Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Mt. Baker walked away with it. They walked away with a 32-22 victory over the Omak Pioneers on Saturday. Given the Mountaineers' advantage in MaxPreps' Washington football rankings (they are ranked 19th, while the Pioneers are ranked 64th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Toga Tigilau
| 11/22/25 vs Omak | 40 |
| 09/20/25 vs Bellevue | 13 |
| 09/26/25 vs Sultan | 5 |
| 11/08/25 vs Wapato | -2 |
| 10/17/25 vs Lynden Christian | -2 |
Mt. Baker can attribute much of their success to Toga Tigilau, who rushed for 40 yards and one touchdown, and also threw for 115 yards and one TD. Those 40 rushing yards gave Tigilau a new career-high. Brice Cooper was another key player, rushing for 95 yards on only ten carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Mt. Baker was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 170 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.
When it comes to explaining why Omak lost, don't look at Payton Smith. Despite the final result, he rushed for 135 yards and one score.
Mt. Baker pushed their record up to 10-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 13.7 points on average over those games. As for Omak, their loss dropped their record down to 8-4.
Looking ahead, Mt. Baker will square off against Cashmere at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Mountaineers will need to watch out since the Bulldogs have now posted at least 31 points in their last five games. Omak does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
