“FEDERAL WAY – The North Kitsap Viking football team opened their season by beating Decatur Friday night, 36-17. The game saw the Vikings attack through the air and by land, with quarterback Ryan Buchanan throwing three touchdown passes, and running back Chris Allsop rushing for 210 yards on 36 carries. Coaches and players admit that the Vikings could have played better, but they’ll take the win anyway. The offense did very good, the defense made some mistakes, head coach Jerry Parrish said after the game. There were a couple of coaching errors. It’s the first game for the players and the coaches, I guess. The game’s first score was made by the Vikings. A Decatur kickoff was high and shallow, giving the Vikings good field position. They took advantage a few plays later as quarterback Ryan Buchannan rolled out on the Decatur 19, and fired a touchdown pass to Patrick Gilbert, a sophomore, in the back of the end zone. The kick was blocked, but North held a 6-0 lead. The first two possesions for the Decatur Gators were not as smooth. A facemask penalty was called on their first offensive play of the game. A four-yard gain by quarterback Darrell Beilke and two incomplete passes followed on the first series. A sack by Allsop, playing defensive end, snuffed out the second. The Vikings marched down the field again, this time attacking by land. After a facemask penalty set them back five yards, a draw play by Tyler Bjarnson ate up 21 yards. The following play was a reverse, and the ball again ended up in Bjarnson’s hands; this time he gained 15. A short tun and a run for loss followed, but then it was Allsop’s turn to get the ball. Allsop, a senior running back and defensive end, made his first positive yardage of the evening from five yards out, punching the ball into the end zone for the Vikings’ second TD. A two-point conversion was attempted and failed. At the end of the first quarter, North Kitsap held a 12-0 lead. They continued to score in the second. Buchannan again rolled out, and again threw a touchdown pass, this time finding senior receiver Chris Johnston. On the two-point conversion attempt Buchannan used his legs instead of his arm, fighting through defenders to reach the goal line and score the two, giving the Vikings a 20-0 lead. That’s when the Gators began biting back. A fumble on a North Kitsap drive gave Decatur the ball. This time they did something with it, as quarterback Beilke threw a 14-yard touchdown pass, and the ensuing field goal made it 20-7 Vikings. North Kitsap answered. It was Allsop again, with first a 15 yard run, then an eight yard carry, then another run for 10 yards. Finally, on a first and goal, he punched it in, again from five yards out, for a touchdown. A two-point convervison made it 28-7. Both teams failed to score on their next possesions. A Nick McCluskey field goal increased the lead to 28-10, but Decatur wasn’t finished. In the second half, they threatened the Vikings again. A Buchannan pass was picked off by defensive back Daunte Brown. On a later possesion, a fumble by Mike Holm gave Decatur the ball, and they converted, with running back Jason Bressler running it into the end zone untouched. An extra point narrowed the gap even further. North Kitsap now held a 27-17 lead. As the game passed into the fourth quarter, Decatur threatened with a drive. But that drive was cut short by a North Kitsap interception. North Kitsap capitilized on their defensive play, as Ryan Buchannan’s third touchdown pass of the game was caught by a leaping Jerrod Gonzales. Buchannan also succeeded on the two-point conversion pass, which was caught by Mikew Lucas. Now North Kitsap’s lead was 36-17 in the fourth quarter. Decatur’s final drive was ended when Leif Olson, a senior defensive end, slammed into the Decatur quarterback. Buchannan, who drilled three touchdown passes, gave credit to his runner. Allsop was our workhorse, and the line was huge. Some underclassman also came up huge. It was far from a perfect game, Buchannan said. We did fairly well, but have a lot of things to work on. We fumbled the ball, and have to work on that. As for Allsop, he spread the credit around too. It’s a team game, he said. The linemen, the quarterback, everyone executed. I just ran the ball. Asked if there was just a bit of trash-talking between the Gators and Vikings, Allsop only smiled. It’s football, you know? he said. “