By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, the Rainier Beach Vikings took on the Central Kitsap Cougars in a non-league matchup to start the 2025 3A high school football season that saw the Vikings score 36 unanswered points en route to a 36-21 victory.
The Cougars started the first quarter with possession of the ball and high spirits. But Rainier Beach’s Achilles Reyna had other plans. Reyna’s tackle of Central Kitsap’s Larry Williams Lii on the first play of the game sparked a flurry of intense defensive stops by the Vikings. The Vikings’ Zevion Watkins stopped Central Kitsap’s Mason Raty after a short gain, and although Rainier Beach incurred a 5-yard offsides penalty, the Vikings continued to build momentum as Willie Manning III and SirJewel Glover recorded back-to-back tackles, forcing the Cougars to punt on fourth down.
After taking possession of the ball, the Vikings’ Yusef Parrish broke loose on a 40-yard run that ignited the Rainier Beach sideline. However, the Cougars’ defense gained some momentum of its own as it rose to the occasion and forced a turnover on downs, with Central Kitsap’s Jordan House making a big tackle on the Vikings’ Mehki Fields. Despite the turnover on downs, Rainier Beach clapped back, as Glover intercepted a pass near the 5-yard line to swing momentum back in favor of the Vikings.
Rainier Beach head coach Corey Sampson then called a timeout to strategize how to get the ballgame moving again. Following the timeout, the Vikings were unable to move the ball and were forced to punt on fourth down.
In the closing minutes of the opening quarter, the Vikings’ defense showcased its strength. Daniel Haynes, Jay’Shaun Banks-Hall, Manning III and Reyna all made key stops to stall the Cougars’ progress. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Cougars, who were actively working to not let the scoreboard go untouched during the first quarter, as Kevin Morales broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown run, and Leo Bosh made the extra point attempt to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
As the second quarter started, both teams struggled to gain offensive momentum as they rapidly alternated possessions. A face mask penalty on Central Kitsap gave Rainier Beach five free yards, but a holding penalty on Sunako Lealao Jr. immediately pushed them back 10. On fourth down from the 27-yard line, Raty intercepted a pass in the end zone, halting a promising drive by the Vikings.
Despite the big play by Raty, the Cougars once again punted the ball away to Rainier Beach after a big stop by Banks-Hall.
Following the punt, Rainier Beach’s Oteko Mwamba put his team on the scoreboard for the first time of the night with a 50-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt was no good, leaving the score at 7-6, with the Vikings trailing by 1 point with five minutes to go in the first half. Central Kitsap continued to slowly move the ball downfield, but timely plays by the Vikings kept the Cougars at bay as the teams went into halftime with the score 7-6 in favor of Central Kitsap.
Rainier Beach opened the second half on fire. Watkins returned the kickoff to the 35-yard line, then on first-and-10 broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run. Esquire Williams added a two-point conversion, giving the Vikings their first lead of the game at 14-7. After a tough defensive stand, Watkins struck again, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run as the Vikings extended their lead to 20-7 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The Cougars were slowly falling out of sync and showing signs of defeat—until Central Kitsap’s Cash Delossantos gave his team a glimmer of hope as he intercepted a Rainier Beach pass in the end zone.
However, the Vikings closed out the quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Marques Illi-Meneese on fourth-and-goal at the Cougars’ 10-yard line, as Rainier Beach stretched its lead to 28-7 following a two-point conversion by Fields to end the quarter.
The fourth quarter began with tensions flaring on the field. As the physicality of the game intensified, Central Kitsap was forced to punt again, giving the Vikings possession at their own 42-yard line. With his eyes on the end zone, Williams threw a 58-yard pass to Ameer Johnson for a touchdown, and Williams then ran for a two-point conversion to make the score 36-7.
After allowing 36 unanswered points, the Cougars finally got back on the scoreboard, as Grant Figueroa caught a 25-yard touchdown pass, which was followed by a successful extra point attempt by Bosh as the Cougars cut the lead to 36-14.
Late in the game, Central Kitsap continued to show fight. They forced Rainier Beach to turn the ball over on downs and quickly moved the ball into the red zone. With a minute left and the ball on the 12-yard line, the Cougars pushed closer. On fourth-and-1 from the 3-yard line, Figueroa connected with Williams Lii for a 3-yard touchdown pass as the clock expired.
Following the touchdown, in a final losing effort, Bosh made the extra point kick, bringing the game to an end with a final score of 36-21 in favor of the Rainier Beach Vikings.
After the game, Sampson celebrated the first win of the regular season with his team and said he’s already looking ahead to next week’s matchup against the defending state champion O’Dea Fighting Irish—a game he described as even bigger.
“We have to figure some things out,” said Sampson. “We had too many penalties, but besides that not a bad job tonight. It’s the first game of the season, I know there were some jitters there, but we have to start off fresh next week. This game is over, and next week is a big one, and we are going to see where we are at. We celebrate tonight, but we get better tomorrow.”
