The good news from Friday night’s football game is that Bainbridge scored as many touchdowns as Olympic. The bad news? The lack of a kicking game prevented them from picking any extra points.
The Spartans instead went 0-for-4 on two-point conversions, and proved to be the difference, at least on the scoreboard in a 28-24 loss to the Trojans in Bremerton.
It would be short-sighted to pin the result solely on that — rainy, windy conditions that only got worse as the game wore on caused plenty of problems as well. Both teams had issues snapping the ball, which led to some turnovers and good field position for the respective oppositions.
“We have issues kicking the ball, so that’s why we’re not kicking,” Bainbridge coach Jeff Rouser said. “It’s disappointing because I’d like to play a fifth quarter tonight.”
Bainbridge did get one final chance — the defense was able to make a stop on third down, forcing Olympic to punt with 1:15 left, but they were not able traverse the necessary 65 yards to the end zone.
Despite the monsoon-like weather, Bainbridge didn’t have too much trouble passing the ball. Freshman quarterback Jack Grant completed 14 of 25 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns. All three went to junior Luke Lavigne, who was unstoppable as he finished the night with eight receptions for 137 yards, too.
“We have a freshman quarterback, and the guy is going to be an absolute stud,” Rouser said. “He’s got command, he can run, he can throw the ball. Luke, obviously, he’s the man.”
Things did start slow for the Spartans, going three-and-out on two of their first three possessions. Meanwhile, the Trojans started quickly. Olympic marched 65 yards on its first drive, capping it with a 13-yard TD from QB Dylan Boschee-Perry to tight end Luke Silva.
The Spartans looked like they were going to answer quickly as Grant and Lavigne hooked up for a 38-yard completion on the first play of the ensuing drive, but a bad snap in the red zone was recovered by Olympic’s Xavier Valenzuela.
Later in the first, another bad snap on a punt gave the Trojans good field positions at Bainbridge’s 2-yard line, and Olympic took advantage as Kamano Ruis punched it home from 2 yards out to extend their lead to 14-0.
Things turned around a bit late in the first quarter as Grant hit junior Jeff Utter for a completion, and Utter cut back to the inside and broke free down the field for a 47-yard play. That helped set up Bainbridge’s first score as Grant connected with Lavigne in the end zone from 6 yards out.
Finn Clark intercepted Boschee-Perry on the next drive and took the ball down to Olympic’s 19-yard line, but Grant’s completion to Will Triggs was just inches short on fourth down, turning the ball back over on downs.
Olympic took a 20-6 lead on the next drive as Boschee-Perry hit Valenzuela over the middle, and he took the ball to the house for a 61-yard score.
Just before the end of the half, Grant hit Triggs for an 11-yard pass play and then hit another big play to Lavigne, this one good for 34 yards. They finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown to Lavigne, who just managed to keep his feet in bounds at the back of the end zone, needing every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame to reel in the high throw.
The Trojans regained a large lead in the third quarter on Jesiah Guadiz-Macadangdang’s 6-yard TD run, putting Olympic ahead 28-12.
“That’s what we wanted before the game,” Boschee-Perry said, noting the team was aware the weather would be worse in the second half.
But in the fourth quarter, the Spartans had the wind at their backs and made a valiant comeback effort.
They hit the scoreboard again as Grant and Lavigne connected for a third touchdown, a 24-yard pass with 8:52 left in the game. It was Lavigne’s sixth TD of the young season.
With just a few minutes remaining, Olympic lined up to punt, and the snap sailed well away from its intended target. The Spartans ended up starting their drive on the Trojans’ 13-yard line, and Micah Bryant scored his first touchdown of the season on a 4-yard run to pull Bainbridge to within four points.
“It was [tense] a little bit,” Boschee-Perry said. “The rain starts picking up. It’s hard to get the snaps.”
On Bainbridge’s final drive Collins-Stanford Clark-Hill had a key sack on first down as he blasted his way through the line. Three straight incompletions put Olympic in victory formation.
“Like I said from the beginning of the season, we have a real young team,” Rouser said. “We’re getting better, and next week we’ll be better.”
Olympic 28, Bainbridge 24
BI 0 12 0 12 — 24
Oly 14 7 7 0 — 28
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Olympic — Luke Silva 13 pass from Dylan Boschee-Perry (Gesell kick)
Olympic — Kamano Ruis 2 run (Gesell kick)
Second Quarter
Bainbridge — Luke Lavigne 6 pass from Jack Grant (conversion failed)
Olympic — Xavier Valenzuela 61 pass from Boschee-Perry (Gesell kick)
Bainbridge — Lavigne 9 pass from Grant (conversion failed)
Third Quarter
Olympic — Jesiah Guadiz-Macadangdang 6 run (Gesell kick)
Fourth Quarter
Bainbridge — Lavigne 24 pass from Grant (conversion failed)
Bainbridge — Micah Bryant 4 run (conversion failed)
Individual Statistics
Passing — Bainbridge: Grant 14-25-214, 3 TDs. Olympic: Boschee-Perry 8-17-109 2 TDs, INT.
Rushing — Bainbridge: Bryant 12-28, TD; Grant 12(-8). Olympic: Ruis 17-79, TD; Guadiz-Macadangdang 12-54, TD; Valenzuela 2-19; T. Bluitt 2-6; Guizar 1-2; Silva 1-2; Boschee-Perry 6(-7).
Receiving — Bainbridge: Lavigne 8-137, 3 TDs; Utter 2-52; Triggs 3-15; Scheltens 1-10. Olympic: Valenzuela 3-72, TD; Ruis 2-13; Silva 2-13, TD; Phillips 1-11.
