Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood is a beautiful venue for a high school football game, and the Vashon Pirates played a beautiful game last Saturday as they took down the Life Christian Eagles, 55-0. The victory keeps the Pirates tied with Chimacum and Port Townsend and one game behind both Orting and Cascade Christian in a tight Nisqually League race.

The Pirate defense played another outstanding game, never allowing the Eagles to threaten in any serious way. Life Christian had the ball in Vashon territory only twice, and the nearest the Eagles advanced was to the Pirate 43. The Pirates did not allow the Eagles a single first down and helped the Eagles to minus 51 yards of total offense. Vashon’s offense racked up 414 total yards.

Coach Clay Eastly praised the Pirate performance: “I felt like the varsity offense executed well in the first half, and the backups did a nice job in the second half. The defense, both varsity and backups, did a great job. It was a treat to play every player that was suited up for the game.”

Vashon’s scoring barrage began on its first possession when, with only five minutes gone in the first quarter, Adrian Arceo lined up in a wildcat formation, ran left and then cut across the grain for a 33-yard TD run. Nick Fox-Edele connected on the first of his seven extra points, and the Pirates were off and running, 7-0.

On Vashon’s next possession quarterback Quinn Holert hit Arceo on a 61-yard pass play that put the ball on the Eagle 3-yard line. Arceo ran into the endzone untouched on the next play for a 14-0 lead.

Near the end of the first quarter the Pirates mounted an impressive drive, moving the ball from their own 18 to the Eagle 2 on the strength of four big-yardage run plays by Arceo and a 34-yard pass to Austin Franks. On first and goal from the 2, the Pirates fumbled in the end zone, where the Eagles recovered to take possession at their own 20. Everything, however, was rolling Vashon’s way. On the first play from scrimmage, Life Christian fumbled, Vashon took back the ball and scored three plays later on a five-yard TD pass to Hamzah Griffin, going up 21-0.

Vashon and Life Christian traded possessions with little to show for it during the first seven minutes of the second quarter. With five minutes left in the half, the Eagles fumbled yet again to give the Pirates the ball at the Life Christian 19. Arceo took the ball to the 9, and Holert ran it in for the score, pushing the Pirates to a 28-0 advantage.

Vason went up 35-0 with a little more than two minutes left in the half when Holert faked a handoff and scampered downfield on a 45-yard touchdown run.

The half wasn’t over yet. Kyle York picked off an Eagle pass, giving the Pirates another opportunity from the Life Christian 12 yard line. A swing pass for a TD to a wide open Fox-Edele was negated by a penalty, but the Pirates came right back on the next play when Holert ran it in himself from the 18 to end the half with Vashon out in front, 42-0.

The second half saw the Pirates put the finishing touches on their masterful performance with a 21-yard Fox-Edele field goal, a 36-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dan Lofland and a 46-yard field goal by Arceo.

The Pirates celebrate homecoming this weekend; they face Chimacum at home at 7 p.m. Friday.

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