By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Ballard Beavers scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete a dramatic come-from-behind 15-14 victory over the Chief Sealth Seahawks last night in Metro League action at Northwest Athletic Complex.
Chief Sealth entered the game looking for its first win of the season after losses to Seattle Prep and Roosevelt, while Ballard was coming off a 23-6 victory over Lincoln and a 45-3 loss to O’Dea.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first quarter, with both defenses keeping the opposing offense out of the end zone. Ballard moved into Chief Sealth territory on its opening possession, but penalties stalled the Beavers’ offensive momentum, wiping out big gains by Wyatt Minear and Benji Stephens. A costly penalty also erased a 15-yard run by quarterback Isaiah Parker before Ballard eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Chief Sealth 24-yard line.
Chief Sealth had similar trouble sustaining drives against Ballard’s defense, punting twice during the opening quarter. The Beavers began to find some momentum late in the period when Parker connected with Owen Gallo for a 13-yard completion, but the game remained scoreless heading into the second quarter.
Chief Sealth’s defense produced the first turnover of the game when Seneca Nguyen intercepted a Ballard pass, but the Beavers’ defense quickly answered by forcing a punt.
Parker then began finding success through the air, connecting with Luca Erbeck for 25 yards and Minear for gains of 17, 15 and 10 yards. He also found Bryson Meyer for a 20-yard gain, but another promising Ballard possession ended with a fumble recovered by Chief Sealth.
This time, the Seahawks capitalized.
Loto Amituanai helped move Chief Sealth down the field with several strong runs, including gains of 15 and 12 yards, before Michaal Wayman connected with Nguyen for a 41-yard completion that moved the Seahawks deep into Ballard territory. With seconds remaining in the half, Ty Rains scored from 25 yards out, and Diego Ortiz Avalos converted the extra point to give Chief Sealth a 7-0 halftime lead.
Chief Sealth appeared to take control in the second half. The Seahawks continued to find success on the ground and through the air before Jeampy Kamili scored a touchdown in the third quarter. The extra point extended Chief Sealth’s lead to 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter, with Ballard still looking for its first points of the game.
The Seahawks continued to apply pressure early in the fourth, with Nguyen contributing on the ground and Wayman making plays through the air as Chief Sealth tried to protect its two-touchdown lead.
But the game was far from over.
After being held scoreless for three quarters, Ballard’s offense finally broke through. On third-and-goal, Jack Rees scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to put the Beavers on the board and give them the spark they had been looking for.
Then Ballard’s defense delivered. With Chief Sealth backed up at its own 6-yard line, Everett Polanski made a tackle for loss in the end zone for a safety, cutting the Seahawks’ lead to 14-9 and putting Ballard within one touchdown of taking the lead.
The Beavers completed the comeback when Parker connected with Minear for a 40-yard touchdown pass, giving Ballard its first lead of the game at 15-14. After trailing by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, Ballard had scored 15 unanswered points and held on the rest of the way for the one-point victory.
After the game, Chief Sealth head coach Daron Camacho said his team is focused on climbing to the top one day at a time.
“Tonight we saw a glimpse of how good we can be. We met several of our game goals, like two defensive turnovers, the interception by Seneca, and a forced fumble on the goal line,” said Camacho. “We also wanted to get in the end zone this week, and we had our touchdowns by Ty who caught that touchdown as time expired going into the halftime, and then Jeampy’s rushing touchdown in the third quarter.”
For Ballard head coach Ian Essig, the comeback demonstrated his team’s “next play mentality.”
“We had great composure; we never gave up,” said Essig. “Even when we were down 14 in the 4th quarter, we believed we were the best team on the field. We always believe in us.”
