It was a dark and stormy night — just what the Pirates ordered. It seems to be a tradition that is gaining momentum: Vashon High School plays Charles Wright Academy in the rain. Last year the Pirates took away a 3-0 victory in a downpour. Last Friday, Vashon soaked the Tarriers, 38-14, in similar weather.
Except for a plethora of penalties, several of which aided the Tarriers’ two scoring drives, the Pirates’ play was excellent on both sides of the ball.
Vashon dominated the Tarriers with a well-balanced offensive attack. Quarterback Quinn Holert was eight for 15 through the air for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Kerns led the receiver corps, racking up 149 yards on four catches and two touchdowns.
The ground game was no less impressive. Alex Sohl, filling in admirably for an injured Nathan Betz, pounded the turf for 91 yards on 10 carries, scoring once. Adrian Arceo, playing in his first game of the year, did well running and receiving the ball. He collected 49 yards and one TD on 13 carries. Nick Fox-Edele added to the Pirate tally going five for five on PAT’s and kicking a 31-yard field goal.
Coach Clay Eastly praised the Pirates’ performance.
“I thought we had our best week of practice since the season started, and we really bounced back well from our tough loss last week,” he said. “There were some great individual performances on offense, and the defense — as usual — played great.”
Vashon’s first strike came near the end of the first quarter. Starting from their own 36-yard line, it took only five plays, including two long runs by Sohl, to hit pay dirt. The scoring play was a 35-yard strike to a wide-open Kerns with 33 seconds left in the quarter.
On the Tarriers’ next possession, Pirate Austin Franks intercepted at the Charles Wright 25. A 22-yard pass from Holert to Kerns took the ball to the Tarrier 10. On the next play, Arceo pounded into the end zone to give the Pirates a 14-0 lead.
The end of the half gave the Pirates several more scoring opportunities. Fox-Edele kicked a 31-yard field goal with five minutes left and followed that up with a perfectly placed onside pooch kick that was recovered by Marshall Montgomery to give Vashon the ball on the Tarrier 35.
On the first play from scrimmage, Holert hit Kerns with a 35-yard touchdown strike, and the half ended with Vashon out in front, 24-0.
Charles Wright took the ball on its own 32-yard line to start the second half. A series of Vashon penalties and a 25-yard pass allowed the Tarriers to move the ball down to the 2, where they ran it in for their first score. A Tarrier onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, but Charles Wright intercepted and took over on the Vashon 33.
On a critical fourth down play, Vashon stuffed the Tarriers, but another Pirate penalty kept the drive alive, and Charles Wright scored again on a 15-yard TD pass to creep back into the game, 24-14.
The Pirates, however, would have none of that. Pirate Randyn Gregg recovered a Tarrier fumble on the Charles Wright 19-yard line. On second down, Holert ran around the left end for another Pirate TD. On the Tarriers’ next possession, the Pirates blocked a punt and scored for the final time when Sohl pounded it in from the 1.
On Monday, the Pirates’ JV team also pounded the Tarriers, with a 42-0 win on Tarrier turf.
— Steve Edele is the father of kicker Nick Fox-Edele
