It was a night — a long night — of touchdowns, team yardage totals and a football quarterback record.
But most of the extraordinary gridiron accomplishments were accomplished by South Kitsap opponent Puyallup in a Sept. 23 South Puget Sound 4A league football game.
What started out as a back-and-forth battle between South Kitsap and Puyallup resulted in another disappointing loss for the Wolves, 77-60 at Kitsap Bank Stadium in Port Orchard.
The high-scoring game produced several joking references to it being a score suitable for a basketball game by news outlets throughout the state.
Puyallup quarterback Nathaniel Holcomb was steller. He threw for 451 yards and 10 touchdown passes, which set an 11-man state high school football record.
The Wolves hung with the Vikings through the first half of this high-scoring game by trading touchdowns, but the second half was a different beast. Once the teams resumed play in the second half, it was all Puyallup on the football field.
“We feel better than last year in the sense that we are able to be much more competitive in the first half of football games,” said head coach Gavin Kralik of the Wolves’ game against Puyallup. “We know we need to finish football games. We are getting closer, but we need to play four quality quarters of football to win games in this league.”
Even when the pressure in the second half lessoned, South Kitsap produced several important takeaways, including the observation that junior Garrison Glisson, South Kitsap’s quarterback for the night, can step into the Wolves’ offense and take control of games when needed.
Glisson showed his arm strength and footwork several times during the game, including 72-yard touchdown reception to finally put the Wolves on the board. He then followed it up with a 75-yard pass down the field to Izaijha Byrd to once again score for the Wolves.
Jimmy Olmstead, a cornerback, also was a defensive mainstay, forcing Holcomb to throw three interceptions.
This loss put the Wolves at 0-4 for the season, 3-0 in SPSL action.
The Wolves’ next game is at Olympia against the Bears at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30. With the team working to get on track this week in practice, Kralik is preparing for the Wolves’ battle against the Bears, who are currently atop the SPSL with a record of 4-0.
“We need to play much better against the run [offense] than we did in the first three games,” Kralik said.
“Olympia’s running back is very good, and we will have to be much better in this area to have a shot.
“Offensively, we need to limit our three-and-outs. We are scoring on offense, but we put our defense in a tough position when we have three-and-outs and turn over short fields that our defense has to defend.”
