The Vashon Pirates football team heads into its final game of the season this Friday night with just one win on the books. The Pirates will face formidable rival Charles Wright, after losing last Friday night to the Raymond Seagulls 49-7.

Raymond dominated from the beginning, scoring two touchdowns early in the first quarter. Vashon attempted to launch a running game against the Raymond boys but was quickly turned back, hitting an oversized defensive line. So the game shifted into more of a passing attack, which ultimately yielded some success.

Senior Sol Dehnert had a great catch and run midway through the first quarter, followed quickly by senior Will Hennessey’s catch and then another for Dehnert. Still, at the end of the quarter, it was 13-0 for the opposition.

The second quarter saw the Pirates throw one interception, with the Raymond player running a long return — only to be denied just short of the goal by a fantastic tackle from Vashon’s young quarterback.

The quarter also included an array of penalties, from a block in the back to head to head contact, interference and more, with the calls being made against both teams. Standouts for the first half included tough tackles and impressive catches by Dehnert, good tackles and aggressive defense by Martin Ellison, Jack Cunningham and Ryan Nelson, and solid work from Vashon’s quarterback under pressure. But Raymond continued to dominate and the Vashon team was down 27-0 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Seagulls quickly scored, but the extra point was blocked by Hennessey. The Seagulls also attempted a two-point conversion during the quarter that was nicely stopped by a Cunningham interception. Dehnert made an impressive punt return in the third, but the score was 39-0 heading into the final 15 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, the Pirates continued to fight against the strong Raymond team, but its solid defensive line was no match for the Vashon running game. Penalties abounded in this quarter as well, including an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Pirates.

Ellison and Cunningham continued with impressive tackles, along with Hennessey, Dehnert, Nelson and senior Joe Ghigleri. The highlight of the fourth quarter was clearly a touchdown by Dehnert, who caught a 20-yard pass and then made a 40-yard run for the touchdown, making the score 43-7. But Raymond quickly recovered with another touchdown, bringing the final score to 49-7.

The game fit the feeling of the majority of the season for the Pirates, but the team did not give up. They fought hard through to the end, and have one last game this Friday.

The Pirates will play Charles Wright at home to wrap up the season, with eight seniors to be honored at Senior Night. Payton Bonaventura, Jake Carman, Sol Dehnert, Jonathan Quintans, Zavier Delgado-Williams, Will Hennessey, Jess Laysath and Joe Ghigleri will be honored, along with Rotary exchange student Pablo Alonso. Bonaventura, Carman, Quintans, Hennessey and Ghigleri have all played for the Pirates for four years.

Game time is 7 p.m. and Senior Night will be celebrated beforehand at 6:45 p.m. at Vashon High School.

— By Lauri Hennesssey, mother of a Pirate.