Friday night turned out to be Laundry Night at Bainbridge High’s Memorial Stadium.
That was the fourth-quarter assessment of the announcer from the Spartans’ matchup against Ingraham in varsity football as yet another yellow penalty flag found its way to the rain-soaked turf.
No matter. Bainbridge put the Rams through the wringer early in the game on a night where nothing could be hung out to dry, and won in convincing fashion, 44-22.
“We didn’t know what to expect until we played,” said Spartan Coach Jeff Rouser.
Even so, the Spartans had confidence going in, and were determined not to have another slow-out-of-the-gate start that typified their earlier games this year.
The idea, he said: “Let’s start out right this time.”
And boy, did they ever.
Spartan quarterback Gannon Winker scored on a keeper during Bainbridge’s first drive and scampered down the right sideline 37 yards into the end zone untouched for the Spartans’ first touchdown.
Bainbridge led 7-0 with less than 30 seconds gone off the clock, and the Spartans marched to a 27-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter, leaving the Rams to play catchup in a penalty-plagued game.
Bainbridge was quickly back in the end zone. With a little less than five minutes to play in the first stanza, Winker forced his way again past the Rams defense for a 13-0 Bainbridge lead.
A big interception and 20-yard run by Bainbridge’s Sio Peato set up the Spartans’ next score with 2:18 left to play.
Bainbridge recovered an Ingraham fumble and Winker bullied his way into the end zone once more to put BHS up with 1:46 to play in the quarter.
The Spartans were limited to a field goal in the second quarter. But with the stout Bainbridge defense, the Ingraham offense was transformed truly into a miracle of mildness. The Rams scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the second and was held scoreless in the third.
“Our offensive line has been tremendous this year,” Rouser said. “They have handled everybody we played, even the games we lost. That is something, I think, that’s unique on the island in many years.
“These guys don’t get the credit they deserve,” he said of the Spartan five; Mac Schelbert, Tyler Pickett, Kyle Smit, Elliott Weaver and Matthew Zuleger.
“I call them our Fab Five,” Rouser added. “They’ve been tremendous this year and they were dominating in this game, against big players that are athletes. The way they were coming off the ball and getting to the next level — when you do that it makes everything else look easy.”
Winker came up big for Bainbridge; he scored three of the Spartans’ touchdowns, and collected 81 yards on the six times he carried the ball.
Running back Max McLeod was 3-for-17 in rushing. Though the numbers weren’t impressive, the quality of the runs were, and McLeod scored one of Bainbridge’s five touchdowns.
“He’s had two of the best runs I’ve seen in my years coaching high school football in that game,” Rouser said. “The moves and the acceleration and his ability to break tackles is unique.”
Bainbridge finished with 256 rushing yards on the night, compared to Ingraham’s 146.
The Spartans improved to 2-2 overall with the win, while the Rams fell to 2-2 overall (0-1 in league play).
Bainbridge now begins its long campaign on the road, with three consecutive games off the Rock before returning Friday, Oct. 19 for homecoming against West Seattle.
“We’re going to keep getting better, I hope. We’re 1-0 in our division and we want to keep that zero on the other side,” Rouser said.
