SPORTS
by Jack Kintner

Blaine deals Lynden Christian a 1-0 losing hand

Lynden Christian’s season-long juggernaut over a rapidly improving Borderite side came to a crashing halt Monday afternoon as Blaine handed LC its fourth loss of the season in a one-nil shoot-out victory at the Pipe.
LC, victorious in its first two games with Blaine by lopsided 4-0 and 3-0 scores, was outplayed the entire afternoon. Blaine got six corner kicks to LC’s three and outshot the Lyncs 17 to 15. Blaine got more of their shots from closer in, firing seven times at the LC goal from inside the penalty box as opposed to only three LC shots on the Blaine goal.
Coach Dan Steelquist said that freshman defensive mid Odi Johannesson is one big reason why, “the way he plays what’s really a key position, stopping a lot of what LC tried up the middle.” True to his coach’s word, Johannesson used everything he had to clog up the middle in front of a determined but frustrated LC offense.
New starting keeper Anton Baydak recorded his second consecutive shut-out in the game and two overtimes. He shared last Friday’s effort with Ryan Elsbree when Elsbree suffered a season-ending injury in the game against Nooksack that Blaine nonetheless won going away. This time he played the whole game, getting eight saves.
Baydak put the game away in the end by stopping the first two LC shots on goal in the five-round shootout. LC made their next two shots but Blaine had three in hand from successive goals by Greg Fetsch, Patrick Mulholland and a deceptively slow roller by Michael Waslohn. LC’s fifth shot went over the goal, mathematically eliminating their chance to win the duel and Blaine took away their third straight league win.
Blaine is now in third place with a 5-5 season league record, 5-9 overall. They will have played league-leading Meridian by the time this issue is out but the last game of the regular season will be played Friday, April 28, at Mt. Baker high school at 4:30 p.m. Originally set for Kendall elementary school, the game was switched to get more Mt. Baker students to attend.
Kemper Amick of Columbia, South Carolina, is Blaine’s new head football coach according to an announcement released by Blaine high school principal Dan Newell on Tuesday of last week.
Amick has 14 years coaching experience at Columbia high school where he compiled a 105-60 record. As head coach for the last eight years he has had seven players make all-state, two players as finalists for state MVP and has had 24 sign college scholarships. Several of his teams played in post-season tournaments and last year he was named regional coach of the year and was named to coach the north team in the state north-south all star game.
Amick began his career as a special ed teacher at Kingstree high school in Kingstree, South Carolina, in 1986. In 1990 he moved on to teach biology at Calhoun high school in Saint Matthews, South Carolina, and two years later went to Columbia high school in Columbia, South Carolina, as a PE teacher and assistant football coach, taking over as head coach in 1998.
Amick’s wife has family in the Vancouver area, Newell said, which is why the coach applied for this opening after spending his entire career in South Carolina.
Amick will have last year’s head coach, Dave Fakkema, on his staff, and will have the league’s best athlete, Joe Paciorek, as well as transfer standout Adam Dykstra and a solid line to form the core of next year’s team.

?Slivers From the Bench

?Kemper Amick of Columbia, South Carolina, is Blaine’s new head football coach according to an announcement released by Blaine high school principal Dan Newell on Tuesday of last week.
Amick has 14 years coaching experience at Columbia high school where he compiled a 105-60 record. As head coach for the last eight years he has had seven players make all-state, two players as finalists for state MVP and has had 24 sign college scholarships. Several of his teams played in post-season tournaments and last year he was named regional coach of the year and was named to coach the north team in the state north-south all star game.
Amick began his career as a special ed teacher at Kingstree high school in Kingstree, South Carolina, in 1986. In 1990 he moved on to teach biology at Calhoun high school in Saint Matthews, South Carolina, and two years later went to Columbia high school in Columbia, South Carolina, as a PE teacher and assistant football coach, taking over as head coach in 1998.
Amick’s wife has family in the Vancouver area, Newell said, which is why the coach applied for this opening after spending his entire career in South Carolina.
Amick will have last year’s head coach, Dave Fakkema, on his staff, and will have the league’s best athlete, Joe Paciorek, as well as transfer standout Adam Dykstra and a solid line to form the core of next year’s team.