Football
The Bainbridge football team slugged it out with the North Thurston Rams Friday, but it took a game-saving block by big man Nik Moore to earn a 38-35 win Friday night in Lacey and run its record to 5-1.
Moore, who stands 6-5, is part of a defensive group that includes Karl Hunt at 6-3 and Cameron Brink at 6-4 who are brought in on field goal attempts to add some height on the Spartans’ block attempts.
He was able to get free and stop North Thurston kicker Joey Renaud’s 25-yard attempt with just seconds remaining in the game.
“He (Moore) got his guy to block (teammate Chris Hurlow) so that created a seam where Moore went in,” head coach Andy Grimm said. “He laid out and got a good extension on it.”
Along with Moore’s heroics, Corey Touchette and Alex Crane each ran for over 100 yards. Touchette had 123 and two touchdowns while Crane had 104 yards and one score.
Carson Zajonic threw for 135 yards and had the game winning score with a one-yard sneak with 30 seconds left. Chris Bell caught seven passes for 98 yards. Nick Miller also had a rushing touchdown and Will Devereaux kicked a 37-yard field goal.
“We have a pretty resilient group,” Grimm said. “This is our third game of the season when its come down to the wire and the kids don’t give up. They’re pretty calm, cool and collected about it. It’s fun to see.”
Their resiliency will be tested Friday against O’Dea at home.
Bainbridge has yet to beat the Irish since the Spartans’ move to the Metro League in 2001.
The recent projections done by the News Tribune pegs Bainbridge as a fifth seed coming out of Metro, but Grimm said he’d like to throw a monkey wrench in those predictions.
“We have to take care of the ball, force turnovers, win the special teams battle, we keep them in long field (situations) and we take care of the clock we’re in the game,” he said. “We’re battling to win it.”
Rope Skippers
Eight girls from the Bainbridge Island Rope Skippers performed very well at the 2010 Rope Skipping World Championships and World Youth Tournament July 28-Aug. 4 at Loughborough University in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.
Out of 700 competitors from 22 countries, Abigail Harrison and Sarah Sharman took first in the synchronized pairs freestyle routine in the 12 to 14-year-old age category.
Amanda Stevenson and Chloe Dolese finished tenth and 12th, respectively, in the singles freestyle for the 18 and over age division while Kelsey Gonwick took 14th in the 15 to 17-year-old age category.
Emily Applewhite and Molly Harrison finished in the top 25 for the pairs freestyle routine competition while the foursome of Applewhite, Harrison, Gonwick and Jessica Fay finished in the top 25 in the single rope team freestyle.
Girls soccer
The Bainbridge girls’ soccer team got a big gift in its 2-1 win over Seattle Prep Thursday, but lost to Eastside Catholic 1-0 on Tuesday.
Against the Panthers, Veronica Saez tied the game in the 51st minute on an assist from Kelly Crane, then got the bonus of a Prep own goal in the 56th minute.
Rugby
The Bainbridge Barbarians RFC, a newly created club rugby team, played their first rugby game Oct. 2, losing 16-11 to Microsoft RFC at Battle Point Park under no-contact rules.
AJ Fisher led the Barbarians with four tries while Jeff Betinol, an ex-U.S. international player, scored five tries.
Tom Burgess, one of the founders of the team, said they are looking for players of all ages and experience levels. They plan to play more matches over the winter and spring and field a team of 15-year-olds in the spring.
For more info, visit www.bainbridgebarbarians.com or call Burgess at 425-864-3215.
