North Kitsap defeated Fife 31-7 in the second round of the state playoffs Nov.11. Although the Vikings won by a few possessions, their backs were up against the wall several times against the Trojans.

“They tested us, and we needed that, and we stepped up to the challenge and played really well,” coach Jeff Weible said.

Fife marched into North Kitsap’s red zone five times during the game but came away with only one touchdown from running back Beau I Fualaau. On the other four trips, the Vikings forced one turnover on downs, one interception when the Trojans were at the 1-yard line, and two forced fumbles.

“We played a bend but don’t break defense tonight,” Weible said. “We preach turnovers, and it was huge momentum killers for them. They moved the ball well tonight, and our defense got stops.”

In addition, Weible decided to break Fife’s hopes at the end of the first half. North Kitsap had the ball on Fife’d 30-yard line with 10 seconds left and a 14-7 lead.

“We almost pulled the trigger to kick a field goal,” Weible said. “But it was a big backbreaker for them because they probably felt pretty good going into halftime down 14-7 and getting the ball in the second half.”

Instead, Logan Sloman caught his second touchdown pass of the night to give the Vikings a 21-7 lead at halftime.

Sloman and the Vikings’ offense tallied 10 more points in the second half. Although the Vikings held tough, Weible knows there is still room to improve in following weeks.

“We need to clean up our tackling,” Weible said. “We will face a team that throws the ball pretty well so we need to work on our coverage. Limiting the mental mistakes will be the key in these next couple of weeks.”

Beau I Fualaau gave Fife their only touchdown of the night.