PORT TOWNSEND — Charles Wright may not have shocked the world, but it stunned Port Townsend 24-14 in a West Central District playoff victory at Memorial Field that put a premature end to the Redhawks’ season.
This defeat left Port Townsend a game short of making its first state football playoff appearance since 2004, and marks the second straight season the Redhawks (7-3) have fallen in the district playoffs to a team with a losing record.
Port Townsend fell 35-21 to Blaine (4-5) last season in a winner-to-state game.
“We expected to win but you just can’t do that in football, you have to go out and earn it,” Redhawks coach Nick Snyder said.
“I feel awful for the seniors. This is a tough way to go out. I don’t think I’ll sleep this weekend thinking about this.”
The loss also left many Redhawks supporters mulling how a Port Townsend team could suffer such a fate one week after blistering this same Charles Wright squad 49-6.
The Tarriers (4-5) appeared to lift a little from Muhammad Ali’s Rope-a-Dope strategy, throwing a completely new defensive front at Port Townsend, inserting playmaking wide receiver Rashaan Mills, who sat out last week due to illness, and mixing more designed quarterback runs into their pass-happy attack, according to Charles Wright coach Mike Finch.
A total of four second-half turnovers by the Redhawks, all fumbles, including three in the third quarter, coupled with three turnovers on downs inside the Charles Wright 25-yard line in the first half, were a heavy factor, ceding momentum and the ball back to the Tarriers time and again.
Low snaps from center were an issue for much of the game, with Port Townsend recovering two in the first half, but losing two after halftime.
“Those fumbles just kept killing us,” Snyder said. “Factor in those stopped drives, and even if we score half the time we’re in business.”
The Redhawks had few answers defensively for Charles Wright quarterback Henry Cheney, who completed 22 of 38 for 255 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception.
He also ran 15 times for 143 yards to pace a Tarriers rushing attack that improved from 1 rushing yard last week to 182 yards on the ground Friday night.
“I can’t say enough about Henry,” Finch said. “I think he’s the best junior quarterback in the state.”
The loss of Port Townsend’s junior captain linebacker Keegan Khile last week to a dislocated kneecap and wide receiver/defensive back Cameron Constantine to a cracked collarbone in Friday’s game left Port Townsend scrambling to keep up on defense.
Cheney was a constant force from the Tarriers’ first offensive play in which he took a designed QB keeper to the left sideline, broke away from Port Townsend’s David Sua and cut back upfield to the opposite corner for a 72-yard touchdown rush just 2:02 into the game.
“Credit to Cheney, he consistently made big plays on us passing and running, and especially on third and fourth downs,” Snyder said.
Charles Wright defused a 10-play, 48-yard Port Townsend drive by stuffing Isaiah Mason for a 4-yard loss on a counter reverse on fourth-and-4 from the Tarrier’s 6-yard line.
The Redhawks then allowed a 15-play, 90-yard Charles Wright drive, including a 37-yard completion on third-and-19 from Cheney to his favorite target of the night, Rahsaan Mills.
Cheney also would take off for 8 yards on a fourth-and-7 on the drive, one play before finding Mills for a 15-yard TD pass with 10:15 to go before halftime.
Mills would finish with 10 catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Port Townsend responded, with quarterback Jeff Seton finding a streaking Roberto Gomez for a 47-yard gain to the Tarriers’ 1-yard line, followed by a 1-yard plunge from running back Wesley Wheeler to make it 12-7 with 1:58 seconds until halftime.
Wheeler would finish with 18 carries for 103 yards.
The Redhawks forced a quick three-and-out and put together a 39-second scoring drive, with Seton finding Wheeler for a 7-yard passing touchdown.
But Cheney answered back even quicker, finding Mills on an identical vertical route up the sideline for 45 yards, and then connecting with Mills from 10 yards out as the halftime buzzer sounded to put Charles Wright ahead 18-14.
Port Townsend fumbled the ball away on its first four possessions of the second half.
The most damaging came after Sua picked off Cheney at the Redhawks’ 7-yard line.
Port Townsend then drove 87 yards down the field, highlighted by a 43-yard pass to Mason and a thread-the-needle catch and run of 32 yards by Beshir Little on third-and-9 at midfield, before Wheeler flubbed a handoff on first-and-goal at the Tarriers’ 6-yard line.
“They made a ton of explosive plays on us but they would score after those, and we made a few but none in the running game, no long downfield runs and made too many mistakes,” Snyder said.
Another Redhawks fumble led to a nine-play, 52-yard drive capped by a Cheney 1-yard rush to make it 24-14 with 6:52 to play.
Port Townsend drove past midfield, but the drive stalled when a 15-yard penalty on Seton for hurdling over an opponent negated a first down and an 8-yard gain.
The penalty put the Redhawks in a passing situation and led to two Tarriers’ sacks of Seton, the last, another turnover on downs with 3 minutes to play.
Charles Wright picked up first downs to run out the clock and seal what Finch said was the team’s first playoff victory since 1991.
“I think there were many people who thought because we lost Jacob [King, last year’s Nisqually League MVP] and the other guys that we wouldn’t do much this season,” a tearful Seton said.
“We had a great season; I’m so proud of these guys, there’s nobody else I’d rather play with.
“We just thought we had more games to play together, that’s what makes this worse.”
Charles Wright 24, Port Townsend 14
Charles Wright 6 12 0 6— 24
Port Townsend 0 14 0 0— 14
First Quarter
CW—Cheney 72 run (pass failed)
Second Quarter
CW—Mills 15 pass from Cheney (pass failed)
PT—Wheeler 1 run (A. Khile kick)
PT—Wheeler 7 pass from Seton (A. Khile kick)
CW—Mills 10 pass from Cheney (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
CW—Cheney 1 run (pass failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— CW: Cheney 15-143, Jones 6-39. PT: Wheeler 18-103, Sua 11-66, Mason 9-17, Seton 4-(-19).
Passing—CW: Cheney 22-38-1, 255. PT: Seton 12-22-0, 170.
Receiving—CW: Mills 11-126, Gorman 5-56, Jones 4-45, Mayer 1-26, Stackpole 1-6. PT: Mason 3-54, Gomez 1-47, Little 1-32, Wheeler 2-20, Anderson 1-11.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsualdailynews.com.
