Cleveland rocks Bainbridge: Roller coaster comeback leaves BHS gridiron gang 0-2

"Glimpses of a team that could be," would be a wholly appropriate subtitle for the Spartans' Friday night face-off against Cleveland High last week. Throughout the team's second non-league contest there were moments of greatness, sneak peeks at skill, and if the squad could only maintain the level of play they achieved in the first half, team officials said, it could be a great season. The game's final result was a 42-21 BHS loss, making for a 0-2 season record so far.

By Luciano Marano • September 18, 2015 5:52 pm
Bainbridge senior Sam Wysong runs through the defenses of the visitors from Cleveland High during last week's home game
Bainbridge senior Sam Wysong runs through the defenses of the visitors from Cleveland High during last week's home game

“Glimpses of a team that could be,” would be a wholly appropriate subtitle for the Spartans’ Friday night face-off against Cleveland High last week.

Throughout the team’s second non-league contest there were moments of greatness, sneak peeks at skill, and if the squad could only maintain the level of play they achieved in the first half, team officials said, it could be a great season.

The game’s final result was a 42-21 BHS loss, making for a 0-2 season record so far.

It was a night of tumultuous ups and downs for Spartan fans and players alike.

The Eagles scored first and added in the kick to lead 7-0 with about seven minutes left in the first quarter. Bainbridge came back pretty quickly, though, with a touchdown of their own – the first of the season, scored by junior Eric Jung – and evened things up by the start of the second.BHS started on their own 20-yard line and marched 80 yards to the end zone on nine plays.

The second quarter was a Spartan affair all the way, and BHS put up 14 more points.

BHS jumped into the lead 13-7 with nearly nine minutes remaining, but then Cleveland came back and evened things up again around the five minute mark to lead 14-13. A second touchdown by Jung – the team ground out 56 yards in 13 plays from midfield – put the Spartans up with just over four minutes to go, and by the end of the half Bainbridge was nicely in the lead 21-14.

The final Spartan touchdown was punched in by Sam Wysong. The team drove the ball 69 yards in just six plays then, starting from its own 30-yard line.

BHS left the field with high energy and much fanfare, while the visitors seemed to trudge toward halftime.

Things were looking good.

Until they weren’t.

BHS was bamboozled quickly in the second half of the game, which saw the high-flying Eagles put up 14 more points in each quarter and the Spartans unable to mount any kind of response.

In a total of 41 plays, the Spartans managed 198 yards, but lost 54, averaging a gain of 3.5 yards per play. The game saw BHS connect exactly half of the time in their passing game, with eight for 16 completed. Bainbridge suffered only one fumble, while Cleveland finished the night with three.

Moving forward, Spartan Head Coach Andy Grimm said, the team needed to focus on the plays where they did well and the replicate those actions.

“Boy, we played well in the first half,” Grimm said. “[I] couldn’t ask more in the first half of the kids, playing hard [both] offense and defense.”

The initial goal by Cleveland could have easily become a mental obstacle, Grimm said, but the team stayed focus and did not allow themselves to be discouraged.

“We talked at halftime about it being 0-0,” he said. “We’ve got to come out, can’t get overconfident, and I think [Cleveland] made some good adjustments at half.

“The strength of their game was running, and I think they got away from it because we made some early stops on them,” he added.

Once the visitors got their act together at the half, Grimm said, it became very difficult for Bainbridge to readjust and find a hole.

“They came out and scored [on] that first drive,” he said. “And we needed to answer with at least a drive after that.

“I knew they had athletes,” he added. “Watching them last week, they took Bremerton and it was 35-0 at the half, so I knew if we weren’t ready tonight it could have been ugly early.”

Jung was the offensive Spartan frontrunner, finishing the game with 10 carries for 103 yards. Wysong managed 23 carries for 58 yards and Riley Dunn completed five carries for 16 yards.

Defensively, the Spartan game was led by junior Ben McDonald, who broke the double digit barrier with 10 solo tackles and two assists. Sam Roth managed five solo and two assists and Alec Pickett, Daniels, Coltrane Brooks, Arman Jaberi and Keagan Barnes-Grant each finished the night with four solo tackles as well.

Bainbridge is currently ranked fifth in the Metro Mountain division. Bishop Blanchet boasts the top spot with a 2-0 overall season record.

The Spartans will take to the road this week for their first away game – 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 against Everett High – before returning home to host Ingraham High at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25.