POULSBO — It wasn’t the result the North Kitsap Vikings football team envisioned in its homecoming game against its rivals to the south.
The Central Kitsap Cougars (6-1 overall, 3-1 league) spoiled the 50th homecoming celebration for the North Kitsap Vikings (3-4 overall, 2-2 league) cruising to a 31-12 victory Friday night in Poulsbo.
The Vikings couldn’t stop CK running back Howie McDonald, who rumbled for 282 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns.
“The line kept on driving and I was able to cut from their blocks. The guys up front did a great job. It was all because of them, not me,” McDonald said.
Cougars coach Mark Keel praised McDonald for having one of the best games of his career.
“He’s been our go-to guy this year,” he said. “He’s been excited all day today and he came out and ran hard. He really had some good cutbacks and had some big yards tonight.”
CK put North into comeback mode early in the contest, scoring two touchdowns in its first three offensive plays taking a 14-0 lead with 8:48 remaining in the first quarter.
North’s defense tightened up in the second quarter forcing two punts before the Vikings took over at their own 44-yard line with 9:37 to go in the second period.
Greg Ottele and Taylor Chisholm filled in at quarterback for the injured Kevin Stringer, who hurt his shoulder during practice last week.
Chisholm completed a 33-yard swing pass to receiver Ryan Cleaver up the sideline. Four plays later Vikings senior running back Jamaal Smith plowed his way into the endzone behind his massive offensive line for North’s first touchdown of the night, cutting CK’s lead to 14-6 with 6:23 left in the half.
The defense did an admirable job of slowing down McDonald toward the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter until he broke lose again.
McDonald scampered into the secondary on his 22nd carry of the evening, scoring on a 50-yard touchdown romp resulting in a 21-6 CK lead with 1:08 remaining in the third quarter.
With the Vikings trailing 24-6 in the fourth stanza, Smith scored North’s final touchdown of the night on 67-yard run through the teeth of the Cougars defense with 6:43 remaining in regulation.
CK running back Cole Adams scored the final touchdown of the contest in the closing minutes of the fourth.
Vikings coach Steve Frease credited his team for battling back after falling behind 14-0 early in the first quarter.
“We got down early in the game but it was only 14-6 at halftime. We were in it. I’m proud of our kids’ effort,” he said. “Losing homecoming is tough. I’m sad for our seniors. We just didn’t play our game tonight.”
“We didn’t play consistent. We couldn’t get yards when we needed to,” Ottele said. “We just didn’t get the win.”
The Vikings did manage to shutdown Central’s top receiving threat, tight end Caleb Brown. Brown finished with three receptions for a paltry 19 yards.
“He wasn’t a factor. We were prepared for his game and shut him down,” Ottele said.
Smith said the Cougars running game was tough to handle on the defensive side of the ball.
“Their offense was pretty good,” he said. “They ran the ball well between the tackles and we didn’t wrap up until it was too late in the game.”
Smith said losing homecoming as a senior is a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s a bad feeling. You wish you could turn the clock back to the beginning of the game and start over but there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “We tried the best we could. Twenty years from now when we look back on this we’ll remember we tried our hardest, and that’s all that counts.”
The Vikings look to keep their playoff hopes alive against Bellarmine this Friday night in Tacoma. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Both teams are tied for the third and final playoff spot in the Narrows League Bay Division.
