The first league football match of 2016 resulted in a loss for the VHS Pirates, who fell at home to the Eagles of Klahowya High School: 35-14. Vashon is now 0-4 for the season.

It was a cool and breezy Friday night with a moderate Vashon crowd and an impressive turnout from Silverdale in support of the Eagles. The Klahowya fans filled up the guest bleachers and occupied a respectable swath of the hometown stands, cheering loudly throughout the game.

Vashon head coach Clay Eastly, was absent for the game, so assistant coaches Jason Butler, Samuel Hill and Rick Bonaventura led the team.

Despite the beating shown by the final score, the Pirates showed one welcome improvement in Friday’s game and debuted some new talent. The improvement was in the execution of the shotgun snap, which is a basic technique needed to begin offensive plays. Freshman center Raymond Bernardez had clearly been working on his aim, as he delivered the football to quarterback Connor Hoisington much more reliably throughout the game.

Another bright spot amidst a tough game: the debut of talented freshman Richard Rivas. This is a young man with the solid frame needed for defensive tackle, the speed needed for running back and — most important for this team — solid skills as a kicker. His first crack at kicking the ball came early in the game, and he demonstrated a cool head and quick thinking under fire. The situation arose when Klahowya brought a swift end to the Pirates’ first possession, forcing a fourth down punt. Rivas came on as kicker, but the ball came to him a bit high and to his right, eluding a sure grasp. He recovered it quickly and made a split second decision not to punt, judging that the oncoming Eagles rush would not allow for a decent kick. He tucked the ball in tight and ran, crossing about 20 yards and nearly making the first down.

Klahowya then took over, scoring seven points on its first possession, and kept control of the field for the entire first half of the game. Vashon’s second possession ended quickly with a turnover, which the Eagles converted into seven more points: Klahowya 14, Vashon 0. The Pirates were very jumpy in this first half, granting the opponents 5 yards at a time for many a penalty.

The second quarter was hardly underway when the Eagles scored again. The Vashon offense fought hard, opting to run on each fourth down, but could not break the Klahowya defense. Before the first half was over, the Eagles put up another touchdown, plus a two-point conversion: Klahowya 29, Vashon 0.

After halftime, Vashon kicked off in the second half, and, five plays later, Klahowya found the endzone again for another six points. The attempt at an extra point failed, due to a poor kick that was easily blocked by the Pirates.

Neither team put up any more points in the third quarter, but the Pirates began to make the connections needed to move downfield. An 18-play scoring drive began, with the Hoisington brothers, quarterback Connor and running back Bryce, in top form. At one point, Bryce avoided a tackle by jumping over the oncoming opponents, much to the delight of teammates and local fans.

The third quarter ended and the fourth began with a resumption of the Pirates’ downfield march, with Rivas showing his abilities as a running back on some plays. Soon the team finally put some points on the scoreboard, with Bryce running the ball in for a touchdown. Their two-point play failed: Klahowya 35, Vashon 6.

The Eagles took possession then, but five plays later, were forced to punt. The Pirates showed their renewed energy with another effective drive, with Bryce running over 40 yards on one play. A fourth down threatened to stop Vashon, but Bryce carried the ball for the first down again. On the next play, with just over one minute left in the game, Connor held the ball as long as he could before handing it off to Bryce. The wily running back found a path to the endzone again, scoring another six points. Not to be outdone by his brother, Connor ran a keeper play for an extra two points. The clock ran down, the final score: Eagles 35, Pirates 14.

The Pirates play their second league game of the season against the Coupeville High School Wolves in Coupeville at 7 p.m. Friday.

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