By Airik Myers
The Seattle Medium
On Saturday, the Rainier Beach Vikings took on the visiting Battle Ground Tigers in what ended up being an offensive explosion from Beach. The defensive stops and several unanswered first half scores by the Vikings resulted in a 61-7 victory over the Tigers.
The game started with some aggressive play by the Vikings, who were clearly eager to make a statement. They began the game going for a fake punt to pick up a first down and put them in scoring position. On the next play, running back Day’Jon Brooks punched it in from 3 yards out for the first score of the game to give Rainier Beach a 7-0 lead after the PAT.
On their next possession, Beach marched down the field and quarterback Jihad Abdul-Haqq, who completed 8 of 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown on the day, threw a perfect pass to Sammy King from 2 yards out for a touchdown. King was a machine for Beach, ending the game with three interceptions, a few pass breakups, and 2 touchdowns.
Battle Ground would respond with a big play of their own, a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Seth Workman to receiver Boden Strouse. Workman would finish the game completing 6 of 15 passes for 84 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Battle Ground touchdown seemed to ignite a fire in the Beach Boyz as they responded with a burst of offensive scores. On the very next drive, The Vikings’ Ari Patu took off for a 59-yard touchdown run to begin to put the game out of reach.
The Vikings defense, which was electric all day long, forced a Tigers punt. Only this time, like a play out of a video game, Xavier Bowen caught the punt and with a head full of steam returned the punt 67 yards for a touchdown, on a play that saw Bowen made every Tiger player miss him on his way to the end zone. The punt returned for a touchdown would end the half with Rainier Beach leading Battle Ground 35-7.
The second half was more of the same for the Vikings offense. Xzavier Burton started the second half scoring with a touchdown run from 2 yards out. Then Jamezz Johnson found the end zone twice, the second run coming on a huge 66-yard cut back run for a score. Then quarterback Trey Morris ended the game with a final touchdown pass to Jaylen Green.
Rainier Beach finished with 346 yards to Battle Grounds 137, despite racking up several penalties in the first half, and won the game due to 4 forced turnovers.
Final score Rainier Beach 61, Battle Ground 7
Click to view more Metro League Scores & Highlights
Pictorial Highlights of Rainier Beach vs. Battle Ground
Photos by Adam Myers
