“The Bainbridge High School freshman football team won the battle of the unbeatens Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, defeating Kingston Junior High by a 22-16 score.Zack Ainsley was a one-man wrecking crew for the Spartans, scoring the team’s first two touchdowns, racking up 158 rushing yards on 20 carries, and accumulating six solo tackles, two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery. His offensive success was credited to Bainbridge’s continual use of the counter running play, led by offensive linemen Nick Blakey and Bryce Matthews.We ran it 15 times, at least, and they just couldn’t stop it, Bainbridge co-coach Sean Yarr said.Other standouts for Bainbridge included Andrew Shelton, who scored the Spartans’ third touchdown on offense and recorded eight tackles on defense; running back Dylan Preble, who played the entire game despite being waylaid by the flu; and quarterback Joe Picha, who completed 5 of 8 passes in his most effective performance of the season.He threw every ball right in the receivers’ hands, Yarr said. They were just sometimes hard to catch.Bainbridge, now 5-0, next hosts Ridgetop Junior High of Silverdale in a 3:30 p.m. contest at Memorial Stadium. After a bye week, the Spartans will conclude their season the following Tuesday at Port Angeles.Galloway, Grue top district fieldFourteen members of Bainbridge High School’s cross country team – seven boys and seven girls – qualified for the West Central District meet with solid performances at Thursday’s Olympic League event.Senior Evan Galloway was the Spartans’ fleetest of feet, finishing the 3.1-mile course at Bremerton’s Kitsap Golf & Country Club in fourth place with a time of 16 minutes, 43 seconds. Andy Reese was Bainbridge’s next finisher, placing 14th in 17:09. Other boys’ qualifiers were Paul Lang, Steven Gardiner, Max Gordon, Ryan Kehr and Joe Tarbill. The boys finished fourth in the eight-team field with 93 points, behind Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Olympic.Junior Sarah Grue was the highest Bainbridge finisher among the girls’ squads, placing 13th in 21:01. Audrey Bennett, 20th in 21:32, was the Spartan girls’ only other top-25 finisher. Also qualifying were Colleen Burke, Lia Layton, Christy Lubovich, Sandra Corpuz and Anna Greist. The group placed fifth overall, with 122 points.I thought our team did real well – both of our entire varsity teams qualified for districts, and our JV team came in second, Bennett said. The rain and the mud slowed everybody down two minutes or more, but we felt good about what we could accomplish.The district meet takes place next Thursday at Fort Lewis Golf & Country Club in south Tacoma. The state meet is slated for the following Saturday, Nov. 4, in Pasco.Spikers struggle vs. league’s eliteTwo losses this last week didn’t do much to hurt the Bainbridge High School volleyball team’s playoff chances.Despite a three-game setback to Central Kitsap on Tuesday and a five-set heartbreak Thursday against North Kitsap, the Spartans held on to fourth place in the Olympic League standings with a 6-6 mark. The top four teams will earn automatic berths in the West Central District playoffs.They were definitely two of the top teams in the league, so we didn’t feel too bad, Bainbridge coach Julie Miller said. We could break even next week and still be in fourth place.Tuesday, against the Cougars – losers of just one contest this season – Bainbridge flattened after pushing CK to a 16-14 opening game and a 15-13 second contest. Kristina Purdom had 10 kills, Carlie Miller had 19 assists and Gretchen Gaither served four aces.Thursday, in a much more spirited contest against the 11-2 Vikings, the Spartans snatched away two of the first three games before North Kitsap bent them back with 15-8 and 15-7 decisions in the fourth and fifth games. Kristina Purdom and Sarah Frazee led the Spartans’ attack with 14 kills apiece. Shailah Maynard and Miller contributed 17 and 19 assists, respectively, and Laura Bartunek had three kill blocks.Also lost for Bainbridge was one of its top setter/servers, junior Caiti Kruse, with tendonitis or possible torn ligaments in her wrist. Kruse, also a basketball player, will be sidelined from all sports activity for at least three weeks. “