By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Winning their first game of the season last week with an 18-15 victory over Ballard High School, a young Rainier Beach Vikings team seemed to be hitting a positive stride halfway through the season. Coming off a bye week, the Vikings would put their 1-3 record to the test against Bishop Blanchet High School. The Bears, who were coming off a 34-28 upset win against Seattle Prep, were looking to secure a win over Rainier Beach and improve their record to 3-3 on the season.
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Both teams are in the Metro League’s Mountain division, and each team is in a must-win situation if they want to make it to the postseason.
Neither team was able to establish any type of offensive rhythm during their initial possessions to start the game, but at the six-minute mark, the Bears put together a drive that felt like they were going to strike first until Rainier Beach’s defense got three straight stops. Pressuring the quarterback to force incomplete passes, meeting the running backs at the line of scrimmage, and allowing minimal yardage, the Vikings kept Bishop Blanchet from getting into the endzone and forced a field goal attempt. Bears’ kicker Connor Welch received the perfect placement before successfully putting three points on the scoreboard for his team, and with that, they held a 3-0 lead.
Looking to score before the first quarter ended, Rainier Beach could not move the chains downfield, as Bishop Blanchet’s defense dominated the line of scrimmage, and their man-to-man coverage didn’t allow any yards after the catch. This combination on defense led to Rainier Beach being pushed back to the one-yard line and forced to punt at the start of the second quarter. Both teams lined up in special teams’ positions and Bishop Blanchet would come up with a momentum-changing play. Not only did the Bears block the Vikings’ punt attempt, but the football rolled out of bounds into Rainier Beach’s endzone for a safety. Turning defense into offense, the Bears held a 5-0 lead as they forced Rainier Beach to another punt, this time from the 20-yard line. A short kick by the Vikings gave the ball to Bishop Blanchet’s offense with a short field. Starting the drive at the 40-yard line, the Bears’ offense rallied behind running back Zach Schwaegler, who was able to evade Viking defenders for seven or more yards on the back-to-back plays. Following a holding penalty that pushed them backward, Bishop Blanchet quarterback Cole Allegro had a pass intercepted by Rainier Beach defensive back Damari King.
Now with possession and positive field position, Rainier Beach needed to put points on the board before halftime to either shorten their deficit or take the lead. Sophomore quarterback James Siva would start the drive with a screen pass to Oteka Mwamba for 25 yards. Bishop Blanchet would commit three penalties to help Rainier Beach get closer to the endzone. Playing both sides of the football, King would help the Vikings establish their rushing attack. With the ball on the 12-yard line, King would rush for eight yards, getting Rainier Beach down to the four-yard line. King would finish off the drive with a run right up the middle to score the game’s first touchdown. Although they did not complete the extra point, Rainier Beach overcame their deficit to take a 6-5 lead going into halftime.
Bishop Blanchet opened up the second half with another field goal by Welch to retake the lead at 8-6, and Rainier Beach found themselves down for the second time in the game, but that didn’t faze the Vikings. Even though Bishop Blanchet was threatening to score on multiple possessions during the second half, the Vikings’ defense stood strong when they needed to. The opportunist Vikings forced a turnover on downs, forced three-and-outs, recorded sacks, and their secondary kept everything in front of them, ultimately keeping the Bears’ offense out of sync.
Bishop Blanchet would eventually kick another field goal to take an 11-6 lead with nine minutes left in the game. Following the field goal, Rainier Beach received the kickoff, and Mwamba returned it 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 12-11 lead, and from that moment, the Vikings would take off. On defense, sophomore safety Zavion Watkins jumped a route and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown to extend the Vikings’ lead to 18-11.
Rainier Beach would get another defensive stop to give the Vikings’ offense the football back with 1:13 remaining. Facing a fourth down with 55 seconds left in the game, Rainier Beach Corey Sampson decided to go for it. King would receive the handoff, evade a blitzing defender, and would run up the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown, delivering the dagger needed to secure a win for Rainier Beach. The Vikings would convert a two-point attempt as they walked away with a 26-11 victory over Bishop Blanchet.
Throughout the duration of the game, Rainier Beach’s defense recorded two interceptions and didn’t allow a single touchdown on the evening.
Offensively, King led all scorers with two touchdowns, while Mwamba finished the game with a touchdown of his own.
With the win, the Vikings improved to 2-3 and moved into fourth place in Metro League’s Mountain Division. The Vikings will ride a two-game win streak as they face their inner-city rival, the Garfield Bulldogs, next week. Bishop Blanchet, who dropped to 2-4, will host Lincoln.
