The Kingston Buccaneers had just about every golden opportunity you could get in a first half of football with 1A Nisqually League powerhouse Cascade Christian: an average starting field position on their opponent’s 37-yard line through six first-half drives, two straight drives by the Cougars cut short by interceptions and three trips inside the red zone.

Most teams in Washington might find themselves on the winning side of those 24 minutes, but a combination of Cougar trickery, three red zone turnovers and countless missed opportunities left the Bucs scoreless against the odds and trailing by 21 at halftime.

Cascade Christian cruised from there, winning 49-7.

“Our plan was sound,” second-year coach Ethan Goldizen said. “Once the second half came around, we got a little tired, but defensively, we were sound for the first half at least.”

The teams met a week earlier than expected, league cancellations creating an impromptu contest at Sunset Stadium in Sumner.

Kingston’s defense went right to work to find a weakness in a Cougar offense that scored 72 points the previous week. The earliest results were promising, the Buccaneers forcing a three-and-out and nearly forcing a second-consecutive punt on the following defensive series. An illegal substitution penalty instead gave the Cougars the means to run a fake punt play, and the conversion aided Cascade Christian’s first touchdown drive of the game.

A botched punt after a second three-and-out gave Cascade a short field and another scoring drive. The Bucs began to successfully move the football for the first time and drove down to the Cougar 14-yard line. A fumbled handoff ended any scoring hope, and it wouldn’t be the last time Kingston left points on the field. A turnover on downs and interceptions by senior Riley Adams and sophomore Solo Tameilau gave the Bucs starting field positions on the Cascade 42- 3- and 20-yard lines. The ending to those three drives: turnover on downs and two end-zone interceptions.

“Both interceptions were on touchdown plays, but you know, fundamentals with the quarterback position, position on the routes just getting them more crisp,” Goldizen said. “I think, schematically, we did fine but have a couple of things to address probably going into next week.”

The loss drops Kingston to 0-4. As fate might have it, the Cougars and Bucs will clash again at Kingston Oct. 4.

“It’s another opportunity to take it one week at a time,” Goldizen said. “We are taking it one step at a time, one season at a time, so we can build this program up to what it’s supposed to be.”

Kingston senior Kyler Hedstrom searches for a flag on an incomplete pass.