Bainbridge High avenged last year’s 33-7 loss to North Kitsap with a dominating 35-19 football victory over the Vikings Friday night at BHS Stadium.
Led by Alex Johnson’s 107 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the season’s opener, the Spartans led 28-0 at halftime and 35-0 before the Vikings scored three touchdowns in the last eight minutes of the game – primarily against BHS reserves.
“We got it done tonight,” Coach Andy Grimm said. “We got a little sloppy at the end because we wanted to play a lot of people. But we played like seasoned veterans for three quarters.”
The Spartans opened with quarterback Jordan Wagner throwing three completions for a total of 56 yards on the first six plays from the line of scrimmage. Johnson finished the drive with a one-yard scoring drive.
“That was our game plan,” Grimm said. “We wanted to show them we could pass and then hit them hard with the run.”
The Vikings coughed up the ball two plays after the Spartans scored, with Jason Haley recovering the ball on the North Kitsap 13-yard line. Johnson scored two plays later from six yards out with 7:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Vikings couldn’t move the ball on their next possession and the Spartans took over at their own 42 after a poor North Kitsap punt. On second and 13, Wagner completed a passed to Haley for 18 yards for a first down on the Vikings’ 40. After Johnson ran 15 yards on two carries, Josh Peters ran 25 yards for a touchdown on a counter play, giving the Spartans a 21-0 lead with 2:45 left in the first half.
North Kitsap finally got its offense going late in the first quarter, but turned the ball over on downs at the Bainbridge 16. Johnson ran for a total of 38 yards on four carries before the BHS drive ended at the North Kitsap 34.
The Vikings’ Alex Fuchs, who ran for 116 yards in the game, moved the ball to the Spartans’ 42 before defensive tackle Alex Grimm picked off a lateral to give Bainbridge possession at midfield. Johnson again ran almost at will up the middle and increased the margin to 28-0 with 2:54 left in the first halftime on a 16-yard touchdown run.
The Spartans went ahead 35-0 with 4:06 left in the third quarter when Wagner scored on an 17-yard keeper. For the game, the senior completed six of seven attempts for 90 yards and rushed for 30 yards in playing only three quarters.
The Vikings finally got on the board when Fuchs scored on a 22-yard run with 7:50 left in the game. They closed to 35-13 when quarterback Alex Nettleton hit Tolen McGregor with a 28-yard scoring strike, and then made it 35-19 with 1:06 remaining when Fuchs scored from three yards out following a successful onside kick.
Up front, center Alec Grimm and sophomore tackle Logan Dieterich dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
“Our blocking opened up some huge holes,” Johnson said. “The belly-play was there whenever we needed it. It was just great blocking.”
Defensive backs Cole Rabinowitz and Chris Bell both intercepted passes in the second quarter when pressure caused Nettleton to throw unwisely deep into the secondary.
“I was a little surprised we dominated them on both sides of the line of scrimmage like we did,” Grimm said. “If you give Alex a hole, with his great leg drive, he’ll punish you. He’s real tough inside.”
The Spartans return to action next Friday at home against Vashon Island.
