A playoff berth will be on the line for South Kitsap’s regular-season finale.
But that was not coach Eric Canton’s first thought after Friday’s 20-0 win against Stadium in a Class 4A Narrows League contest at Joe Knowles Field.
“It’s absolutely embarrassing,” said Canton, referring to the muddy field at South. “Kids getting hurt. It’s pathetic.”
Senior quarterback Cooper Canton shared similar sentiments.
“It was wet, cold and slippery,” said Canton, who slipped and fell onto his back as he punted during the second half. “Then it started raining and it turned awful. It was a mud pit.”
Both teams stuck with conservative, run-oriented game plans and appeared poised to take a scoreless stalemate into halftime. Along with the poor field conditions — the school’s girls soccer team moved its regular-season finale to Silverdale Stadium for that reason — rain further soaked the field throughout the game.
“It had an enormous effect,” Canton said. “You can’t play football on this.”
But the Tigers elected to test that theory when quarterback Cody Schoeler dropped back to pass from his own 16-yard line on first down. He was intercepted by junior linebacker Mikey Garcia, who returned it for a 19-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining in the first half.
“We were going to call timeout irregardless just because you never know,” Canton said. “They might fumble a snap or something like that might happen.”
Despite that, the younger Canton expressed surprise that Stadium took that risk given that the Tigers were set to receive the kickoff to open the second half.
“In that situation, you’re getting the ball back to start the second half,” he said. “I expected them to just run the clock out.”
As the Wolves’ 1994 state championship team, which held a pair of opponents scoreless en route to a 13-0 record, was honored, the school’s current defense did not allow any passing yards. Schoeler had a pair of completions, but both were negated by penalties.
“The defense played a great game with the conditions we had,” the younger Canton said. “All of the credit to them.”
After forcing a punt to open the second half, South (3-5 overall, 2-3 league) built a 10-play drive that culminated with a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal from Canton to junior Miles Huff.
The Wolves then essentially ruined any Stadium (0-8, 0-6) comeback hopes on the Tigers’ next drive. Stadium drove to South’s 21-yard line, but senior defensive back Jovian Dean intercepted Schoeler on third-and-9. Senior defensive back Jeremy Button also twice intercepted Schoeler during the first half.
“We felt that if we had them throwing the ball, we were in good shape,” Eric Canton said. “We were where we wanted to be. It’s hard to throw in this stuff. I don’t care who it is.”
At times, it seemed that the Wolves’ defensive backs had more success catching passes than their receivers.
“Coach (Dustin) Booth has the wide receivers,” Canton said, laughing. “I coach the defensive backs.”
After Dean’s interception, South finished a nine-play drive with a 3-yard run by senior Marshaud DeWalt that helped the Wolves secure their first win at Joe Knowles Field this season. The Wolves also earned their first shutout since they defeated Kentridge 40-0 on Sept. 5, 2013, at French Field.
It also might mark the last time South competes at its home field this season. As his team prepares to play against Timberline (4-4, 2-3) on Friday at South Sound Stadium in a game that will decide the league’s fourth — and final — playoff seed, Canton hopes to practice on a turf field leading up to the game.
If the Wolves lose against the Blazers, they would be in position to request a home game against a 3A Narrows opponent because they traveled for their crossover game in 2013 and only played four home games this year. But Canton made his feelings clear on that prospect.
“I don’t want to play here,” said Canton, noting that the football program’s junior-varsity and C-team squads have contributed to the field’s demise. “It’s ridiculous. I feel bad for our kids and I feel bad for anybody that comes here because this is not the way it should be.”
At South Kitsap 20, Stadium 0
Stadium 0 0 0 0 – 0
South Kitsap 0 7 7 6 – 20
Second Quarter
SK-Mikey Garcia 19 INT (Kees Metselaar kick)
Third Quarter
SK-Miles Huff 6 pass from Cooper Canton (Kees Metselaar kick)
Fourth Quarter
SK-Marshaud DeWalt 3 run (kick failed)
Individual statistics
Passing-Canton (SK) 6-13-1-31, Cody Schoeler (S) 0-10-4-0.
Rushing-Ramon Marin (SK) 10-43, DeWalt (SK) 21-114, Canton (SK) 1–11, Drew Randall (SK) 6-4, Jerrit Chenier (SK) 1–1, Ricky Jones (SK) 2–9, Team (SK) 1-0, Dylan Rychtarik (S) 26-102, Schoeler (S) 2–4, Trey Caldwell (S) 3-2.
Receiving-Dustin Garcia (SK) 2-9, Huff (SK) 2-7, Dominic Vargas (SK) 1-12, DeWalt (SK) 1-3.
