PORT TOWNSEND — No need to wait anymore.
The Port Townsend offense showed up in a big way in Friday night’s Class 1A Nisqually League clash with Cedar Park Christian.
The Redskins rolled up 300 yards of offense on the way to a 62-6 victory that turned into little more than a tune-up for next Friday’s homecoming showdown against No. 9 Orting.
“Offensively we just erupted tonight,” said Port Townsend coach Brian O’Hara. “That’s been something I’ve been waiting for.
“I think they are starting to feel comfortable with the things we’ve been doing.”
Nobody looked more comfortable than quarterback Eric Thomas.
The four-year starter completed 12-of-21 passes for 120 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception.
He also ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns on five carries while booting three touchbacks and all eight extra points he attempted.
“The offense was pretty crisp,” Thomas said.
“Our offensive line was hitting hard tonight, our receivers were running good routes, and we just took it to them.”
Thomas hooked up with his favorite target, Cameron Robinson, on three of his touchdown passes. All three came during a 21-0 first quarter that set the tone for the blowout win.
“We worked hard this whole week watching film and stuff, [working on] our offense and defense,” said Robinson, who finished with five receptions for 56 yards. “It was pretty much a perfect week.
“We expected it to be a lot closer than that. We thought they would come and stick it to us.”
That turned out to be far from the case.
The Redskins defense re-established itself after last week’s disappointing 42-7 loss to Cascade Christian, forcing six turnovers and holding Cedar Park to just 110 total yards.
Port Townsend had nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including five sacks of Eagles signal caller Justin Girgus.
The Redskins offense continually cashed in on the good field position that created, scoring on six of its first seven possessions for a 42-0 lead midway through the second quarter. That included rushing touchdowns from both Brett Johnson and Ryan Plouse.
“Port Townsend is a good team,” Cedar Park coach Craig Shetterly said. “You can’t make mistakes and commit turnovers against good football teams.”
Robinson had two of the team’s five interceptions to go along with the three touchdown grabs.
The latter puts him at six for the season.
“He’s a good football player, there’s no doubt about it,” Shetterly said.
“We knew he was the guy catching touchdowns for this team, and he did it to us. It was a good job on his part.”
The Eagles’ lone touchdown came after they returned a Thomas fumble to the Redskins nine-yard line and punched it in three plays later.
Port Townsend was up 42-6 by that time and well on its way to the 45-point running clock mercy rule.
“They are a pretty good ball club that we saw on film,” said O’Hara of Cedar Park.
“They have a few weapons that can hurt you, but our defense did a great job of shutting them down.
“We put a lot of pressure on them, and it resulted in positive things for us.”
Still, the story of the night was Port Townsend’s offense, which broke out of an inconsistent funk that had plagued it through its first five games.
The Redskins ran for 179 yards on the night — its highest total of the season — while scoring nearly as many points (56) as it did the last four games combined (61).
It was a good sign for a unit that had come into the season believing it would carry the load this fall.
“I think this certainly shows our potential,” O’Hara said.
That’s just in time for Orting (3-0, 5-1), which will come to Memorial Field next week with a share of the lead in the Nisqually League standings.
“I think it’s a good win, but we don’t want to get full of ourselves,” Thomas said.
“Orting is a really good team. We just want to keep practicing hard and just get ready for Orting. It should be a big game.”
Port Townsend 62, CPC 6
CPC 0 6 0 0 — 6
Port Townsend 21 21 14 6 — 62
First Quarter
P–Robinson 6 pass from Thomas (Thomas kick)
P–Robinson 19 pass from Thomas (Thomas kick)
P–Robinson 12 pass from Thomas (Thomas kick)
Second Quarter
P–Johnson 8 run (Thomas kick)
P–Thomas 12 run (Thomas kick)
P–Plouse 34 run (Thomas kick)
C–Girgus 1 run (Conversion failed)
Third Quarter
P–Unbedacht 2 pass from Thomas (Thomas kick)
P–Thomas 34 run (Thomas kick)
Fourth Quarter
P–Olson recovery in end zone (Missed kick)
Individual Stats
Rushing–PT: Plouse 7-44, Thomas 5-59, Unbedacht 1-1, Johnson 11-43, Mallory 3-24, Thornton 4-(-2), Bryant 1-0, Ralls 1-(-1), Kelly 1-12. CP: Dinsmore 15-39, Girgus 10-(-26), Moldovan 1-4, Crodle 5-25, Thompson 1-3, D. O’Regan 4-2.
Passing–PT: Thomas 12-21-0, 120. CP: Girgus 5-20-3, 57; O’Regan 1-8-1, 6.
Receiving–PT: Unbedacht 3-22, Robinson 5-56, Johnson 2-13, Mallory 2-29. CP: R. O’Regan 1-17, Moldovan 1-13, Fuchs 2-9, Kragerud 1-18, Hunsaker 1-6.
SEQUIM 49, KINGSTON 6
SEQUIM — Travis Decker had four rushing touchdowns and 150 yards of offense to lead the Sequim Wolves to a 49-6 win over winless Kingston on Friday night.
The blowout victory sets up a battle for first place in the Nisqually/Olympic League at North Mason (3-0 in league, 6-0 overall) next week.
“We came out of the gate and did pretty good,” Sequim coach Erik Wiker said. “The defense did really well again, shut them down and made the reads.
“We had a short field a lot of the time, and we capitalized on it.”
The Wolves (3-0, 5-1) took advantage of two early special teams miscues by the Buccaneers (0-3, 0-6) to take an early lead.
After the Wolves defense stopped Kingston on its first offensive series, Buccaneers punter Ian Chaussee managed just three yards on his punt giving the ball to Sequim on the Kingston 24-yard line.
Decker then scampered 24-yards to the end zone for Sequim’s first touchdown.
Chaussee then fumbled the long snap on a punt attempt the following Kingston possession with the ball going out of bounds at the Kingston two-yard line.
Decker ran it in from a yard out and the rout was on.
Sequim quarterback Drew Rickerson finished the night with 176 yards passing and touchdown passes of 27-yards to Joel Anastasi in the first quarter and 10-yards to John Textor in the third quarter.
Decker had 100 yards rushing on nine carries and two receptions for 50 yards.
Kingston ended Sequim’s shutout bid with a five-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to play in the game.
Sequim 49, Kingston 6
Kingston 0 0 0 6 — 6
Sequim 22 14 13 0 — 49
First Quarter
S–Decker 24 run (F. Catelli run)
S–Decker 1 run (F. Catelli kick good)
S–Anastasi 27 pass from Rickerson (Catelli kick)
Second Quarter
S–Rickerson 27 run (Catelli kick)
S–Decker 10 run (Catelli kick)
Third Quarter
S–Decker 36 run (kick failed)
S–Textor 10 pass from Rickerson (Catelli kick)
Fourth Quarter
K–Schriner 5 run (pass failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing–S: Decker 9-100, Rickerson 2-30, Yamamoto 2-10, Forshaw 2-8.
Passing–S: Rickerson 9-17-0, 176.
Receiving–S: Decker 2-50.
NO. 9 ORTING 42, CHIMACUM 14
ORTING — Orting foiled 1A Nisqually League-upstart Chimacum’s bid at an upset with 42 straight points to open the game Friday night.
Both teams entered the contest with unbeaten league marks, but Orting (3-0, 5-1) quickly outpaced Chimacum (2-1, 4-2) with three first-quarter scores.
“We were just unable to sustain our drives, and had a difficult time controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Chimacum coach Shawn Meacham said.
The Cowboys trailed 35-0 at halftime and 42-0 at the end of three quarters before breaking up the shutout with a pair of long touchdowns in the final frame.
Devin Manix scored on a 46-yard touchdown rush and Mason Moug connected with Dylan Brown-Bishop on a 36-yard pass to account for the Chimacum scores.
Meacham praised the running of Austin McConnell and Trevor Richardson and Derek Toepper’s plays in the passing game.
Chimacum faces another test next Friday, a matchup at Vashon (1-1, 4-1).
Orting 42, Chimacum 14
Chimacum 0 0 0 14 — 14
Orting 20 15 7 0 — 42
First Quarter
O–Cordes 1 run (Dey kick)
O–Powers 12 pass from Wilkins (Dey kick)
O–Cordes 34 run (kick blocked)
Second Quarter
O–Wilkins 1 run (Cordes kick)
O–Gibb-Scott 38 pass from Wilkins (Dey kick)
Third Quarter
O–Cordes 34 run (Dey kick)
Fourth Quarter
C–Manix 46 run (run failed)
C–Brown-Bishop 36 pass from Moug (run good)
Individual Stats
Not available
TOLEDO 8, FORKS 7
TOLEDO — Toledo held Forks to 185 yards of offense to claim Friday’s defensive battle as well as the inside track to the SWL-Evergreen Division’s third seed to the playoffs.
Forks (2-2, 3-3) scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Brian Santman to Alexis Ayala on its first offensive play of the game.
Yet that was all it could muster in the loss.
Penalties cost the Spartans on a number of occasions including a fake punt attempt that originally went for a touchdown.
“We’re not finding ways to win, we’re finding ways to lose,” Forks coach Ron Hurn said. “We were in their territory all night, but we couldn’t find the end zone.”
Toledo running back Johnny Earls scored the Indians’ lone touchdown on a 23-yard run in the second quarter.
Toledo then converted on what would become the game-winning play when quarterback Trevor Jones found Brycen Holmes for the 2-point conversion.
It was the only pass the Indians completed all night against the Spartans.
Tanner House had 13 tackles to lead Forks.
The Spartans host top-ranked Montesano (4-0, 6-0) next Friday.
The Bulldogs have not been scored upon this season and are scoring just under 49 points per game on offense.
Montesano is 6-1 against Forks since former Spartans head coach Terry Jensen took over.
Toledo 8, Forks 7
Forks 7 0 0 0 — 7
Toledo 0 8 0 0 — 8
First Quarter
F–40 pass from Santman (Ayala kick)
Second Quarter
T–Earls 24 run (pass good)
Individual Stats
Rushing–F: Ayala 7-39, Santman 7-32, Hernandez 8-36. T: Earls 18-95, Holmes 11-71, Herbert 10-46.
Passing–F: Santman 3-11-0, 61.
Receiving–F: Alexis 1-40, Hurn 2-21.
NO. 6 TIMBERLINE 56, PORT ANGELES 7
PORT ANGELES — Timberline cruised to an easy victory over the winless Roughriders (0-4, 0-6) in Friday night’s Olympic/Western Cascade League tilt.
The Blazers (4-0, 6-0) forced four Port Angeles turnovers and outgained the Riders 401-160 on the night.
Cody Sullivan scored on a one-yard run to snap the shutout for Port Angeles in the fourth quarter.
The touchdown was set up by a 71-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Keenan Walker to Sullivan.
Port Angeles visits Olympic (1-3, 3-3) next Friday.
The Roughriders will be looking to get Port Angeles head coach Dick Abrams his first win.
Timberline 56, Port Angeles 7
Timberline 21 14 7 14 — 56
Port Angeles 0 0 0 7 — 7
First Quarter
T–Radcliffe 61 run (Meyer kick)
T–Radcliffe 1 run (Meyer kick)
T–Colby Gagnon 3 yard run (Meyer kick)
Second Quarter
T–Eubank 5 yard fumble recovery (Meyer kick)
T–Raiford 76 pass from Russell (Meyer kick)
Third Quarter
T–Jabaiti 19 pass from Russell (Meyer kick)
Fourth Quarter
T–Ferreira 14 pass from Russell (kick failed)
T–McNeil 10 pass from Gutierrez (Sloan run)
PA–Walker 2 run (Hurd kick)
LUMMI 56, CRESCENT 7
BELLINGHAM — Lummi stuffed the Loggers’ run game, limiting them to just 89 yards on the ground, while making big plays on offense in a game that ended in the middle of the third quarter due to the 1B 45-point mercy rule.
The Blackhawks (1-0, 4-2) threw the ball all over the field on Crescent (0-1, 4-2), with Lummi quarterbacks Joseph Fryberg and Ty Jameson throwing for 215 yards and five touchdowns.
Lummi running back Eddy Williams also picked up big chunks of yardage on the ground, with five carries for 155 yards and a touchdown.
Crescent running back Dylen Heaward was held to 20 yards on 15 carries.
Heaward scored the Loggers’ lone touchdown on a one-yard run in the first quarter.
Crescent hopes to bounce back at home against Clallam Bay (0-1, 0-3) next Saturday.
Lummi 56, Crescent 7
Crescent 7 0 0 0 — 7
Lummi 22 22 12 0 — 56
First Quarter
L–Robinson 22 pass from Fryberg (pass good)
L–Finkbonner 54 run (conversion failed)
C–Heaward 1 run (Albendea kick)
L–Finkbonner 15 pass from Fryberg (pass good)
Second Quarter
L–James 35 pass from Jameson (pass good)
L–James 63 pass from Jameson (pass good)
L–Williams 55 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
L–Hoskins 85-yard fumble recovery
L–Wilbur 27 pass from Jameson (45-point mercy rule)
Individual Stats
Rushing–C: Christie 11-75, Heaward 15-20, Didier 1-4, Barnes 2- (-10).; L: Williams 5-153, Finkbonner 3-62, Hoskins 2-28, Robinson 1-18, Jameson 2-15, James 1-10.
Passing–C: Barnes 4-12-0, 84; Heaward 2-3-0, 35. L: Jameson 7-8-0, 172, Fryberg 3-5-0, 43
Receiving–C: Heaward 3-76, Didier 1-40, Christie 1-6, Barnes 1 (-5); L: James 2-96, Rivera 2-41, Robinson 2-29, Wilbur 1-27, Finkbonner 3-20.
LOPEZ 52, CLALLAM BAY 20
CLALLAM BAY — The Bruins dropped their first Pacific Coast League game of the season on Friday night.
Details of the game were not reported.
NEAH BAY 2, HIGHLAND CHRISTIAN 0
NEAH BAY — Highland Christian Prep has forfeited Friday’s contest against Neah Bay (1-0, 5-0) due to a lack of players.
The Knights (0-1, 0-4) told Neah Bay athletic director Lechelle McCarty that they only have eight players able to play on Friday.
Neah Bay heads to Lopez next Friday night.