Vashon High School’s 1A gridders played a tough game against 3A Lakeside, leading 6-0 into the fourth quarter before the Lions got on the scoreboard in the fourth period to tie the game.

The two-point conversion was stuffed by the Vashon defense, but only after the Lions had used a series of big running gains to take the ball into the end zone.

But the Lions scored two more times in the fourth to take the contest, 21-6.

Vashon started out strong against the Lions in the first quarter. The VHS defensive team did an excellent job of holding Lakeside back with big stops by Nathan Betz, Kyle Martin, Austin Franks, Matt Kerns and Kyle Bakker.

Adrian Arceo had a terrific first half running the ball. He picked up 57 yards in one play to give VHS excellent field position into the end zone.

The PAT was no good, making the score Vashon 6, Lakeside 0 with 6:11 left in the first half.

The Vashon defense continued to hold the Lions for the remainder of the half while its offense struggled to make pass connections and lost momentum on a 15-yard holding penalty.

Both the Pirates and the Lions started the second half with penalties.

The Lions’ infraction backed the ball up to the Vashon 37-yard-line where the Pirates took possession and were able to drive the ball down the field on the legs of Alex Sohl, Nathan Betz, Andy Didricksen and Arceo. Arceo made a 41-yard field goal attempt that veered off slightly to the left.

Lakeside rallied in the fourth quarter with some big running gains through the middle of Vashon’s defense and ran it into the end zone with a reverse screen. The Lions’ attempt at a 2-point conversion was stopped by Vashon’s defensive line, leaving the teams tied at 6-6.

In the fourth quarter, Vashon quarterback Hayden Campbell suffered an interception that fueled Lakeside’s fire, and a Vashon penalty gave Lakeside another 10 yards of field advantage, after which they drove in for a touchdown.

This time the conversion was good, and Lakeside was ahead 14-6 with 8:12 on the clock.

The Pirates, led by Holert’s passing to Didricksen and Arceo’s running, got the team into Lakeside territory, but Lakeside’s defensive line came up with a quarterback sack, taking possession and ripping off a 50-yard run into the end zone. The PAT was good, and the score, Lakeside 21, Vashon 6, held to the end.

Vashon did make one last run at it with completed passes to Jake Theno and Michael Stoffer and a first-down run by Holert. But Holert then threw an interception, and the Pirates ran out of time.

The Pirates finished with 241 total offensive yards, 166 rushing and 75 passing. Arceo had 22 carries for a total of 111 yards followed by Didrickson with 21, Betz with 15 and Sohl with 14.

Defensive coordinator Rick Sassara said afterwards that he was really pleased with the team’s effort. Lakeside had a running back who had 299 yards in his first game, and Vashon held him to about 70 yards. And he added that the team was in the game throughout, with a few technical breakdowns on a handful of plays that changed the outcome.

He also said that Vashon’s energy was waning near the end of the game, what with so many of the players competing on both sides of the ball, defense and offense.

All in all, Sassara said, “I’m happy with where we are. We have a lot of work to do in the next couple of games when we’ll meet probable league playoff teams.”

— This article was compiled and edited by sports editor Eric Horsting from information supplied by Mary Kay Rauma and Rick Sassara.