FORKS — With assistance from a veteran offensive line and a stout fullback, Forks tailback Cole Baysinger is making it look effortless early on for the Spartans (3-0).
Baysinger racked up a staggering 352 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries — scoring on runs of 11, 56, 48, 64 and 22 yards — as Forks ran past Chimacum 52-7 in a nonleague contest Friday at Spartan Stadium.
“I wouldn’t be getting back there [the end zone] if the line wasn’t setting the edge,” Baysinger said. “I wouldn’t be getting past them and getting my speed going.”
Baysinger is a weapon from any spot on the field, a speedy blur who has a nose for finding creases, breaking the containment of defenses and exploiting running lanes with well-timed cutbacks.
“We couldn’t match up with his speed and his ability to cut,” Chimacum assistant coach Tony Haddenham said.
“We knew he could make those moves and worked on it to try and prepare for it in practice. And he’s a strong runner, too. He can take some hits.”
Friday night’s numbers bring Baysinger’s season totals to 818 rushing yards and 14 TDs.
“He’s doing something special,” Spartans coach Emil West said. “He is a phenomenal athlete and he’s becoming the leader we want him to become. He’s magical and he’s fun to watch.”
Fullback Caleb Peters also added 15 carries for 122 yards and a TD as Forks rolled up 515 rushing yards on the previously unbeaten Cowboys (2-1).
And the Spartans moved the ball through the air. Brett Moody caught five passes from Gabe Reaume for 86 yards, including a 19-yard TD, and Reaume finished with 101 passing yards.
The Spartans defense only gave up just 103 yards of total offense, 31 on the ground and 72 through the air, in the victory.
But there’s room for improvement, yet. Penalties, particularly holding calls on the offensive line, were numerous and Forks lost three fumbles.
”We want a little bit more,” West said.
“First half we had some mistakes and we talked about that all week, we can’t have those tiny mistakes because those build up.
“On the whole, the score looks good, we can run the ball all day. The holding penalties, we are going to take a look at those. I didn’t see many legit ones, maybe one or two. I saw kids working hard with their hands inside and I didn’t quite get it. Second half got a little crazy with so many calls coming back.
“We are going to face better competition and we need to mind our P’s and Q’s.”
Chimacum had a couple of opportunities early on, two possessions inside of the Forks 40-yard line in the first quarter, but failed to pick up a first down as the Spartans defensive line and linebackers contained the Cowboys double-wing offense and forced two turnover on downs.
“We thought we had a pretty good gameplan going up against a bigger, stronger team,” Chimacum head coach Mike Dowling said. “But we couldn’t do much of anything up front.”
The Cowboys were forced to punt seven times and turned the ball over on an interception by Baysinger and a fumble forced by freshman Tony Hernandez-Flores.
“Our D-line stepped up and our linebackers played the best they have all year,” Baysinger, said.
“This was the first time we’ve really faced a team that can run the ball. The first two teams we played were spread offenses and Chimacum tried to pound the rock and our line and linebackers really stepped up.”
The Cowboys managed just 31 rushing yards on 27 carries — a testament to the Spartans’ stiff defense.
“The defensive line is starting to make a name for themself,” West said. The O-line has because of all the rushing yards we are putting up. But the D-line is a solid group that is tough to contend with.”
Brett Moody led the way for Forks with two sacks. The Spartans also got help inside from Luke Dahlgren, Iziah Morton, Trey Baysinger, Caleb Peters and Shane Queen.
“Brett Moody is a killer at D-end. But the defensive tackles, they came to play today.
“We have some major depth at defensive line. They are getting the pash rush going and they aren’t biting on the fakes, and they are making tackles.”
Chimacum scored its touchdown in an unusual manner. Quarterback Cole Dotson took the snap from center and handed off to Peyton Hundley. Hundley ran right then threw back to Dotson but the ball bounced on the turf and was slickly fielded by Dotson, a Chimacum baseball player. Dotson then uncorked a deep pass to Issac Purser for a 32-yard score to make it 28-7 at halftime.
But Forks was too strong for any Cowboys’ comeback. Baysinger took a handoff and bounced right on the Spartans’ first offensive play from scrimmage in the second half, pushing over a Chimacum defender, cutting back to his left and scampering 48 yards for a touchdown.
Forks hosts Neah Bay (0-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, while the Cowboys visit perennial 1A powerhouse Cascade Christian on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sunset Stadium in Sumner.
Forks 52, Chimacum 7
Chimacum 0 7 0 0— 0
Forks 14 14 16 8— 52
First Quarter
F—Baysinger 11 run (Moody pass from Reaume)
F—Peters 1 run (pass failed)
Second Quarter
F—Baysinger 56 run (run failed)
F—Moody 19 pass from Reaume (Moody pass from Reaume)
C—Purser 32 pass from Dotson (Purser kick)
Third Quarter
F—Baysinger 48 run (Moody pass from Reaume)
F—Baysinger 64 run (Reaume run)
Fourth Quarter
F—Baysinger 22 run (Peters run)
Individual Stats
Rushing—C: Shaw 8-22, Storm 9-21, Bainbridge 4-9, Dickerson 1-1, Caldwell 1-1, Dotson 4-(-23). F: Baysinger 20-352, Peters 15-122, Demorest 2-31, Thompson 2-10.
Passing—C: Dotson 7-15-72, TD, INT. Hundley 0-1-0. F: Reaume 6-12-101, TD; Flores 0-1-0.
Receiving—C: Purser 5-66, Storm 2-6 F: Moody 5-86, Demorest 1-15.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
