“Ballard football coach Doug Trainor offered perspective following Bainbridge’s 32-8 victory on Friday, in the season opener for both teams. I think you’ll stack up real well against the other Metro teams, Ballard coach Doug Trainor said. You’re solid all the way around. A ball control offense, good defense and overall toughness.Ballard, which apparently encountered some problems getting on the ferry and arrived on the field less than half an hour before gametime, had similar difficulties getting into the flow of the game.I wish we’d played with more intensity in the first half, Trainor said.It might not have mattered. With a summer-long emphasis on this game, Bainbridge’s debut in the Metro League, the Spartans jumped out to 25-0 halftime lead en route to winning their first opener in five years. After going three and out in the game’s opening possession, an exchange of punts gave Bainbridge the ball back on their own 19. On the second play, quarterback Clayton Hallum found wingback Kenny Walker in the right flat, and he broke downfield for a 56-yard gain. Though a clipping penalty put the ball on the Ballard 48, seven plays later Hallum hit running back Andy Aversano in the right flat and he ran untouched into the end zone for a 14-yard score with 3:05 to play in the quarter. The PAT try failed after a penalty pushed the Spartans back five yards.Taking over on the Ballard 38 after a short punt, the Spartans moved methodically downfield. The key play was a quick 12-yard Hallum pass to tight end Adam Smith for first-and-goal on the five. After two running plays lost two yards, wideout Jeff Tracy made a diving catch of Hallum’s pass two yards deep in the end zone and came down just inbounds with slightly under nine minutes left in the half. A two-point conversion try failed.After another Ballard punt, the Spartans struck quickly. Starting on the Bainbridge 38, Hallum passed to Walker for eight, Aversano gained four, and Spencer Evans picked up another eight on an inside handoff. Then Hallum found Teddy Picha on the 20 and the rangy wideout easily ran for the team’s third score, this one coming at 5:52. A bad snap on a two-point try resulted in a seven-yard loss.Ballard finally picked up its first first down of the game following the kickoff on a 20-yard pass play, but defensive end Stefan Peter-Contesse sacked Ballard quarterback Chad Morgan and forced a fumble at the Ballard 35. Again the Spartans moved methodically downfield. It was Aversano for five yards, Hallum hit Picha for seven yards, and two more Aversano runs set up first and goal on the five. After two runs put the ball on the three, Hallum faked to Aversano up the middle and rolled right. He broke a tackle at the five and dragged another tackler into the end zone. This time Tracy kicked the extra point.The Ballard offense finally showed some signs of life, moving from their own 20 to the Spartan 40. On the next play, Picha deflected a likely touchdown pass and the drive ended three plays later as time expired in the first half. At that point, Aversano had already rushed for 75 yards and Hallum was a perfect nine for nine passing.The second half was a different story. The Spartans had three chances inside the Ballard 40 due to a bad punt and two interceptions, the first by Adam Smith and the second by Teddy Picha. But the Beaver defense held, aided the second time by a fumble into the end zone on what appeared to be a scoring drive.And soon afterward, raised index fingers by Spartan coaches and players weren’t a premature sign of victory but exhortations to watch out for Ballard’s No. 1, sophomore Keauntea Bankhead. He and fellow sophomore Morgan, members of an undefeated freshman team the previous year, began connecting for big chunks of yardage. After an apparent touchdown pass to Bankhead was called back because of an ineligible man downfield, the Beavers had a first-and-goal on the seven. But the Spartan defense stiffened, and cornerback Scott Burkland batted away a pass on fourth and four early in the fourth quarter.After a Spartan punt, Ballard finally got on the board. Facing a third and 25, Morgan lofted a long pass down the right sideline to Bankhead, who took it away from a defender and raced into the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion made the score 25-8 with just under six minutes remaining. Late defenseBallard maintained their momentum as they recovered an onside kick. After Evans sacked Morgan for a 7-yard loss, he scrambled and found Bankhead for a 23-yard gain. Several plays later, another completion to Bankhead made it first and 10 on the 15. On third and six, Morgan passed to Bankhead, but he came down with the ball just out of the end zone. And the next play, a wide-open Beaver receiver dropped the ball to prevent an almost certain touchdown. Ballard got the ball back one final time, deep in their own territory. But on first down, Evans pressured Morgan and his hurried pass went directly to Peter-Contesse, who ran 36 yards into the end zone for a defensive lineman’s dream.For a second, I didn’t even know I had the ball, he said. Then I ran as hard as I could and then everyone was on me. This is the best feeling of my life.I was pleased with our overall performance, Coach Andy Grimm said. We’ve never been up by a significant amount like that, never jumped on somebody that fast.We were very excited in the first half. Clayton was on fire. He made some great reads. I was also a little surprised. I thought they’d be stronger than they were. They weren’t as physical as teams in the Pierce County League.Bainbridge rushed for 206 yards, with Aversano accounting for 122 on 26 carries. Walker added 50, Evans had 28 and Gary Duffner had 17. Hallum finished with 12 of 16 passing for 150 yards.Seventeen different Spartans had tackles. Duffner led the team with nine, while Marc Rasmussen had eight and P.J. Holton added seven.The team travels to Nathan Hale, 21-6 victors over Ingraham last week, this Friday for a 4:30 p.m. game. “