Spartans lose after Hazen scores with 16 seconds left

By Nicholas Zeller-Singh Bainbridge Island Review • September 3, 2022 1:30 am

Bainbridge lost a heart-breaker to Hazen Sept. 2, as the Highlanders scored with 16 seconds left in the game to eke out a 25-20 victory.

With 2:39 left in the game, it looked like the Spartans would win 20-19 after a 3-yard touchdown run by Micah Bryant.

However, a simple mistake when Hazen had the ball flipped the momentum.

“It’s an offsides penalty that killed us,” Rouser said. “It was 4th and 6, and it became 4th and 1. It looked like we were going to win.”

Coach Jeff Rouser wasn’t too disappointed.

“At the end of the day, we have a good football team,” Rouser said. “Hazen is a good team, and they play in a good league. We gotta learn from this and get ready because next week it’s going to be tough too.”

At the beginning of their opening game, the Spartan defense forced a fumble and missed a field goal. Later in the quarter, quarterback Jack Grant found the endzone on a 3-yard run to give Bainbridge a 7-0 lead.

In the next period, the Spartans began tumbling downward. “We had a really bad second quarter where we had a comedy of errors,” Rouser said.

An interception that led to a Hazen touchdown started it off. The Spartan offense also hurt itself with penalties.

“We have a history here of getting a lot of calls,” Rouser said. “We will clean this stuff up. It’s only the first game and the refs called it both ways.”

In the span of three plays, Bainbridge flipped a 2nd and 5 to 2nd and 20 because of a holding call and two delay of game penalties. Those calls occurred when the Spartans ran too many motions and shifts, not allowing them enough time to snap the ball before the clock expired.

Rouser changed that for the second half. “We cut down the motion a bit…,” he said.

Despite that, the errors continued. Grant’s pitch on an option play led to a fumble recovered by Hazen. Shortly after, the Highlanders took advantage and posted a 19-7 lead.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Bainbridge seemed to remain afloat despite turning over the ball on consecutive possessions. However, the Spartans flipped the switch with about nine minutes left when Grant scored on a 26-yard touchdown to tighten the gap.