The Vashon Pirates football team hosted its first league game of the season at home Friday, Sept. 27, finishing with a 26-0 loss against Bellevue Christian. The score reflects the relative inexperience of the players on the field and the lingering effect of having so many first-string players still on the sidelines with a variety of injuries.

“We were pretty banged up from the previous week’s game,” said Coach Clay Eastly. “Hopefully we get healthier for this week’s game and return a couple of injured players.”

All of those on the sidelines meant freshman Will Weber had the opportunity to play quarterback again this week, with some real growth in his skills, along with some other key players on the team.

“I thought Ryan Nelson played extremely well on both offense and defense,” Eastly said. “Martin Ellison also did a nice job on defense against their top receiver.”

While the final score was bleak, it doesn’t reflect the dogged persistence with which the team held back the Vikings’ offense.

“I thought we played with a lot of enthusiasm and energy,” Eastly said. He pointed to Hunter Denall’s interception in the second quarter that stopped a drive deep into Pirate territory.

Since this was the first Nisqually League game of the season, the next games are increasingly important for the Pirates’ standing as they look toward the playoffs. The Pirates will play their homecoming game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. at VHS.

— Ann Higuera is the mother of a Pirate football player.