25 yards away for a 41-0 Bulldog lead with 7:55 left in the first half.

Baker amassed 261 yards in the first half while holding Mac-Hi to just 35.

The Bulldogs hit the 45-point mercy rule on the first play of the second half when Brown found Talbot on a 29-yard swing pass for the touchdown. The TD came after Talbot had returned the kickoff 66 yards to the Pioneer 29.

Mac-Hi’s touchdown came on a fluke play in the Baker end zone in the fourth quarter.

Backed up to their own 1, the Bulldogs attempted a pass play from the end zone. But, Johnson said, Mac-Hi surprised the Bulldogs by blitzing 10 players. As Brown attempted to hit Talbot on a swing pass, a Mac-Hi player stepped in front of the throw and intercepted the pass in the end zone.

Baker finished with 373 total yards. Brown was 13-of-19 passing for 230 yards. Talbot carried the ball 17 times for 125 yards. Richardson caught five passes for 127 yards.

Mac-Hi finished with 102 total yards, all on the ground.

The win sets up Baker’s most important game of the season, Friday at Ontario (1-0 in the GOL). Most observers predict it will be for the GOL championship.

“In our league every game is high stakes,” Johnson said.

“The kids had a great two weeks of practice preparing for Mac-Hi. And we’ll have a big week of practice getting ready for Ontario.

“This is a long standing rivalry. It will be a great contest.”

Baker    27    14    7    0    — 48

Mac-Hi    0    0    0    7    —   7

B — Talbot 5 run (Kick failed)

B — Smith 32 interception return (Durflinger pass from Brown)

B — Richardson 48 pass from Brown (Kick failed)

B — Talbot 25 run (Smith kick)

B — Talbot 1 run (Smith kick)

B — Smith 25 pass from Brown (Smith kick)

B — Talbot 29 pass from Brown (Smith kick)

M — Sheets interception in end zone (Conley kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing — Baker: Talbot 17-125, Brown 5-26, Smith 1-1, Austin 1-(-4), Skillings 1-(-5). Mac-Hi: Knight 10-48, Brown 13-42, Law 3-7, Sheets 4-3, Warne 1-2.

Passing — Baker: Brown 13-19-1-230. Mac-Hi: Knight 1-3-2-4, Sheets 1-2-0-(-4), Field 0-1-1-0, Brown 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Baker: Richardson 5-127, Talbot 2-37, Austin 2-11, Smith 1-25, Barr 1-16, Durflinger 1-8, Dolby 1-6. Mac-Hi: Field 1-4, Brown 1-(-4).