PORT TOWNSEND — The Quilcene football team got lots of offense in its opening game, but the defense struggled in a high-scoring affair against Naselle, a 66-40 loss for the Rangers.

Quilcene dropped the game to the Comets despite amassing 530 yards of offense.

“They ran some stuff that we knew we had to defend. We just didn’t do a good job of stopping them,” said coach Trey Beathard.

The Comets got up 21-7 in the first quarter and scored another 22 points in the third. Beathard said the team was missing four kids who haven’t had enough practices yet to play and had to play some eighth-graders.

“Defense is harder to play early in the season,” Beathard said.

The Rangers also don’t have last year’s starting quarterback Jayden Love back yet. Love broke his leg last year and is still not cleared to play.

Filling in for Love were Dominick Smith and Oliver Hopkins, who combined to throw for 235 yards.

“They did a good job. I felt good about that,” Beathard said.

Smith was 5-for-10 for 180 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Perez. He had one interception. Hopkins was 2-for-3 for 55 yards, with Smith collecting both of those receptions.

Perez finished with two receptions for 125 yards, while Robert Evans had two catches for 40 yards. Hopkins had one catch for 15 yards.

On the ground, the Rangers added another 295 yards, with Smith leading the way with 10 rushes for 92 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown. Mason Iverson ran five times for 87 yards, including a 32-yard TD, while Perez ran 11 times for 72 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.

Eli Iverson ran five times for 39 yards, including a 20-yard score.

It doesn’t get any easier for Quilcene as the Rangers face 1B powerhouse Mossyrock next week. Mossyrock just played 2B state semifinalist Pe Ell-Willapa Valley tough in a 26-8 loss this weekend. That game will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Mossyrock.

Liberty Bell 50, Neah Bay 24

OAK HARBOR — In a rematch of last year’s 1B state championship game, the Neah Bay Red Devils stayed close with Liberty Bell until late in the third quarter, but gave up some big plays late in the game en route to a 50-24 loss.

Interestingly, Liberty Bell beat Neah Bay with the exact same number of points, 50-12, in the championship game last year.

Neah Bay was down by just two scores, 30-18, late in the third quarter, but two quick touchdowns by the Mountain Lions on 55-yard and 35-yard pass plays at the end of the third quarter put the game essentially out of reach at 42-18 entering the fourth.

“We were pretty competitive into the third quarter. Their speed certainly was a challenge. It was a challenge last year,” head coach TJ Greene said.

Greene said the Red Devils’ running game worked well and freshman quarterback Mathias Greene connected on a 71-yard touchdown pass to Charles Halttunen, but penalties and poor tackling really hurt Neah Bay.

Greene said Neah Bay started the first half with a defensive stand, putting the Mountain Lions into a third down and 30 and forcing a turnover on downs. The Red Devils marched the ball down the field, “with a pure power game. We drove right through them … they knew it was coming.”

That drive finished with a 4-yard run by Jodell Wimberly, who also had a 1-yard touchdown run earlier in the game, to make it 30-18 halfway through the third quarter.

Neah Bay forced another fourth-and-20, but Liberty Bell’s Remi Paz made a diving catch on a long ball to gain a first down. That play seemed to turn the tide for Liberty Bell. “That kid was hard to cover. He kept getting lost in coverage,” Greene said.

Tyler Swan finished up the scoring for the Red Devils on a 5-yard run.

Neah Bay has another tough game next week, traveling to Forks to take on the 2B-level Spartans, who beat 2A Sequim this week. Greene expects that will be an 11-on-11 game. These tough preconference games are part of the Red Devils preparing for a postseason run.

“We need that test. We need it early,” Greene said.