Football

After a rough start to the season that saw the Pirates fall in lopsided loss after lopsided loss for the first six games, the team roared to life on Friday, Oct. 13, during an away game against Chimacum. The Pirates defeated the Cowboys 38-0 and carried that competitive spirit into their Homecoming game Oct. 20. At home, Vashon recorded a thrilling 27-21 double overtime win against Port Townsend that marked the first Homecoming victory for the Pirates since 2010.

Unfortunately, the winning streak was short-lived. The Pirates lost their last two games. Vashon fell 14-6 to Charles Wright Academy on Oct. 27 and lost 35-6 to Bellevue Christian during the team’s last game last Friday, shattering chances of post-season play.

The team will lose eight seniors to graduation this year, including standout quarterback Connor Hoisington, who team members say was responsible for the team’s drastic turnaround mid-season. Luke Larson, Andreas Stark, Stephen Rice, Adon Ellis, Reynaldo Rivas-Gutierrez, Cody Whitman and Raymond Bernardez will all also graduate in June.

Cross country

The Vashon High School girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams capped a successful season by sending three runners to the state tournament in Pasco Saturday.

Freshman Ella Yarkin and junior Lucy Boyle represented Vashon’s girls while senior Gianno Waller represented the boys. But their trip to the state championships could not happen until they joined the other members of their team for the annual end-of-the-season celebratory run from dock-to-dock. Last Thursday, 21 athletes (and a coach) ran portions of the route from the north-end ferry dock to the south end. Sixteen athletes ran the entire distance of the island. Yarkin, Boyle and Waller held back and ran parts of the course. The following day, they were given a rousing send-off to Pasco.

The girls will not lose any harriers to graduation, but the boys will lose seven, including Waller and team captain Theo Hu.

Boys’ tennis

The boys of Vashon High School’s tennis team ended their season with a 6-4 overall record and 3-3 league record, putting them in second place in the Nisqually League. The team also earned second place in the district tournament and will send its doubles pair of Mason Rice and Hank Rogers to the state tournament this spring.

The team was experienced this year as all the players from last year’s young team returned to play again. Head coach Pat Mulvihill said the season was solid and that trend should continue as the team is losing only one player, Wyatt Keppler, to graduation.

Girls’ soccer

The girls of Vashon High School’s varsity soccer team ended their season last Thursday with a 2-1 loss to Cascade Christian in the district tournament.

The girls, who finished the season ranked third in the Nisqually League, began the tournament by beating Coupeville 2-0, but then falling to first-ranked Bellevue Christian 4-0 and second-ranked Cascade. The tournament capped a mixed-bag season that resulted in a 9-8-1 overall record and a 3-5-0 league record.

The team will lose three seniors to graduation in June: Emme Osborne, Lizzy Sutherland and Paris Crispin.

Volleyball

Vashon High School’s volleyball team finished its 2017 season on Oct. 26 fourth in the Nisqually League, narrowly missing the berth for post-season tournament play.

Despite starting strong and winning their first three games, the Pirates struggled to generate victories at the end of the season and lost their last four games. The team finished with a 7-9 overall and 2-6 league record and will lose three seniors to graduation: Clare Lawrence, Lily Mueller and Katie Taisey.