PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend head coach Nick Snyder had a minor objection late in his team’s 58-0 demolition of Chimacum at Memorial Field.
The Redhawks’ student section was poking a little fun at their Jefferson County rivals with a “Who’s house? Our house!” chant late in Friday’s game.
Snyder said he’s never been a fan of that particular cheer, especially considering both teams use Memorial Field as their home turf.
But Port Townsend served as ungracious hosts in this edition of the Quimper Quarrel, swiftly taking the argument out of the rivalry game while rolling to a 21-0 lead after one quarter and 49-0 at halftime.
A ferocious defensive effort from the Redhawks allowed Chimacum to gain just 1 yard of total offense — 61 through the air and minus-60 on the ground.
“Our defense just overwhelmed them,” Snyder said.
“Our defensive backfield, how many interceptions did they have? [Three]. Our pass rush off the edge and up the middle was there all night to get stops or force them into bad decisions.”
The dominance is becoming second nature for a Port Townsend (3-0, 5-0) team that has outscored opponents 255-6 and posted four shutouts on
the season.
Chimacum has failed to put points on the scoreboard in three straight games against the Redhawks over the past two seasons.
The Cowboys had a shot at a quick start at the outset of Friday’s game.
Port Townsend upback Kyle Blankenship fumbled the opening kickoff, setting Chimacum up on the Port Townsend side of the field.
An encroachment penalty on the Redhawks gave Chimacum a first-and-10 from the Port Townsend 33-yard line, but Carson Marx intercepted James Porter’s pass, and Port Townsend was off and running.
Ezra Easley took a pitch to the left and ran untouched for a 35-yard score to put Port Townsend ahead 7-0.
“Ezra ran really well tonight,” Snyder said.
“He hit the outside so fast on his runs.”
Easley totaled 74 rushing yards on three carries, two of them touchdowns.
The Redhawks defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Cowboys series, and Jacob Ralls returned a punt 53 yards to the end zone for a 14-0 Port Townsend lead.
Quarterback David Sua hit for his only completions on the night on the next drive, a 19-yard screen pass to Ralls and a 12-yard throw to Marx, before Wesley Wheeler notched the first of his three TD runs from 5 yards out.
Wheeler rushed for 43 yards on eight carries, all in the first half.
The Redhawks then put together their longest drive of the evening, a 14-play, 75-yard backbreaker that took 5:24 off the clock and was capped by a Wheeler TD from 3 yards out for a 28-0 advantage.
Wheeler showed he’s not limited to offense, chasing down Porter for two straight sacks that netted minus-18 yards on Chimacum’s next possession.
Ralls returned a punt 35 yards to the Cowboys’ 9-yard line, and Detrius Kelsall ran for a TD on Port Townsend’s next play.
Middle linebacker Keegan Khile then delivered the hammer with three consecutive tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
He opened the stretch by roaring into the Chimacum backfield, nearly taking the handoff from the Cowboys and waltzing in for a score.
Instead, Khile forced a fumble that was recovered by the Redhawks at the Chimacum 3-yard line.
Wheeler followed the block of fellow senior David Hoglund on the next play for a TD run and a 49-0 lead.
Khile was just getting going, taking down Chris Bainbridge for a 5-yard loss and sacking Porter for a 9-yard loss on Chimacum’s next two plays from scrimmage.
“Just really good pursuit on those plays,” Khile said.
“I wanted to get to the ball, and nobody was stopping me.”
Snyder enjoyed the play of his linebackers on the inside and outside.
“Keegan was a beast on the inside, and we also had great penetration from our outside backers, Ezra and Detrius.
“And Wesley was firing off the edge.”
Port Townsend forced four turnovers in the game.
Ralls had two interceptions for the Redhawks, and looked like he had a third pick but it was taken away when the officials ruled him out of bounds.
“Great coverage from Ralls and Marx,” Snyder said.
“They were ball-hawking for us and making plays.”
Port Townsend visits Coupeville (1-2, 1-4) this Friday.
The Redhawks already beat the Wolves 52-0 this season.
“I’d love it if we could be in a league where we were playing tough games every week, like down south [Evergreen League] or near Bellingham [Northwest Conference],” Snyder said.
“We just have to focus on small goals each week in these games.
“This week it was maintaining our blocks for 4 or 5 seconds each play.
“We didn’t do a great job of that tonight, so that is something to keep working on.
“We also talked about the big picture this week, the big goal, and where we want to go.
“But to get there, we have to go play-by-play and keep getting better.”
Chimacum (0-3, 0-5) will look to snap its 17-game losing streak at home Friday against Klahowya (2-1, 3-2).
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
