JOYCE — Neah Bay broke open a close game against Crescent with four straight touchdowns, all of them on short scoring runs by Isaiah Knaus, to take down Crescent 78-46 in the Northwest Football League opener for both teams Saturday.
“We made some really, really good adjustments defensively at halftime, some adjustments in personnel, credit that to [defensive coordinator] T.J. [Greene], and when we made those adjustments we got some turnovers,” Red Devils coach Tony McCaulley said.
“When we got those stops defensively the tide really turned. Crescent played really well, but I think our numbers wore them down and they got a little tired and made some mistakes.”
The Red Devils, which has had their struggles offensively in early-season losses to Chimacum, Lummi and Forks, amassed 636 yards of total offense, 553 of them on the ground, in Saturday’s win.
“We kind of cut our offense back so we could execute better,” McCaulley said. “We did a lot better than we had through the first couple of games.”
Crescent coach Brian Shimko said troubles inside the Neah Bay 20-yard line hurt his team.
“We had two many possessions in the red zone where we came up empty,” he said.
“Right before halftime we missed out on a score and then we gave it to them at their 2[-yard line] after turning it over on downs in the third quarter.”
Neah Bay capitalized on four Crescent turnovers in the second half, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, plus a Loggers’ turnover on downs deep inside Red Devils’ territory.
After Noah Leonard’s 42-yard touchdown run, Crescent pulled within two of Neah Bay at 34-32.
The Red Devils answered when Meric Soeneke scored from 1-yard out and the Loggers drove down near the Neah Bay goal line but were stopped.
A 13-play, 98-yard touchdown drive by the Red Devils followed, with Knaus scoring the first of his four straight TDs on a 3-yard carry.
Neah Bay then recovered a fumble and put together another long march for a a Knaus score and a 56-32 lead.
Soeneke picked off a Crescent pass and returned it to the Loggers 1-yard line. Knaus pushed across for a 62-32 advantage.
Jay Brunk followed with an interception, and Soeneke and Levi Swan connected on a 20-yard passing TD for a 70-32 lead.
“They got their turnovers and we literally shut down,” Shimko said.
“Both teams were a little exhausted after the first half and Tony has a deeper bench than we do. He was rotating players in and out, giving them breaks, and our guys just wore down.
“It’s right there [breaking through], but we have to learn how to put a game away and finish. We have a hard time doing that.”
Soeneke led Neah Bay with 35 carries for 297 yards and a TD.
Knaus added 22 carries for 122 yards and five TDs.
Leonard led the way for Crescent with 117 yards rushing and 107 receiving yards. KC Spencer threw for 327 yards and five touchdowns, along with two interceptions. Eric Emery had an 82-yard receiving touchdown and finished with four catches for 137 yards.
The Red Devils lost quarterback Ben Greene during the game with a broken collarbone and he will be out for the rest of the season, McCaulley said.
“We ran wildcat [formation] the whole second half and had a rotating quarterback with Meric, Isaiah and Levi Swan. Kind of a three-headed monster back there at tailback and quarterback.”
McCaulley said the early-season struggles, which have included a rash of injuries, have “been tough with us, on the team and the coaching staff.”
“Saturday was good for us,” he said. “It was a a full team effort, everybody played, everybody filled a role and contributed. We were real happy with that. We still have a ways to go to get where we want to be, but this was a good step forward.”
Neah Bay 78, Crescent 46
Neah Bay 14 14 20 30— 78
Crescent 14 12 6 14— 46
First Quarter
NB—Knaus 7 run (Soeneke run) 9:50
C—E. Emery 33 pass from Spencer (pass failed) 5:45
C—Cox 18 pass from Spencer (N. Leonard run) 3:17
NB—Soeneke 3 run (pass failed) 1:26
Second Quarter
NB—Knaus 9 run (run failed) 10:02
C—Leonard 10 pass from Spencer (pass failed) 8:11
NB—L. Greene 46 pass from B. Greene (Knaus run) 7:19
C—Leonard 40 pass from Spencer (run failed) 5:08
Third Quarter
NB—Soeneke 1 run (run failed) 8:50
C—Leonard 42 run (pass failed) 8:27
NB—Knaus 3 run (Soeneke run) 7:46
NB—Knaus 1 run (run failed) :12
Fourth Quarter
NB—Knaus 1 run (Soeneke run) 8:02
NB—Knaus 1 run (Knaus run) 7:30
NB—Swan 20 pass from Soeneke (L. Greene pass from Soeneke) 5:03
C—Cox 24 pass from Spencer (pass failed) 3:32
C—E. Emery 82 pass from Spencer (Leonard run) 3:32
NB—Croy 11 run (Croy run) 1:00
Individual Stats
Rushing—NB: Soeneke 35-297, Knaus 22-122, B. Greene 5-37, Croy 5-45, Swan 5-29, Bain 4-7. C: Leonard 16-117, Spencer 10-39, Simpson 1-3, K. Buchanan 2-(-7).
Passing—NB: B. Greene 2-4-66; Soeneke 3-4-33. C: Spencer 17-32-327, 5 TDs, 2INT
Receiving—NB: L. Greene 2-49, Swan 2-30, Soeneke 1-20. C: E. Emery 4-137, Leonard 6-107, Cox 3-62, K. Buchanan 2-12, C. Buchanan 2-9
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
