If you look at the stats for last Friday’s home opener for the Vashon High School Pirates football team, you will see that after a solid first half, they fell behind and lost to the Cedar Park Christian Eagles 34-12. But if you ask the crowd that mostly filled the grandstand at Vashon High School, you will hear something different: It felt a little magical.
The two touchdowns on the scoreboard were Vashon’s first of the season, both by hard-charging tailback Xavier Delgado-Williams. The pandemonium in the stands when he scored was something to behold. And the tenor of support and pride in the team stuck throughout much of the game.
Vashon had been scoreless in its first two games so far (and one game was a drubbing), so the close game against Cedar Park, much closer in feeling than the final score would indicate, was the perfect setting for the first game on the new turf.
The school district launched the evening with free admission to all — courtesy of generous sponsorships from Vashon Thriftway, Vashon Pharmacy and Sawbones — to celebrate the new track and field. The district also held a short ceremony and ribbon-cutting before the Pirates charged out onto the field.
The Pirates’ first possession included a few outstanding moments but ended scoreless. It was great to see the growing confidence of the Pirate defense, and the Pirates’ young quarterback, freshman Will Godwin, held his own against the much larger Eagles defenders. Standout tackles included those by Delgado-Williams and Joe Ghigleri. For a while it looked like it might be a defensive game until the end. But the Eagles started scoring, twice following up on Pirate mistakes, and at the end of the first quarter, the score was 13-0.
In the second quarter, senior and longtime Pirate Jake Carmen sprinted for a wonderful kickoff return that pumped up the crowd. Vashon’s reliable kicker/runningback/offensive lineman/defensive lineman (yep, he can do all of that), Richard Rivas-Gutierrez, delighted the crowd as usual with solid kicking and a couple of strong runs. Then the Pirates put their first points of the season on the board with Delgado-Williams scoring — after he had just completed a fantastic run on an earlier play. Things looked hopeful for much of the second quarter, which included a fantastic fumble recovery by senior Will Hennessey. At the half, it was 13-6.
But in the second half, things devolved a bit as the Eagles started beating down the Pirates. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 26-6. However, the Pirates never gave up, and they came back in the fourth quarter with another touchdown from Delgado-Williams for a final score of 34-12.
One interesting development happened in the third quarter, when the Pirates’ QB (Godwin) was ejected from the game, along with a player from Cedar Park Christian, for fighting. Godwin will also miss the next game.
Senior Sol Dehnert was called in to the quarterback spot and did a fantastic job scrambling and picking up yardage, as well as making some really nice pitches to his running backs. He held the team together through the fourth quarter, but much of the damage had already been done.
The hometown crowd was hopeful and upbeat throughout the game. They have supported the Pirates over the years through rain and a lot of losses, so it felt good to see the team pick up a couple of touchdowns, hear the band play and see the new turf. The Pirates gave their new field the gritty contest it deserved.
The Pirates are scheduled to play two away games, against Bellevue Christian and Port Townsend before their next home game against Klahowya on Friday, Oct. 5.
— Lauri Hennessey is the parent of a Pirate football player.
