BREMERTON — The Redhawks on the bus went silent.
But, after they reached their destination, the Redhawks on the football field went score, score, score as Port Townsend opened Olympic League 1A play with a 52-6 win over Klahowya at Silverdale Stadium.
“The whole entire bus ride, from the time we left to here, there were about three words that were spoken,” Port Townsend running back Ezra Easley said following Friday’s victory.
“That’s when we know that we’re going to have a good game.”
And the Redhawks were good from the start.
David Sua forced a fumble on Klahowya’s first play from scrimmage that was recovered by teammate David Hoglund.
On the next play, Port Townsend’s first from scrimmage, Wesley Wheeler ran for a 21-yard touchdown. And the rout was on.
Wheeler added a 2-yard TD run and Detrius Kelsall scored from 19 yards out and Port Townsend led 21-0 after one quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Easley scored on a 2-yard run to make it 28-0.
Meanwhile, the Redhawks’ defense was shutting down the Eagles, holding them to three first downs in the first quarter-and-a-half.
Klahowya, which was without starting quarterback George Harris, finally broke through on its final drive of the first half and did what no other team has been able to do so far this season: score on Port Townsend.
The Eagles drove 62 yards in 15 plays, the final one an 8-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Zuber to Nate Hough with less than a minute to play in the half.
“It was like a hit to the gut, but it was all right, we bounced back,” Port Townsend senior lineman Lucas Foster said.
The Redhawks held Klahowya to one first down in the second half, forcing a turnover on downs and two three-and-outs and intercepting Zuber.
Sua returned the interception for a score, but the touchdown was negated due to a block in the back by Port Townsend.
Klahowya coach Dan Ericson said Harris injured his leg during his physical education class Wednesday.
Port Townsend coach Nick Snyder noticed that Harris wasn’t warming up before the game, and when Zuber was announced as the starter right before the game, Snyder and defensive coordinator Tom Webster decided to keep sending pressure to keep Zuber on the move.
“That was designed. We knew he was young, inexperienced quarterback; we thought we better just flush him,” Snyder said. “It was a total different game plan.
“I’m also a little disappointed that George Harris didn’t play. He was such a great athlete on film.
“I think the next time we play them, it’s going to be a better game. They’re going to be healthy.”
Gerard Coker kicked a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter for Port Townsend and Wheeler scored his third touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run early in the fourth to push the lead to 38-6.
Wheeler finished with 19 carries for 84 yards, which tied him for the team lead with Easley, who gained 84 yards on nine carries.
Easley played a bigger role than usual in the offense because the Eagles were focused on stopping Wheeler’s runs up the middle.
“The middle runs weren’t working that good, but we were able to run the sweeps,” Easley said.
Berkley Hill replaced Sua at quarterback for the remainder of the game and threw two touchdowns, a 60-yarder to Carson Marx and a 8-yarder to Jacob Ralls.
Port Townsend finished with 449 total yards (314 rushing, 135 passing) to Klahowya’s 152 (89 rushing, 63 passing).
“We are really struggling to run the football and that affects our offense greatly,” Ericson said.
“Because if we can run the ball, then we’re pretty balanced, because we can throw the ball as good as anybody, but we just become one-dimensional and easy to beat.”
With the win, the Redhawks (1-0, 3-0) set an early tone in the Olympic League 1A, which they won last year (Klahowya came in second).
“This game was amazing,” Foster said.
“We came in wanting to defend the league title . . . and we came with a high mentality.
“We watched them on film, we knew they had good plays, but we knew our defense could cover it.
“Very impressed with my team.”
Both teams continue league play this week.
Port Townsend hosts Coupeville (1-0, 1-2), which edged Chimacum 28-26, on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Klahowya (0-1, 1-2) hosts Chimacum (0-1, 0-3) on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
