In front of a packed house at Kitsap Bank Stadium, the South Kitsap Wolves started off their 2016 home opener with a loss to the Sumner Spartans.
In the opening drive, the Wolves were forced to punt after a long passing attempt to Izaijha Byrd was unsuccessful.
Connor Wedington of Sumner rambled down the field on the other end to the 7-yard line. The Spartans then broke into the end zone to go up 7-0 with nine minutes to play in the opening quarter.
After another three-and-out series by the Wolves, the Spartans pushed the ball into the end zone from the 42-yard line to increase their lead to 14.
The Spartans quickly tallied another touchdown to increase their lead to 21-0.
The highlight of the Wolves’ first quarter came from Quinn Ogan when he slid to make a catch for a 14-yard pickup. The Wolves continued to drive down the field, which culminated into a Jeffrey Williams touchdown. South Kitsap converted a two-point conversion, closing the gap to 21-8.
In an attempt to narrow the lead, South Kitsap head coach Gavin Kralik called for an onside kick. The Wolves could not recover the ball, and Sumner again capitalized to score.
The Spartans ended the first quarter with an exclamation point after picking off a pass intended for Byrd to end the quarter, upping the lead to 35-8.
The second quarter started slowly for the Wolves, who once again went three-and-out. In contract, the Spartans built a sustained drive of six minutes to to score, adding to its lead, 42-8, with six minutes to play in the half.
Sumner continued its dominance in the half when a recovery led to a return for the Spartans, increasing their lead 49-8. They then scored again, diving into the end zone to go ahead 56-8 to end the second half.
In the second half, South Kitsap’s Deyondre Davis recovered a fumble to run in for a touchdown for the Wolves. After the extra point was scored, the Wolves narrowed the gap to 56-15, and the fans found life once again.
Sumner, however, answered with a strong drive down the field. On the 23-yard line, the Spartans were stopped by the South Kitsap defense unit. Senior JJ Leota led the Wolves with a determined defensive second half.
With 5:42 left to play, the Wolves fumbled a punt return on the 18-yard line. However, due to the continued perseverance of the Wolves’ defense, the Spartans were forced to attempt a field goal, missing wide.
The Wolves began to push their way up to the field until Sumner’s defense caused a fumble. The Spartans then ran out the clock and closed out the South Puget Sound League game, 56-15.
The Wolves will attempt to get into the win column Sept. 23 against league opponent Puyallup.
