PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend’s football season ended with a 41-7 loss to Nooksack Valley on Friday night at Memorial Field.
Senior running back Mitiku Little played well in his final game for the Redskins, breaking off a few long runs and scoring on an 8-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter.
Little ran for 77 yards and had one reception for 8 yards. He accounted for 98 of Port Townsend’s 162 total yards.
Little was especially productive in the second half in which he gained most of his rushing yards.
“He hit those holes, didn’t he?” Redskins coach Nick Snyder said after the game.
“We started running our power play [in the second half], and actually ran the ball effectively.”
Missing players
But Port Townsend was missing too many key players, and Nooksack Valley had too much experience and too many weapons for the Redskins to keep up.
The Pioneers were led by receiver Bret Rediger, who threw a touchdown pass, ran for a score and returned the second-half kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown.
Rediger led Nooksack Valley in rushing and receiving yards, and completed three passes for 61 yards.
The Pioneers outgained Port Townsend 369 yards to 162 in total offense.
“It was tough because we had so many young kids,” Snyder said.
“In the last three quarters [of the game] we had four freshmen starting — the center, the guard and the tackle and the fullback. Not to take anything away from them, they played hard. But if we were full strength, that would have been a different ball game.
“But, you know, Nooksack Valley is good. They’ve been in the playoffs the last couple of years. They had some big seniors.”
Along with losing some key linemen early in the game, the Redskins were also without two-way standouts Skyler Coppenrath, Layne Zack and Tim Russell, and freshman running back Wesley Wheeler missed his second straight game.
Though hampered by injuries and inexperience, the Redskins also had moments that put their talent and future on display.
Junior Matt Cain had two long kick returns and recovered Dillon Ralls’ nicely placed onside kick after Port Townsend’s only score. He also rushed for 40 yards.
Quarterback Jacob King also had a long kickoff return for Port Townsend, and he intercepted a pass in the end zone that prevented Nooksack Valley from going into halftime with a larger lead than 13-0.
Though still not at full strength due to a deep thigh bruise, King appeared to be moving around much better than he was during last week’s five-overtime loss to Chimacum.
Freshman David Sua, meanwhile, had another nice game filling in for Russell at fullback, and he had an interception on defense.
With only four seniors graduating — Little, Ralls, Nolan Arthur and Clint Guilford — next year’s expectations are justifiably high for Port Townsend, which came into 2012 will two consecutive winless seasons.
“The future is bright for Redskin football, that’s for dang sure,” Snyder said.
“We lose four seniors. The eighth-grade class coming in is really good. The freshman class is loaded. The majority of the team is coming back. Our backfield is coming back, our O-line.”
Most importantly, King will be back.
Not only is he Port Townsend’s best player, but also its team leader.
Before the coaches talked to the team after Friday’s game, King stood in front of his teammates and implored them to be better next year.
“He said that we’ve got to have every single guy give everything he’s got on every single play, and then we’d beat these guys,” Snyder said
“He’s a great leader.”
Though 2013 looks good on paper, Snyder said there’s still a lot of work to put in.
“You know what? These kids don’t lift weights,” he said.
“Get them a year of lifting weights, try to get them to be three-sport athletes, and then do 7-on-7 — because that’s where you cultivate all your defensive backs and learn how to play good pass coverage — and then have a good summer camp, and I think we’ll be really competitive next year.”
Nooksack Valley 41,
Port Townsend 7
Nooksack Valley 0 13 22 6— 41
Port Townsend 0 0 7 0— 7
Second Quarter
NV—Tanner Myhre 36 pass from Bret Rediger (Connor Beard kick)
NV—Levi Schram 7 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
NV—Rediger 83 kickoff return (Schram pass from Myrhe)
NV—Curtis Handy 39 fumble return (Beard kick)
PT—Mitiku Little 8 run (Dillon Ralls kick)
NV—Rediger 6 run (Beard kick)
Fourth Quarter
NV—Matt Aure 7 run (kick failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— NV: Rediger 8-72, Schram 6-63, Myhre 6-21, Aure 2-10, Handy 1-7, Joey Scheffer 1-7, Brady Wood 1-4. PT: Little 10-89, Matt Cain 10-49, David Sua 4-12, Jacob King 6-4.
Passing—NV: Myhre 14-19-2, 134; Rediger 3-4, 61. PT: King 1-4, 8.
Receiving—NV: Rediger 4-52, Handy 3-50, Myhre 2-38, Schram 4-37, Scheffer 3-13, Josh Gimmaka 1-5. PT: Little 1-8.
