Spartans put the hurt on Knights, 44-0

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Agosta throws for three TDs, two of them to Bryan Gilbreath.

While Bainbridge could have suffered a letdown against a struggling team like Bremerton, head football coach Andy Grimm put that to rest.

“They were pretty focused,” Grimm said of his team. “They (Bremerton) were coming in hungry, but our focus was ‘don’t let them believe.’ My philosophy is if you don’t let them believe they’re in the game, they won’t be.”

The Spartan football team lived up to that philosophy, beating the Bremerton Knights 44-0 Friday in their home opener at Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Quinton Agosta was the star of the game, as he went 6 of 8 for 163 yards and three touchdown passes.

Grimm praised Agosta and gave credit to his young offensive line for opening holes for their running backs and giving Agosta time to throw.

“I’m really proud of the front-line guys,” he said. “Getting these games in is only going to help us down the road when the games count.”

Bainbridge held Bremerton to a three-and-out on their first possession, then used running backs Dayton Gilbreath and Kauika Peleti for some solid gains.

Ross Cobb put the Spartans on the board when he raced around the right side untouched for a 45-yard touchdown.

After cornerback Dane Hiett picked off a Josh Horst pass, Dayton Gilbreath broke a 35-yard run to the Bremerton one-yard line.

Two plays later, Agosta threw a jump ball to Bryan Gilbreath in the endzone for the score.

With the offense dominating, the Spartan defense did their part to keep the Knights off the board.

Even when Bremerton put together a nice drive to end up several yards from the end zone, linebacker Kyle Szarzynski made two big tackles for losses to force a turnover on downs.

Bremerton never really threatened after that, as Bryan Gilbreath sacked Horst hard by slamming him down to the ground by his jersey in the second quarter.

Horst had to be helped off the field and did not return.

Bainbridge rounded off the scoring in the first half as Dayton Gilbreath scored on a five-yard run after forcing and recovering a Bremerton fumble.

Sophomore kicker Kyle Scoble added a 32-yard field goal and Agosta found Bryan Gilbreath once again with a nice 62-yard strike to score as time ran out.

Agosta said he feels more comfortable in the pocket this year than last.

“Last year I came in injured and it just wasn’t the best year for me,” he said. “This year I’m a lot more confident.”

The senior threw his third touchdown pass of the game with 2:10 left in the third quarter on an 11-yard pass to running back Nick Stone.

Bainbridge finished the scoring on a 1-yard run by Szarzynski.

The score came shortly after Agosta threw to Cobb for 31 yards off a fake punt.

Even as Bainbridge dominated on the scoreboard, they had numerous penalties and had a couple of scores called back due to yellow flags.

Grimm said the coaches run the team at practice as a punishment for the penalties.

“We get runs called back in a bigger game where it really counts” and it’s going to hurt the team, he said.

“That’s what our focus is going to be, getting and preparing ourselves better,” Grimm continued. “Our job as a staff is to get them ready for the mental game.”

Grimm likes what he sees so far.

“I think we control our destiny for this season,” he said. “There’s some talent on this field. There’s (players making) some big plays (and) some athletic plays.”

Dayton Gilbreath finished with nine carries for 102 yards, while Bryan Gilbreath had three catches for 85 yards and the two touchdowns.

Peleti finished with five carries for 65 yards.

Kyle Peth­eram led the team in tackles with 14, 10 of which were solo stops. He also picked off a pass and returned it for 35 yards.

Bainbridge hosts Chief Sealth for their annual Homecoming game Friday at 7 p.m.