WEST LINN – The visitors from Hawaii had two games under their belts, but it was reigning 6A football champion West Linn that looked like the well-oiled machine in its season opener Friday night.
Junior quarterback Sloan Baker, making his first varsity start, threw touchdown passes on West Linn's first three series and the Lions ran away to a 48-21 win over Kamehameha (1-2), living up to their No. 1 ranking in the OSAAtoday 6A preseason coaches poll.
“I thought our kids did a fantastic job of getting ready in two weeks, and our coaches did a great job of getting them ready,” West Linn coach Jon Eagle said. “Our offense, for being Game 1 in zero week, really looked strong against a very good defense, in my opinion.”
Baker, named the starter after a competition with junior Carson Smiley, shined with his dual-threat ability. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 84 yards on nine carries.
“It felt really good,” Baker said. “I was a little bit nervous coming into it, but I talked to my teammates, and some of our captains, and they calmed me down. So I felt really good going into it.”
Eagle said of Baker: “I thought in general he looked spectacular for his first start in varsity football. I think he did a lot of great things.”
Baker capped an 80-yard drive to start the game with a five-yard touchdown pass to junior Josiah Molden. On the next series, he tossed a screen pass to senior running back Viggo Anderson, who darted 55 yards for a touchdown. A few minutes later, he passed into the flat to senior receiver MJ Kennebrew, who made the first defender miss and scampered up the sideline for a 36-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
By the end of the first quarter, Baker was 9 of 10 for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
“That felt amazing,” Baker said. “After that first big play, we got a flow going.”
Baker added a five-yard touchdown pass to junior Ashden Marquis with seven seconds left in the first half to make it 38-14. At halftime, West Linn had 416 total yards.
“We have a lot of kids that can make people miss in space,” Eagle said. “We're going to get the ball to our guys.”
Kennebrew led West Linn in catches (six) and receiving yards (89). Molden had five catches for 47 yards and junior Tyson Donnerberg had two catches for 45 yards. The longest catches came from Anderson (55 yards) and junior Carson Kamali (63 yards).
“We just have a lot of chemistry,” Kennebrew said. “We were really excited to play. We knew that we were confident in our offense, and our skill, and what we can do. And we showed that. It's only Week 1, so there's still a lot to improve.”
Anderson rushed for 81 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, showing the same elusiveness that was so important for the Lions last year, when he rushed for 1,279 yards and 15 scores.
But it was Baker who stole the show Friday, not only with his command of the passing game, but his tenacity in running the ball.
“I do like to run the ball,” Baker said. “I think I'm pretty good with running it. (Eagle) always tells me to slide, but I want to make a guy miss every now and then. I feel like I run our offense pretty well, and with running, it makes it a lot better.”
Kennebrew said the offense had Baker's back.
“First game, with a new offense, I was just making sure he knows we're all confident in him, and we believe in him,” Kennebrew said. “We know what he can do, and he went out there and proved it, like he deserves to start.”
Smiley subbed for Baker at quarterback to start the second quarter and led an 80-yard touchdown drive, finished off by an one-yard run by Anderson. For the game, Smiley was 2 for 2 for 28 yards and rushed for 24 yards on three carries.
The Lions also got field goals of 32 and 25 yards from senior Zander Morris and a 41-yard fumble return for a touchdown by sophomore safety Jake Hamper, which made it 48-14 late in the third quarter.
West Linn finished with a 538-236 edge in total yards. Senior lineman Mason Perkins had a big night on defense with a sack and a fumble recovery.
jerryu@osaa.org
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