Washington high school football: North Kitsap blocks last-second FG to hold off Mount Tahoma, 4 takeaways
TACOMA, Wash. - There's a reason why North Kitsap went to the WIAA Class 2A championship football game last season.
The Vikings are good.
And so is the team that took them down to the wire Friday night in the 2023 opener for both teams.
Andrew Knott broke a tie with his 33-yard field with 1:11 remaining, and North Kitsap blocked a kick to save its 24-21 non-league victory over host Mount Tahoma.
The Thunderbirds' game-tying 24-yard field goal was blocked by junior Ben Shipp at the line of scrimmage as time expired.
Here are four takeaways from the game:
NEITHER TEAM FOUND OFFENSIVE RHYTHM ... FOR A REASON
All Jeff Weible could do was shake his head.
His second-ranked team survived a three-hour game with more start-and-stop delays by the officiating crew than a major highway at rush hour.
Vikings' quarterback Cole Edwards passed for a touchdown, ran for a score and totaled 143 combined yards as the team's top producer. Running back Carter Dungy added 68 rushing yards and a touchdown.
"I thought the whole game tonight - no rhythm, no momentum and I hate to blame referees for it, but it was difficult to play," Weible said.
Brison Bailey led the Mount Tahoma rushing offense with a game-high 111 yards on 21 carries.
"The officiating was rough tonight, to say the least," Thunderbirds coach Keith Terry said.
COLE EDWARDS IS A SCATTERING SCRAMBLER
The official North Kitsap roster lists Edwards at 5-foot-9 and 142 pounds.
But when the signal caller finds a seam and gets a head of steam, he runs like a man with his hair on fire.
He rushed for 62 yards - with nearly half of that coming off a scrambling run on the team's final drive that set up Knott's game-winning kick.
"When I see green grass, I just take off," Edwards said. "And ff there is somebody in front of me, I slide so I don't get taken out of the game."
BRISON BAILEY IS ENGINE FOR MOUNT TAHOMA OFFENSE
Last season was a tough one on Bailey. He sat out with a slow-recovering ankle injury.
"Sat out the whole season, and that was real hard," he said.
It was obvious Friday night - if Bailey stays healthy, the Thunderbirds are going to be tough to beat.
Bailey is a tough inside runner, but has burst to get outside and do damage.
"He is an elite football player, and he is a game changer for us," Terry said.
THUNDERBIRDS ELECTED TO GO FOR TIE ... AND LOST
Behind the Mikkah Cordero-to-Deonjae Ervin passing combination, Mount Tahoma drove 58 yards in the final minute to give itself a chance to tie - or sneak out with a victory.
With his team at the Vikings' 7-yard line in the final seconds, Terry opted for a field goal to send the game into overtime.
It was blocked - and North Kitsap celebrated.
"I am OK With that decision. It is a lesson for our guys. It is bigger than tonight," Terry said.
"If we are going to be a playoff football team, we have to be able to make the field goal at the end of the game.
"(Were) there other options I could have done in terms of winning a football game? Yes. But I stand with my decision and I feel good about it."
Photo by Vince Miller
(All photos by Vince Mller)
