Cobb scores four times in gridders’ rout of Bucs.

POULSBO – With the curtain about to go up in Metro League play, the Bainbridge football team did well in the last dress rehearsal of the season, dismantling 2A Kingston 42-17 in a non-league contest Saturday night at North Kitsap Stadium.

In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, senior running back Ross Cobb ran for four touchdowns – three in the first quarter – as Bainbridge took advantage of several mistakes to build a big lead that the second-year school couldn’t overcome.

“The offense was clicking,” head coach Andy Grimm said. “The kids did a great job offensively. They got after it.

“Not only did the backs run hard, we got downfield and got some blocks too,” he continued.

Cobb scored his first touchdown on the Spartans’ fifth play from scrimmage, shooting through the offensive line and making some nice jukes to evade Buccaneer defenders on a 49-yard run to the endzone.

After Sam Snow recovered a fumble off a muffed handoff by Kingston quarterback Paul Bagla, it took Bainbridge just one play to capitalize.

Cobb got another big hole and easily took it in from 25 yards out for his second score of the game.

The Bucs finally put together a decent drive on the legs of running back Travis Schriner but the Spartan defense held in the red zone. Chance Pruiett came in to kick a 29-yard field goal.

Bainbridge countered with a long drive of their own as Alex Johnson and Cobb broke off big gains of 11 or more yards.

Quarterback Jason Haley did the rest on a keeper when he reversed his field and got some big blocks and broke a few tackles to score from 23 yards out.

Mike Callahan recovered another Bucs fumble and it took just two plays for the Spartans to capitalize again, as Cobb got yet another big hole to race through and score from 45 yards out and put Kingston in a giant hole.

The Bucs did get on the board with less than three minutes in the half, as Bagala concluded a solid drive with a one-yard plunge in the end zone.

Haley kept the good times going on Bainbridge’s next drive, finding Anthony Carter wide open for a 59-yard pass play to the one-yard line of Kingston. Johnson did the rest, scoring from a yard out with 52 seconds left.

In the third quarter, the Bucs put together another long drive to get in the red zone, but Carter made a great play when he made an over-the-shoulder interception of a halfback option pass.

“We’re bringing the heat a little bit,” Grimm said of the defense’s ability to force turnovers. “Credit our guys because when you jump on somebody like that, that’s the way you have to do it.”

Bainbridge took advantage of another turnover as they turned it into points. Buoyed by a big run by Johnson and a face mask penalty, Cobb scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 33-yard run off a nifty reverse play.

Cobb said the offense has improved greatly over the past few weeks, even with losing a big cog in lineman James Herman.

“Little (Alec) Grimm is stepping it up,” he said. “He did an awesome job. The (line) is killing it. They’re doing a great job.”

Schriner scored on a one-yard play late in the fourth, but that was it for the Bucs. They recovered an onside kick and eventually scored, but it was called back on a holding penalty.

On the next play, the Bucs fumbled in the endzone and the Spartans recovered for a touchback.

“They did a great job offensively,” Grimm said of Kingston, who finished with 303 rushing yards as a team. “They did a nice job running the ball so we’ve got to work hard on defense.”

Cobb finished with 191 yards off nine carries.

Bainbridge (2-1) travel to West Seattle Stadium next Friday to start league play against Seattle Prep. Game time is at 7 p.m.

Grimm said the team may get back Herman and Kevin Nguyen, who was out with an ankle injury.

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Spartans 42 Bucs 17

Summary: Too many mistakes by Kingston opened the door wide for Bainbridge in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Player of the Game: Ross Cobb rushed for 191 and four touchdowns – three of which came in the first quarter.

Key Play(s): Sam Snow and Mike Callahan’s recovery of fumbles helped set up quick scores.

Key Stat: Turnovers: Kingston 5, Bainbridge 0 – The Spartans scored 21 points off of those turnovers.

Up Next: The Spartans start Metro League play at 7 p.m. Friday when they travel to Seattle to face Seattle Prep.