The turning point appeared to come late in the first quarter.

But from South Kitsap coach Eric Canton’s perspective, the Wolves’ problems during their 43-0 loss against Peninsula on Friday in a nonleague contest at Joe Knowles Field occurred much earlier.

“One team showed up,” Canton said. “It was obvious two hours before the game that we weren’t ready to play. Guys screwing around in the locker room. Totally lost out here during pregame warmups. It was awful.”

Peninsula (1-1) took advantage of good field position early when senior quarterback Cooper Canton fumbled on third down for a 25-yard loss to the Wolves’ 5-yard line. The Seahawks took over at South’s 42 and needed just five plays to score on a 5-yard run by Matt Shirley to take a 7-0 lead with 2 minutes, 58 seconds, left in the first quarter.

It marked a momentum shift.

Peninsula forced a three-and-out on the Wolves’ ensuing drive. Behind 5-foot-7, 189-pound senior running back Major Ali, the Seahawks had no such issues. Ali, who had 162 yards on 19 carries during the first half, handled the bulk of an 11-play drive that culminated with a 25-yard field goal by senior Logan Marten to give Peninsula a 10-0 lead with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Unable to generate much offense — South had 35 yards at halftime — the Wolves moved the ball to their 46 on the next drive and elected to go for it on fourth-and-3.

“They had just taken the ball 90 [yards] on us,” said Canton, when asked about the decision to go for it on fourth down. “Our defense had been on the field 9 of 11 minutes it seemed like.”

But Canton’s pass fell incomplete and the Seahawks once again took advantage of good field position. Buoyed by a 29-yard pass from quarterback Robert Kvinsland to Shirley, Peninsula built a 10-play drive that ended when Ali scored on a 2-yard run on third-and-goal to propel the Seahawks to a 17-0 lead at halftime.

Kvinsland, who attended junior high in the South Kitsap School District, needed just three plays during the Seahawks’ opening drive of the second half to find Hunter McKenzie for an 83-yard touchdown pass. Kvinsland completed 10 of 13 passes for 189 yards.

Peninsula’s final three touchdowns came on the ground. Ali, who rushed for 222 yards on 25 carries, scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard carry. That run was sandwiched by a 5-yard scoring run by Kyle Olson-Urbon and Jared Boerner’s 2-yard touchdown carry. The Seahawks rushed for 330 yards — 7.2 per carry.

“Nobody was even around him,” said Canton, referring to Ali’s success. “It was like running against air. They dominated the line of scrimmage — plain and simple.”

Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said his team did not lack motivation after a 30-29 loss Sept. 5 in the Fish Bowl rivalry game against Gig Harbor. The Seahawks squandered a 17-point lead in that contest.

“We feel pretty good about where we’re at and how far we’ve come,” said Filkins, whose team competes in the Class 3A South Puget Sound League and is ranked in the top 10 in their classification. “We had a good opportunity this last week to learn some really good, tough lessons. Our kids were highly motivated to come out and demonstrate that they were ready to play Seahawk football.”

The Wolves (1-1) were unable to correct some of the same issues that plagued them during their 21-3 win Sept. 5 against Central Kitsap at Silverdale Stadium. A pair of bad snaps resulted in South losing 25 yards. Canton said he was not sure whether the Wolves would continue to take snaps out of shotgun or move under center.

“Everything is an option right now,” Canton said. “We can’t even get out of our own way.”

If there was any solace for South it was that the game does not affect its playoff prospects. The Wolves open 4A Narrows play Friday against Olympia.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Canton said. “It doesn’t count in the whole scheme of things. What counts, though, is understanding that we just got destroyed.”

• Along with Kvinsland, Peninsula’s starting right tackle, 6-foot-6, 293-pound sophomore Cody Kanouse, also attended junior high in SKSD. Kanouse’s father, Adam (1988), and brother, Austin (2013), graduated from South. Adam is the Seahawks’ “Director of Opponent Research.”

• The Wolves’ margin of defeat was their largest since Nov. 14, 2009, when they lost 63-14 against Skyline in the opening round of the 4A state playoffs at Mount Tahoma.

• This marks the second time in Canton’s three-year tenure that South has been shutout. The Wolves last were held scoreless in a 31-0 loss Sept. 27 against Bellarmine Prep.

Peninsula 43, at South Kitsap 0

Peninsula 7 10 13 13 – 43

South Kitsap 0 0 0 0 – 0

First QuarterP-Matt Shirley 4 run (Logan Marten kick)

Second QuarterP-Marten 25 FGP-Major Ali 2 run (Marten kick)

Third QuarterP-Hunter McKenzie 27 pass from Robert Kvinsland (kick good)P-Kyle Olson-Urbon 5 run (kick failed)

Fourth QuarterP-Ali 1 run (kick good)P-Jared Boerner 2 run (kick good)

Individual statistics

Passing-Kvinsland (P) 10-13-0-189, Cooper Canton (SK) 11-19-1-78, Jaret Chenier (SK) 0-1-0-0.

Rushing-Ali (P) 25-222, Shirley (P) 5-21, Conner Walch (P) 2-14, Kvinsland (P) 3–6, Olson-Urbon (P) 1-5, Boerner (P) 3-30, Michael Campigotto (P) 7-44, Marshaud DeWalt (SK) 11-55, Canton (SK) 1–25, Team (SK) 2–25, Conner Reed (SK) 5-13, Drew Randall (SK) 1-3.

Receiving-Olson-Urbon (P) 5-32, Shirley (P) 2-53, McKenzie (P) 2-93, Marque Kriebel (P) 1-11, Brayden Maynard (SK) 4-41, Ramon Marin (SK) 1-7, Ross Escolta (SK) 1-2, Miles Huff (SK) 1-5, Jacob Lewis (SK) 1–1, Ian VanGesen (SK) 2-17, Kees Metselaar (SK) 1-7.