PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend achieved a number of firsts on its way to earning a second consecutive Class 1A state football tournament appearance after rolling up Charles Wright 49-7 at Memorial Field.
It’s the third back-to-back state appearance in school history, and the first since 2003-2004. The Redhawks (7-3) will travel south to face La Center (9-1), likely in Woodland next weekend.
The state berth also is the first for Alex Heilig, who is in his initial season leading Port Townsend.
“You’ve earned what we’ve been working so hard for all season,” Heilig said as his team gathered around the coaching staff in the west end zone
The Redhawks scored on the opening possession of Friday’s game, as a 49-yard quarterback keeper by senior Berkley Hill set up an 11-yard rumble up the middle by Detrius Kelsall on his first carry of the game.
Port Townsend then forced and recovered a Charles Wright fumble on the Tarriers’ first play from scrimmage. Four plays later, Kelsall, who admitted to playing some pickup basketball at the Jefferson County Rec Center before the game, was in the end zone again, this time from 5-yards out to give the Redhawks a 14-0 lead.
After forcing an incomplete pass on 4th down inside their own red zone, Hill broke loose again, cutting left to right across the field, finding the sideline and streaking for a 54-yard score and a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
“Yeah, basketball, my second sport, it will have to wait,” Kelsall said of the upcoming start of the winter sports season.
“We’ve got some work to do before then.”
Kelsall said a week’s worth of focus in practice helped his team jump out to a big lead on the Tarriers.
“We did start fast. We all knew how important it was to get this win for the seniors and keep this going.
“All week, Coach [Heilig] was telling us it wouldn’t be easy and if we wanted it [a state berth] we had to go and get it. We did that tonight.”
Kelsall added Port Townsend’s fourth touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, catching a pass from Hill in the right flat and pounding his way to the pylon for a 28-0 lead.
The junior pounded out 70 yards on 17 carries and also hauled in a deflected pass for an interception after defensive lineman Robert Hammett tipped a Charles Wright pass.
“Getting out to that big lead really helped,” Heilig said.
“That’s a good team over there, but we capitalized very well. The coaches did a really good job of game-planning to get us prepared to shut down their run game. And once we got up on them, they had to get a little more one-dimensional than they wanted to be and throw more than they probably would have liked. “
Charles Wright managed just 20 rushing yards on 22 carries. Port Townsend also held the Tarriers’ passing game in check, limiting quarterback Henry Lenaberg to 138 yards passing while completing 14 of 29 attempts.
Charles Wright got a score back on a 3-yard run by James Vogelgesang, but Hill and the Redhawks answered on their next drive, with the QB running in from 14 yards for a 35-7 halftime lead.
Hill totaled 11 carries for 141 yards in the first half on his way to a 19 carry, 200-yard performance.
“Our o-line opened up some good holes for him tonight,” Kelsall said. Kelsall also helped out his quarterback with some solid downfield blocking, including a pancake block in full view of the Port Townsend sideline.
“I was grinding for yards. I just want to do everything I can for the team.”
Hill completed 10 of 14 passes for 103 yards and a TD, along with two interceptions, in the win. He also recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Charles Wright’s Ethan Mayer flubbed a punt near his own goal line.
Kyle Blankenship capped the scoring with a 1-yard TD run with two minutes to play. Blankenship caught two passes for 57 yards and rushed for 30 more yards in his final game at Memorial Field.
“The seniors have done a lot for us this season and were a big part of the success of the last few years,” Heilig said.
“After the big senior exodus [from last year’s 10-1 team] and the coaching change there was maybe not a lot of faith the team could get back [to state]. But they’ve continued to answer the call and earned a shot in the playoffs.”
Port Townsend 49, Charles Wright 7
Charles Wright 0 7 0 0— 7
Port Townsend 21 14 0 14— 49
First Quarter
PT—Kelsall 11 run (Coker kick)
PT—Kelsall 5 run (Coker kick)
PT—Hill 54 run (Coker kick)
Second Quarter
PT—Hill 14 run (Coker kick)
CW—Voegelgesang 3 run (Chissoe kick)
PT— Kelsall 8 pass from Hill (Coker kick)
Fourth Quarter
PT—Hill fumble recovery in end zone (Coker kick
PT—Blankenship 1 run (Coker kick
Individual Stats
Rushing—CW: Voegelsgang 18-21, Meadowcroft 2-6, Nunez 3-5, Lenaberg 1-(-6). PT: Hill 19-200, Kelsall 17-70; Blankenship 6-30.
Passing—CW: Lenaberg 14-29-2, 138. PT: Hill 10-14-2, 103, TD.
Receiving—CW: Nunez 2-47, Lundberg 6-46, Mayer 2-35, Fields 1-10, Cochran 1-5, Voegelgesang 1-(-5); PT: Blankenship 2-57, Kelsall 4-30, Coker 3-10, Lake 1-6.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
