Spartans run over hapless Sealth, 61-6

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Seahawks fielded just 17 players, and the game was a romp from the kickoff.

It wasn’t much of a contest, but Bainbridge head coach Andy Grimm still gave credit to Chief Sealth.

“I told their coach and I told their kids they gave us a great fight,” he said. “We were able to roll our second and third and fourth groups at them and have some success, and their kids didn’t quit. That was great to see.”

In a game that looked like a montage of scenes from “Necessary Roughness,” the Spartans blew out the Seahawks 61-6 in the annual Homecoming game Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

Bainbridge scored early and often, as junior running back Kauika Peleti tallied one from 21 yards out with just five minutes gone in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked.

The score came a play after a Mike Walsh touchdown catch was called back due to a penalty.

Dane Hiett scored from 18 yards out on the next drive for the Spartans, but the two-point conversion failed as tight end Bryan Gilbreath couldn’t hang on to a Quinton Agosta pass.

After Kyle Petheram recovered a fumble on the kickoff return, Kyle Scoble booted a 35-yard field goal to increase the lead to 15-0.

It didn’t take long for the next score, as Bainbridge recovered an onside kick, and Peleti scored from 16 yards out for his second touchdown of the night. The extra point was blocked again.

The Spartans finished off the first quarter scoring with a Bryan Gilbreath 45-yard touchdown catch after Petheram recovered another Sealth fumble and Dayton Gilbreath scored on a five-yard run.

Grimm said they wanted to make sure the team took care of business.

“We tried to get that across to the kids that we needed to focus on us,” he said. “They’re going to have a short bench and their guys are going to play hard, but scoreboard-wise, we should take care of business. It’s about getting ready for the league and the kids did a great job of that. They could have come out flat, but they came out and did their job.”

Most of Bainbridge’s starters were pulled after the first quarter, which gave some of the backups extensive playing time.

Senior running back Patrick Wauters scored his first touchdown on a five-yard run in the second quarter.

The Seahawks finally broke through on the board when Daniel Davis threw to Schulyer Taylor for a 10-yard score just before halftime.

That was the only respite the Seahawks had, as it was more of the same in the second half.

Bryan Gilbreath had a big punt return to set up Kyle Szarzynski to score from five yards out in the Spartans’ first drive in the third quarter.

Sophomore linebacker Kiyle Playter picked off a pass and returned it 58 yards for his first varsity touchdown, while sophomore running back Mario McLaughlin scored on a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for his first varsity touchdown as well.

“It was great,” Playter said. “I didn’t really expect to pick it off. I just did my thing. But it was really exciting.”

Sealth didn’t score for the rest of the game and lost a player when Davis went down with a neck injury after a tackle.

He was alert and able to move his extremities, but was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to Harborview for observation.

While the nonleague games have gone Bainbridge’s way, the real test now comes in the league games.

Grimm knows the team will be ready.

“They’re a pretty focused group,” he said. “It should be a great game next week. I’m looking forward to it.

“These two are big, but we’re not looking ahead to O’Dea,” he added, stressing the Spartans take it one game at a time. “We’ll take care of business next week. That’s what the kids expect, too, and we have to play a good game to do that.”

Peleti finished with three carries for 44 yards and the two scores. Szarzynski finished with six carries for 44 yards, while Agosta was 4 of 5 for 91 yards.

Bainbridge (3-0) takes on Eastside Catholic (3-0) on the road next Friday. They return home for the big matchup against the Fighting Irish Sept. 29. Game time is 7 p.m.