The score told the story of Friday’s football game, and there just isn’t much else to say.

56-0, the sad tale concluded, as the Spartans found themselves unable to mount any kind of effective offensive answer to the relentless scoring efforts of O’Dea’s Fighting Irish.

The mood on the field fell in proportion to the points deficit.

Late in the second quarter, one Bainbridge player on the sidelines hurled his towel to the turf -— effectively throwing it in. Several nearby teammates chuckled, likewise resigned. Their abdication was not as premature as it may seem, by that point O’Dea had already established a commanding lead and was clearly better controlling the field.

The loss left Bainbridge with an overall season record of 2-4, and a league record of 0-2, making the Spartans the fifth-place team in the Metro Mountain Division.

O’Dea is ranked second, with an overall season record of 6-0.

The visitors took the lead early and led 19-0 by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter proved the most disastrous for the Spartans, as O’Dea’s score swelled by 23 points.

It was in the third quarter that O’Dea reached what would be their final score, as the Spartans did manage to hold their guests scoreless in the game’s final quarter.

It was an uphill battle from the first play, a fact that didn’t surprise the home team.

“We knew, when you watch the team on film, we knew they would be good across the board,” said Spartan Head Coach Andy Grimm of the O’Dea squad.

“I think the thing that stands out with them more than the last few years is their team speed. They’ve always had pretty quick running backs, but athlete for athlete, both sides of the ball were pretty athletic and pretty quick.”

Grimm said that the Spartans played well fundamentally, and were most often in the right spot for the play, but they simply weren’t fast enough to keep up.

“For the most part I thought we were in good positions on plays, offensively,” he said. “But with their speed they just got away from us.”

Holding their guests scoreless in the fourth quarter, Grimm explained, may technically reflect better playing by the Spartans, but may also be misleading as at that point O’Dea had put in some of their reserve players.

“They just don’t drop off,” he said of the quality of O’Dea’s second- and even third-string players. “Those kids are all comparable.”

Peter Lindsay managed four carries for 11 yards for the Spartans, and Ben Fisher chipped in five carries for 30 yards.

Casey Brink ended the game with one reception for four yards.

Fellow Spartan Oskar Dieterich made two receptions for 18 yards, Fisher had four for 30 yards and Sam Wysong ended the night with one reception for 17 yards.

The top defensive players were Sam Roth (six solo and three assisted tackles), Gareth Grindeland (3-5), Glodi Kingombe (5-3), Max Thomas (6-2) and Jack Frickelton (4-4).

The Spartans will again play at home at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 against Seattle Preparatory.

“We’re pretty similar records,” Grimm said of BHS and the Prep squad. “They’ve played a few more quality teams in their regular season so far. I think we definitely match up better than the O’Dea game. We just have to be disciplined and get in there.”