Knights pick off Falcons, 34-6

By Dan Engel
For The Enterprise

SHORELINE

For a King’s football team known for its offensive prowess, it was the defensive unit that flexed its muscle Friday night against South Whidbey at Woolsey Stadium.

The Knights forced five turnovers and held the Falcons to 213 yards of total offense and one touchdown en route to a 34-6 King’s victory in Cascade Conference play. Knights cornerback Curtis Clauson picked off two South Whidbey passes. Paul Lutgen and Joseph Jaeger each had an interception as well.

“The kids battled coming off last week when we gave up way too many yards,” said head coach Jim Shapiro. “We really challenged them to team tackle and rally to the ball. Defensively, I was really happy with the production and stopping their stud running back (Henry Mead), which is not an easy deal.”

Friday night’s win may have calmed some nerves for King’s (1A) after a tough loss the week before against undefeated Cedarcrest (2A) who rolled up 619 yards of total offense. The resounding victory over a historically tough 2A South Whidbey squad shows the team is heading in the right direction, Shapiro said.

“With Cedarcrest, even though we lost, we competed,” Shapiro said. “Tonight’s (win) is a good example that these kids are turning it around and they are starting to get some respect.”

King’s improves to 3-1 in league play and 4-2 overall. The Knights are just one game behind Cedarcrest and Archbishop Murphy teams who are 4-0 and tied for first place in the Cascade Conference. South Whidbey drops to 2-2 in conference and 3-3 overall.

Quarterback Thomas Vincent battled through some early adversity to log in another strong performance. Vincent had 22 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns. He was 11 for 17 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Nick Swanson led the team in receptions with seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

South Whidbey stepped in front of Vincent’s first pass of the game for an interception and held the quarterback to just one completion in the first quarter. Vincent eventually got on track with a touchdown strike to Swanson for the first score of the game and a 6-0 lead.

“I was just trying to stay positive and take what they were giving me,” Vincent said. “Their safeties were pushed up a little bit and that made it hard for the crossing routes.”

On the next series, Clauson picked off his first of two South Whidbey passes, which set up a 3-yard Vincent touchdown run for a 13-0 King’s halftime lead. A 63-yard, 10-play drive in the third quarter was capped off by another Vincent rushing touchdown to make it 20-0.

South Whidbey’s Mead finally broke loose with a 44-yard touchdown dash to bring the Falcons within two touchdowns. Mead finished with 22 carries for 115 yards.

But on the ensuing drive, King’s amassed another long series punctuated by yet another Vincent rushing touchdown and a 27-6 lead. The Knights put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter when Vincent found Clauson in the end zone with a 13-yard touchdown strike.

“We’re still a team that’s building off some tough seasons,” Shapiro said. “We went 0-10 two seasons ago and were 4-6 last year. Can we go up against some of these 2A schools and compete?”

The answer Friday night was “Yes.”

Next up: King’s will play 7 p.m. at Sultan (1-3, 2-4) in another Cascade Conference matchup.