Vashon Pirate Youth Football head coach Matt Amundsen identified the secret ingredient that propelled the seventh- and eighth-grade Pirate team to a 7-0 win in their first game of the season Sept. 12, played against Gig Harbor in 90-degree weather under a punishing sun. It was all about conditioning, the coach said.

“Gig Harbor is a very strong team. In weather like this, all that summer conditioning we put our team through really made the difference,” said Amundsen, who, along with a volunteer team of coaches, was on the field every weeknight in August preparing the boys for a grueling season.

The team followed up their first win with a second shutout, 13-0, against the Peninsula Seahawks at the Stadium Bowl on Sept. 19.