All Mount Tahoma wanted to do was run out the clock.
Leading Shelton 34-7 in the fourth quarter last week, Thunderbirds coach Kevin Hanis called a running play, hoping to bring a quicker end to the Narrows League contest.
Instead, running back Ron Baines took the handoff and went 95 yards for his fifth touchdown.
“Shelton has that spread offense,” Hanis said. “They can score quickly so we wanted to run some clock. Then Baines goes 95 yards for a touchdown.”
Hanis was hardly upset with Baines, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior. After all, Baines finished with 421 yards, the sixth-best single-game effort in state 11-man football history. He scored on touchdown runs of 27, 55, 76, 60 and 95 yards.
“Yeah, it was fun,” said Baines, who averaged 17.5 yards per carry against the Highclimbers. “I got good blocking and just ran where I saw the holes.”
Baines has had big games before.
He scored six touchdowns in a 40-32 win over Foss last season. He was the Narrows League Bay Division Offensive MVP as a sophomore when he accounted for 2,600 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns.
Eastern Washington University has noticed, showing interest in Baines, Hanis said.
“He could be a difference-maker for some teams,” Hanis said.
There’s no questioning Baines’ speed – Hanis says he runs a legitimate 4.5-second 40-yard dash – but it’s the way Baines moves among defenders that truly leaves opponents grasping.
“He’s deceptive,” Hanis said. “He’s so smooth. He dips and spins his way through defenses. And then he outruns everybody.”
Shelton stuck with its 4-4 defense throughout the game against the Thunderbirds (1-0), but Hanis expects to see a variety of fronts from Narrows League coaches that are all too familiar with Baines’ exploits.
“Everybody knows who he is, what he can do,” he said. “They’ll try and stop him, do everything they can to focus on him.”
Even first-year Lincoln coach Ben Cochran knows as much.
“Ron Baines is a great athlete,” said Cochran, whose Abes will face Mount Tahoma at 7 p.m. today at Lincoln Bowl. “He’s a track guy, you can tell he’s fast.”
The Abes (1-0) edged Foss last week, 29-27, setting up a meeting with Mount Tahoma that could have plenty of offensive fireworks.
“Lincoln is pretty tough,” Baines said. “It’s a rivalry, so you know it’s going to be fun.”
Hurting Sentinel
One of Spanaway Lake’s top defensive players will miss at least the first three weeks of the season, Sentinels coach John Robak said.
Defensive back Fua Sula suffered a hip flexor injury in a scrimmage two weeks ago. Sula, a 5-10, 190-pound defensive back, didn’t play last week and might not return until Spanaway Lake (1-0) visits Graham-Kapowsin on Sept. 26.
The Eagles play tonight at defending South Puget Sound League South Division champion Rogers (1-0).
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps
Top 5 single-game rushing totals
1. (tie) Danny Wilm, Steilacoom, 2003, 471 yds.
1. (tie) Easton Johnson, Hazen, 2005, 471 yds.
3. Thomas Brooks-Fletcher, Interlake, 2004, 444 yds.
4. (tie) Jacob Prince, Mount Baker, 1997, 422 yds.
4. (tie) Jonathan Stewart, Timberline, 2002, 422 yds.
6. Ron Baines, Mount Tahoma, 2008, 421 yds.
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