North Kitsap and Sequim have clashed for great games several times in recent years, but the Vikings defense pitched a shutout and Colton Bower picked apart the Wolves secondary in a 28-0 win Saturday.
Bower completed 17 of 20 pass attempts, including seven in a row to start the game, for 215 yards and three touchdowns while the defense held Sequim out of the end zone.
The win moves North Kitsap to 2-0 on the season and puts them in the driver’s seat to finish atop the Olympic League North Division.
Tight end AJ Fisemons was the recipient of all three of Bower’s TD throws. A big target at 6-foot-4, Fitsemons owned the middle of the field and finished the game with five receptions for 59 yards.
“We were connecting pretty well today,” Fitsemons said.
The defense held strong against a Sequim team that rolled up over 400 rushing yards against Bainbridge the week prior, but the Wolves were a little short-handed in this game, and the Vikings held them to just 118 yards on the ground.
“I was happy with how the defense played. They got good pressure on the quarterback,” North Kitsap coach Jeff Weible said.
The Vikings hit the scoreboard late in the first quarter as Bower found Fitsemons on a seam route for a 25-yard score. In the second quarter, the junior signal-caller added a 1-yard rushing score that capped a 15-play, 99-yard drive after Sequim pinned them back at their 1-yard line.
Receivers were getting open with ease, and the offensive line gave Bower plenty of time to find them. The passing offense was ruthless and efficient, picking up 261 yards in the air. Jaxson Gore led the receiving corps with six catches for 73 yards, and Aidan King added four receptions for 56 yards.
“It’s key for the receivers to run good routes and then that opens up other things,” Bower said. “You might not be getting the ball, but you do your job and you’re going to get someone else open, and then you’ll get your opportunity, and the guy who scores will do the same thing for you.”
A muffed punt by NK gave Sequim a golden red zone opportunity just before the end of the first half, but Ryan Pugh stopped running back Walker Ward on fourth-and-goal to keep the shutout intact.
“It’s a good job by them to be put in that position and hold a team out of the end zone,” Weible said. “It might have been a different game.”
The Vikings tacked on two more scores in the third quarter as Bower and Fitsemons connected twice more over the middle. The 28-0 score gave North Kitsap the opportunity to bring out a few backup players.
The win sets up a Saturday afternoon contest against Bainbridge (2-1), which will be the second iteration of the Agate Cup. The Spartans won the inaugural Cup last season with a 10-7 victory in Week 1.
North Kitsap 28, Sequim 0
SQ 0 0 0 0 — 0
NK 7 7 14 0 — 28
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
North Kitsap — AJ Fitsemons 25 pass from Colton Bower (Gore kick)
Second Quarter
NK — Bower 1 run (Gore kick)
Third Quarter
NK — Fitsemons 5 pass from Bower (Gore kick)
NK — Fitsemons 15 pass from Bower (Gore kick)
Individual Statistics
Passing — North Kitsap: Bower 17-20-215, 3 TDs; Soria 2-5-35, 2 INT; Sullivan 1-3-11. Sequim: Applegate 5-13-35, INT; L. Wiker 2-6-28, INT.
Rushing — North Kitsap: Bower 8-77, TD; Harris 7-8; Walsh 4-4; Gore 1-3; Sullivan 1-1; Wanzek 5-(-1); Castillo 1-(-5). Sequim: Ward 21-78; Peterson 6-23; Hoesel 1-14; Young 2-5; L. Wiker 2-2; Cowan 1-0; Applegate 5(-4).
Receiving — North Kitsap: Gore 6-73; Fitsemons 5-59, 3 TDs; King 4-56; Sloman 2-49; Keilbart 1-11; Oppliger 1-11; Castillo 1-2.
