The first and last drives of the game were impeccable. It was everything in between that was a struggle for the Vashon football team last week.

Last Saturday the Pirates took on the Bellevue Christian Vikings at Lake Washington High School, losing the match 37-12.

Vashon received the opening kickoff, with junior Arthur Moore making the initial return. The Pirates then proceeded to march down the field in orderly fashion, converting five first downs in a row behind the solid running of Bryce Hoisington.  Hoisington ran in the first score of the night, and although the extra point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, the Pirates were on top 6-0 with about seven minutes to go in the first quarter.  After a couple of back and forth possessions, the Vikings got on the board with a touchdown and extra point, making the score a highly respectable 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter did not go so well for the Vashon squad. Hoisington had a great 25-yard kickoff return called back on a costly holding call against Vashon. The series that saw all Vashon gains eaten up by a delay of game penalty, a false start penalty, a fumble recovery and then a fumble turnover took the wind out of the team’s sails.  But in the final two and a half minutes of the first half, the Vashon defense showed some signs of life with Moore blocking an extra point attempt and key tackles by Logan Nelson, Chester Pruett and Hunter Stanley. Stanley also had his first reception of the year with a pass completion for a Pirate first down.

Bellevue Christian, however, scored two unanswered touchdowns and a field goal, leading to a halftime score of 23-6 for the Vikings.

The third quarter got rolling with the Vashon defense shutting down the Vikings. Several key stops in a row by Nelson, Kellan Riley and Jackson Bard led to the Pirates taking the ball over on downs.  Vashon’s advance was short lived with an interception thrown by Pruett. The Vikings scored on their next possession and again early in the fourth quarter, making the score 37-6 with 10 minutes to go in the game.

Hoisington took a kickoff back for 25 yards, but the ensuing possession included an incomplete pass, a fumble recovered by the Pirates and a quarterback sack. On fourth and 21, a bad snap to the punter resulted in the referee call that his knee was down on the pick up, giving the Vikings the ball and exceptional field position. Vashon’s secondary stepped up with Ronnie Krieger and Nate Lawson forcing a fumble.

The final Vashon possession began on the 35- yard line, and as in the first quarter, the team marched down the field.  This time they were battling the clock. They converted four first downs and were within the red zone with 13 seconds to go in the game. With Hoisington sidelined by an ankle injury, sophomore Adon Ellis stepped in and saw his first ball-carrying action of the season. He converted three of the first downs, one coming on a critical third and 12 after the quarterback had been sacked. With two seconds left on the game clock, Ellis again got the call and ran in the touchdown as the Vashon crowd held its breath and the buzzer sounded. Final score was 37-12 for a Vikings win.

This Friday the Pirates will take on the behemoth team from Cascade Christian School, predicted by many as the favorite to win the state 1A championship.  It is Homecoming for the high school, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

— Cheryl Pruett is the mother of two Pirate football players.