On Sept. 16 the first AP football rankings were released, and Vashon High School was sitting seventh in the state for division 1A teams. The rankings are determined by sportswriters from 12 local papers, including The Seattle Times, Kitsap Sun and The Tacoma News Tribune.

So it probably comes as no surprise that the Pirates soundly defeated Lakeside Prep on Friday, 44-13. It was the team’s final contest before a seven-game march to the state championship playoffs begins this Friday with the Pirates’ first league contest at Port Townsend.

The win, which boosted the team’s record to 3-0, represented the third consecutive game where the Pirates took the lead early in the game and never fell behind.

Quarterback duties were shared by Quinn Holert and Jeff Rauma. Holert went seven for 12 through the air notching 69 yards and one TD. Rauma hit on seven of 14 passes for 106 yards and one TD. He also rushed for two additional scores. Nathan Betz, as always, led the run game with 15 carries for a total of 89 yards and one TD.

The only scoring in the first quarter came on the Pirates’ opening possession. Vashon drove 82 yards in three minutes with the big play coming when Betz burst through the left side of the line for a 34-yard gain to the Lions’ 11. Two plays later Holert hit Austin Franks on a 15-yard TD pass.

The second quarter belonged to the Pirates as they scored 23 unanswered points. Rauma hit Matt Kerns on a 34-yard TD pass with 11:39 left in the quarter to put Vashon up 14-0 (Nick Fox-Edele was four for five on PAT’s for the night). With eight minutes left in the period, Pirate Hamzah Griffin intercepted at the Lions’ 25-yard line. Five plays later Betz powered ahead for an 8-yard TD run, increasing the Vashon lead to 21-0. On the Pirates’ next possession, Fox-Edele booted a 28-yard field goal. The Pirates took the ball back with 3:53 left in the half. After a beautiful 14-yard run by Alex Sohl took the ball to the Lakeside 3-yard line, Rauma ran it in, giving the Pirates a 30-0 halftime lead.

At the end of the third, the Pirates drove 61 yards in 10 plays. The drive featured solid passing skills by Rauma as he hit Kerns for 13 yards, Fox-Edele for 20 yards, Kerns again for 11 and Franks for 10 before running it in himself from the 1 for the score.

Vashon’s final score came with under three minutes left in the contest. With a fourth-and-seven from his own 44-yard line, Fox-Edele boomed a towering punt to the Lakeside 2-yard line, where the ball was muffed, rolled into the end zone and recovered for the TD by Griffin.

— Steve Edele is the father of kicker Nick Fox-Edele.