Missed scoring opportunities cost the Bainbridge Spartan gridders in a hard-fought, 17-14 home loss to the Lakeside Lions Friday evening.

It was an old-school, smash-mouth affair, with Lakeside eschewing the pass to run out of the venerable double-tight end, double-wing formation for most of the contest.

Powerful junior running back Sean Whitsitt was a mainstay of a Lion attack that ran up 297 team yards on 51 carries.

Whitsitt keyed several drives with dramatic bursts, once kept out of the end zone only by the swift feet of Bainbridge cornerback Mike Ersser, who hauled him down from behind after a 54-yard gain.

Nevertheless, the Spartans fought their way back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to take a 14-10 lead late in the contest.

A 53-yard run on an option by quarterback Grant Leslie put the Spartans on the board with 9:35 left in the third quarter.

Leslie rolled left and faked a pitch to the wingback, then cut upfield through the line and streaked to the end zone with Lion defenders at his heels.

“He’s a good runner,” coach Andy Grimm said. “We’d had (the option) in the offense, we just hadn’t run it yet.”

Nick Blakey recovered the subsequent onside kick for the Spartans, but a long drive went for naught when a short pass by Leslie on a rollout was intercepted in the end zone.

It was one of several goal-line turnovers that hurt the Spartans; an untimely fumble on an otherwise certain touchdown run negated a first-quarter drive.

Bainbridge went on a sustained drive to start the fourth, behind the power running of Zach Kornfeld and blocking of August Katzer. The drive was keyed by a 40-yard strike to Ersser, deep into Lion territory.

Two plays later, Andrew Shelton rumbled into the end zone on a counter play behind tackle Matt Nelson, giving the Spartans the lead.

The teams traded possessions until the final drive by Lakeside. Whitsitt became an unstoppable force, toting the Lions on his back with seven carries in a 10-play, 86-yard drive that was capped by his 12-yard touchdown burst with a minute to play.

Bainbridge got the ball at their own 35 yard line after the kickoff, but four successive passes fell incomplete as the clock wound down.

Leslie finished the game 9-of-18 passing for 128 yards; Ersser and Townsend had three receptions each, for 66 and 28 yards, respectively.

Zach Ainsley led four Spartan rushers with 62 yards on seven carries, including a 40-yard dash. Zach Kornfeld matched his output with 61 yards on 15 tries.

On defense, linebackers Katzher, Matt Draper and Zach Ainsley all recorded double-digits in tackles and assists, as did end Mike North.

The Spartans (1-6 overall) close out their home season this Friday against Seattle Prep. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.