Cascade’s Blinn leaves his ‘mark’
Published 10:35 pm Saturday, June 26, 2010
EVERETT — A week ago Brandon Blinn was not expecting to get a chance to play in the Class 3A/4A East-West All-Star Football Game on Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Blinn, an alternate for the West team which lost 28-9 to the East, filled one of three spots that opened up last Sunday night.
“It’s been very exciting,” Blinn, a recent Cascade High School graduate and outside linebacker, said of the week of preparation for the All-Star game. “I was pretty stoked to be playing with all the best players in the state and I thought it was kind of funny coming out here that I was an alternate so it gave me a chance to prove myself.”
Blinn did just that with six tackles and a blocked punt that trickled out of the end zone for a safety with 4 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Blinn’s block and the resulting safety brought the West team to within five points at 14-9.
“I was jacked up. I wanted to make a mark because people underestimate Cascade,” Blinn said. “I left my mark. I would’ve liked to get a sack or an interception to the house, but I played my best and I’m happy I played.”
Blinn, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder, said he plans on attending Arizona State University in the fall with the hope of walking-on to the Sun Devils football team coached by Everett High alum Dennis Erickson.
The linebacker also got to take in one final game at Everett Memorial, Cascade’s home field for football games.
Cascade (which finished 6-4 overall, 3-3 in the Wesco North) lost to Arlington 29-7 in Blinn’s final game as a senior on Nov. 5, so there also was a little redemption on the agenda.
“He came in and made some big plays,” West head coach Mark Stewart said. “It’s always fun to see that.”
Blinn, who plans on majoring in kinesiology at Arizona State, added: “I’ll look back and be happy I did it.”
The West had a few strong individual performances, including Blinn, in the largely defensive contest.
Oak Harbor defensive lineman Nick Rouser finished the game with six tackles, including a sack with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter. Rouser was named the West team MVP.
Kentridge linebacker Dylan Zylstra had seven tackles and a blocked punt while Juanita defensive back Cole Graves had three tackles and an interception in the first half. Graves returned the pick 39 yards to put the West in good scoring position.
While the West defense tried to keep the deficit from getting too large, the East was unrelenting as it held the West in check.
The East forced two fumbles while Lakes lineman Sione Potoa’e helped clog up the middle at nose guard. Potoa’e recorded six tackles and Lakes teammate Jordan Patterson, a linebacker, had six tackles, including a sack.
Lewis and Clark (Spokane) defensive back Levi Taylor caused trouble for the West with blitzes over the right edge. Taylor came up with a sack, two tackles for loss and put constant pressure on the West.
“I know they liked to do a lot of play-action, you’ve just got to eye them and see who has the ball,” said Taylor, a Central Washington University recruit. “It’s a blitz so it’s a 50-50 chance, just go 100 percent off the edge.”
