It has been quite some time since Week 1 felt so good for the South Kitsap Wolves football team.

Senior Brycen Clay’s four rushing touchdowns, two passing scores from quarterback Franklin Fox to receiver Noah Porter and a 41-yard Owen Kraut pick-six had the Wolves sitting comfortably on their way back to the locker room with a 47-8 lead Sept. 5 over the Kentridge Chargers—all in the first half.

By the time the full 48 minutes of football had elapsed, second-year coach Sean Banks had secured the program’s first opening week win in a full regular season since 2015, excluding the 2020-21 COVID spring season.

And yet Banks wanted more out of the 54-14 victory over Kentridge, which had gone winless last year. Banks made it clear after the game that there were too many miscues. “I was happy for the kids,” he said. “It’s great that we have our playmakers, but the execution was not to the standard. Good enough isn’t acceptable anymore.”

Kraut, the senior linebacker, said, “We just need to stay locked in and focused. Twice, I ran on the wrong side of the field. Got to clean it up.”

A slow start to the game via an exchange of stalled offensive drives quickly set the stage for a career night for Clay, the senior back running for a 43-yard gain into the Chargers’ red zone and punching it in two plays later for the game’s first points.

A Kentridge drive capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion gave the visitors an 8-7 lead. But junior SK QB Fox responded well. A deep ball found the hands of wide-open senior wideout Porter to put the Wolves within striking distance. Clay’s number was called again to finish the job, and he found paydirt from 5-yards out to make it 13-8.

A forced fumble quickly gave the Wolves the ball back, and just seconds into the second quarter, Clay did it again, this time from 8-yards away.

“It felt great coming out with my guys,” Clay said, having added a fourth rushing score later that quarter. “I told ‘em before the game that we didn’t come to participate. We came to dominate tonight, and we did.”

The Fox-Porter passing combination connectedfor a pair of second-quarter touchdowns of 29 and 37 yards. The two connected again for the Wolves’ lone score in the second half.

The defense allowed just two scores despite missing a key player in senior Josaiah Asuega. Banks said after the game that he is expected to be available next week, attributing his inactive status to a preplanned matter. Banks looks forward to seeing what his team looks like at 100%. “We need to execute, and we have to play better,” he said.

Junior quarterback Franklin Fox runs out of bounds just as a Kentridge defender starts to wrap him up.

Senior Decan Mulligan-Bowers makes a grab at a Kentridge fumble in the first quarter.

Senior wide receiver Noah Porter fights through a tackle.

South Kitsap’s football team emerges from the locker room and onto the field for the first game of the 2024 season.