Football: Blaine left no doubt with its 42-14 win at Coon Rapids

By Tom Yelle
Sports Editor, ABC Newspapers
Blaine and Coon Rapids battled to the wire twice last season, but chances that won't be the case this year. At least it won't happen twice because Blaine took it to Coon Rapids Friday night during Week 3 of the Northwest Suburban season 42-14.

There was no drama, no close calls or maybes in this rematch between last season's Section 7AAAAA finalists. No, it was all Blaine in the first half which scored 21 second-quarter points on its way to a 28-0 halftime advantage.

Mike Thai scored Blaine 's first-quarter touchdown with an electrifying 80-yard punt return. Thai took the ball on his 20, ripped up the right side line in front of the Blaine bench, then diagonally cut across the field to the end zone.

In the second quarter, Blaine moved quickly into position to score again, but inside the 4-yard line Coon Rapids ' defense stiffened and set the Blaine attack back. Ultimately, a 33-yard field goal was attempted by Ronnie Donley (who finished with six successful extra-point kicks) and fell short. But that was just a momentary set back.

On first down for Coon Rapids on the 20-yard line, quarterback Brandon Flippen was intercepted near the 42-yard line by Mike Zrust, who returned the ball to the 13. Three plays later from the seven, Blaine quarterback Eric Kline floated right to avoid the Coon Rapids rush and found receiver Matt Arford crossing to the right corner of the end zone with a sharp pass for a touchdown.

With a 14-0 lead at the 6:17 remaining mark of the second quarter, Blaine struck again at 5:59 when defensive back Brent Meyer plucked a ball that was dislodged from Coon Rapids running back Antonio Ford at the 27-yard line and returned it to the end zone for touchdown No. 3.  The fourth first-half touchdown was turned in by running back Justin Craft, who broke free from the 49 and raced into the end zone with 2:42 remaining.

Blaine did not slow down with the start of the third quarter and was on the move toward the end zone again when Tom Egan recovered a first-down fumble at the 33-yard line.  From that point, Coon Rapids mustered its best offensive effort of the night as Flippen directed the offense back up field before hooking up with Jerry Norris on a fade pattern in the right corner of the end zone from 16 yards out.

The extra point was no good leaving Coon Rapids behind 28-6 and it soon became 35-6 when Thai scored again, this time on a weaving 18-yard run through the defense. On the first play of the fourth quarter Craft scored his second touchdown on another long run -- 39 yards -- to cap Blaine 's night of offense. He finished with 114 yards or the 282 total yards amassed by the Blaine offense on this night.

Coon Rapids had the final scoring say in this game, however: an 18-yard touchdown run by Ford, then a 2-point conversion pass from Flippen to Collin Euteneuer.  But that was it. With the 28-point win, Blaine moved to 2-and-1 in the conference. Meantime, Coon Rapids fell to 0-and-3.