POULSBO — Kingston High School wide receiver Jack Clearman was unstoppable.
The Buccaneer senior caught a game-high 11 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns against the North Mason Bulldogs Friday night at North Kitsap Stadium in Poulsbo.
But it wasn’t enough.
North Mason running back Brian Stromberg, who finished with 204 yards on 13 totes and two touchdowns, ran over the Kingston Buccaneers’ defense en route to a 59-29 victory for the Bulldogs (2-7 overall).
North Mason jumped out to a 14-0 lead after its opening possessions in the first quarter. Kingston (0-7 overall) had run just four offensive plays at that point. NM built a 31-7 lead by the time both teams trudged off to the locker room at halftime.
After the Kingston defense held NM to a three and out, Buccaneers quarterback Paul Bagala led his troops on a 14-play touchdown drive that ate 4:34 off the clock. Bagala called his own number on a two-yard touchdown scamper, cutting NM’s lead to 31-15 with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter.
This was the closest Kingston would get.
NM answered with a Gary Winslow 11-yard touchdown run with 3:42 in the third putting the game out of Kingston’s reach.
“I feel bad for our seniors. They showed a lot of courage leaving North Kitsap to come to Kingston in their senior year of football,” said Buccaneers coach Dan Novick. “They have done a great job in establishing a tradition here. They have laid the foundation. I wish we would have sent them out with a win tonight.”
Novick said his teams’ inability to stop the run proved costly once again.
“It doesn’t matter who’s running the ball,” he said. “We didn’t tackle well and that’s something we haven’t done all year long. As a coaching staff we have to do a better job of coaching the kids in that area. We’ve got to get better at tackling.”
Novick said his team executed nearly everything correctly on the field.
Except making the tackle.
“In my 10 years of coaching this is the first time we didn’t make a single adjustment at halftime,” he said. “It wasn’t the scheme, they were just beating us physically and we kept missing tackles. It’s something we’ll continue to work on.”
Stromberg credited his offensive line for his big night on the ground.
“The offensive line was blocking really well. I just ran hard and they did the rest,” he said. “I’m happy we got our second win of the season.”
Bulldogs coach Phil Pugh said Stromberg has the ability to break off long runs.
“He’s explosive and has a little bit of speed,” he said. “He has the ability to make plays.”
Buccaneers linebacker Chris Wade was disappointed with the team’s defensive performance.
“We just didn’t play well and didn’t do what we needed to. It’s unfortunate,” he said. “We lost but we left it all out on the field. We have pride and that’s what Kingston football already is known for.”
Novick said despite being winless thus far this season, that the future does indeed look bright for the Kingston Buccaneers football program.
“The kids that played varsity this season will have an edge against many of their opponents next year. We’re a young team that had a lot of our guys gain varsity experience under their belt this year,” he said. “Next year they will be playing against athletes who haven’t played much varsity before. The tables will be turned next year because we’ll have the experience most teams do not have.”
The Buccaneers will compete in their final game of the season at 7 p.m. this Friday night against Foster in Seattle.
Kingston High School Individual Statistics
Rushing – Paul Bagala 15-77, Alex Matthews 3-19, Daniel Orr 1-12, Jack Clearman 2-2, Devin Lewis 2- (-1), Tucker Bowman 1 (-20).
Passing – Paul Bagala 19 for 38 for 220 yards and two touchdowns, Bernie Anderson 5 for 8 for 69 yards and one touchdown, Jack Clearman 1 for 1 for 21 yards.
Receiving – Jack Clearman 11-177-3, Bernie Anderson 10-92, Tucker Bowman 5-51, George Hill 2-38, Richie Urie 1-9.
