The Vashon Pirates suffered their worst loss of the 2016 season in a match last Saturday night in Sumner against the Cascade Christian Cougars of Puyallup, by a score of 82-6.

This is practically all there is to know about this game: Cascade Christian scored on every possession and sometimes scored when Vashon had the ball.

According to a Tacoma News Tribune story, Cascade Christian’s head coach, Randy Davis, took no pride in such a lopsided victory, saying he fears it might add weight to the accusations that private schools have an unfair advantage over public schools.

Vashon’s head coach, Clay Eastly, insisted that his team’s rout had nothing to do with the private versus public issue. As Eastly told the Tribune, “We were overmatched. But not because they are a private school. We were overmatched because we are really young.”

Referring to the disruption caused by the resignation of Coach Brynie Robinson at the end of the summer, he added: “We got a late start to the season.” Summing up the Pirates’ main problem in this game, Eastly told the Tribune, “We weren’t tackling. That’s the reality.”

The Cougars received the kickoff in the first quarter, and, on the first play, their running back, Tyquan Coleman, ran 69 yards for a touchdown. Coleman went on to score four touchdowns in the game. Fellow teammates Markus Austin, Austin Carder and Jake Nielsen each scored two touchdowns, while Tyler Wissing and Sean Hussey each ran in a touchdown. Cascade Christian scored an extra point with 10 of their 12 touchdowns, giving them the total of 82 points. Cougar quarterback Parker Johnson consistently dealt out damaging plays to the Pirates. In the first half alone, he racked up 54 points for the Cougars, making eight out of 12 passes for 238 yards.

On Vashon’s third possession of the game, Pirate running back Bryce Hoisington worked his usual magic, running 83 yards on a kickoff return before being stopped at the 1-yard line. It took Vashon three more plays to break through that final yard. Quarterback Connor Hoisington punched the ball through on a keeper play, scoring the Pirates’ only touchdown in the entire game.

The Hoisington brothers, Vashon’s chief offensive weapons, only played in the first half of the game. Bryce went down in the second quarter due to an ankle injury and was helped off the field. This star running back has suffered from an injured ankle all season, taking more hits this year due to Vashon’s younger and less-experienced offensive line. He did not return to the field for the rest of the game. Coach Eastly also pulled Connor Hoisington from the second half of the game, preventing the starting quarterback from taking needless abuse in the lopsided game.

The Pirates relied on other players to fill in for the Hoisingtons in the second half, most notably sophomores Grady Earle and Elijah Nichelson. Earle filled in admirably as quarterback during this tough game. Earle also served as kicker, a skill he employed on many a fourth-down punt. Working the offensive line with Earle, Nichelson achieved several first downs as a running back.

Two of the smaller players on the field made solid contributions in this game. Vashon’s Jake Carman, 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, earned the Pirates a first down with his nice pass reception in the fourth quarter. Cascade Christian’s Tyler Wissing, 5-foot-6 and 155 pounds, ran in the Cougars’ final touchdown of the game.

The Pirates play again at 7 p.m. Friday, taking on the Chimacum High School Cowboys at home. These two teams have a similar league record at this time, so it should be a good game to watch. All islanders are invited to come support the team.

— Jonathan Kuzma is the father of a Vashon High School football player.