The Bainbridge Island Spartans were again unable to come back from an early points deficit during their away game at Tumwater Stadium against the A.G. West Black Hills High School Wolves on Friday, Sept. 20.

The Wolves ran away with a commanding lead leaving the Spartans to play catch-up and an intimidating halftime score of 27-7 Black Hills.

Even the successful return of promising junior Casey Brink and an increased focus on rushing plays could not save the day for the Spartans.

The final score was 27-55 Black Hills.

“We saw improvement,” said Spartan Head Coach Andy Grimm.

“The score didn’t necessarily reflect that, but we did see improvement from the Kingston game, offensively for sure and defensively some times,” he said.

Still, more needs to be done, he said.

“We’re giving up the big play too often and we have to keep working on our technique,” Grimm said.

Bainbridge again used a two-headed quarterback technique, splitting play between senior Connor Teddy and junior Kyle Jackson.

Teddy racked up three completions in eight attempts and passed a total of 102 yards.

Jackson went 1-for-6 in passing and totaled 35 yards.

They each managed one pass that resulted in a touchdown, received by Kyle Jackson and junior Max Wickline, respectfully.

Spartan teammate Taylor Wilson made 17 carries for 113 yards and completed two rushing touchdowns.

Sam Wysong also played well, completing nine carries for 22 yards and Casey Brink returned to the field with two carries for five yards.

The Spartans receiving game saw star performances from several players including Kyle Jackson, with one reception totaling 55 yards.

Others to note: Max Wickline, one reception in 35 yards; Jeremy Greer, one reception in 25 yards; and Casey Brink who managed one reception in 22 yards.

“He did good,” Grimm said of Brink. “He stood out on defense more than offense and I think he got a little fatigued in the second half after we tried to play him the whole game.”

Defensively, the team was led by a stellar performance by Jarett Grimm, who managed seven unassisted and three assisted tackles as well the only Bainbridge sack of the game.

“He’s been playing very well,” Grimm said of his son’s recent performance. “He’s been coming on defensively, he’s doing a nice job and doing what he’s supposed to do.”

Brink also played well with nine unassisted tackles. Max Thomas and Wilson each managed seven unassisted and two assisted tackles each and Paris Amore racked up six unassisted tackles.

The Spartans play their next game at 7 p.m. at home Friday, Sept. 27, against Eastside Catholic High.

“They’re good,” Grimm said of the Eastside squad.

“We’ve got a great team coming in here and we’ll have to come out and fight really hard and do the best we can,” he said.

Discussing his areas of concentration in preparation for the game, Grimm said his coaching strategy remains the same as always.

“It’s fundamentals,” he said. “We’ve got to work on what we can and get ready.”