The familiar confines of Islander Stadium proved friendly in Mercer Island’s homecoming matchup against Kingston High Friday night. After suffering a two-game skid with back-to-back away losses, the Islanders put away the visiting Buccaneers early in a 37-3 romp to even their record before beginning KingCo 3A competition next week.
Starting quarterback Nikhil Nayar threw for two touchdowns, homecoming king Jordano Mark rushed for another two touchdowns and Will Krause hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions as the Islanders (2-2) made a point to set the tone from the outset.
“Coach Ogata’s motto this week was ‘execute,'” Nayar said. “Last week [against Eisenhower], we didn’t execute very well and all through practice this week, we just executed every single rep and mastered every single play. That’s why we could come out here with such efficiency.”
“Last week we realized that the other team was pretty chippy. As a team, we wanted to be really mean this week,” said Krause, who is also a starting linebacker and Mercer Island’s defensive captain. “We just wanted to go out there and lay hat and I think we did that this week by hitting hard.”
Mercer Island led 10-0 after one and pulled away midway through the second quarter. After forcing a Kingston three-and-out, Krause caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from backup QB Cole Miller, Mercer Island’s signal-caller for the opening series of the quarter. On Mercer Island’s next possession, Nayar found Michael Litzow with a 31-yard touchdown pass to put the Islanders ahead 24-0, a lead they took into halftime.
Aside from drawing penalties against the Islander defense, Kingston (1-3) struggled to move the chains throughout the contest. When the Bucs’ offense did advance, maintaining possession became the issue. With Mercer Island ahead 3-0 and Kingston in Islander territory midway through the first quarter, Islander defensive back Rafael Tucker intercepted Bucs QB John Jones to send the action the other way. Four minutes and 12 plays later, Mark made them pay, rushing for a 4-yard touchdown to give Mercer Island its 10-0 lead. The Islanders had three takeaways in the first half, also recovering two fumbles.
Mercer Island didn’t let up after the break. To open the third quarter, Nayar needed only three plays and 1:05 to drive the Islanders 65 yards, finding Krause with a 25-yard touchdown pass. On Kingston’s next possession, the Islanders capitalized on another takeaway, recovering a Buccaneer fumble at midfield. Mercer Island capped a seven-play drive with Mark finding the end zone from five yards out.
Coming off of consecutive losses, Mercer Island head coach Brett Ogata said the attitude his players brought to the field Friday night played its part in his team’s execution to end its two-game skid.
“We have a team that came off a tough season last year and just understanding the confidence and how to prepare for games the right way and be ready and dialed in, it’s been a process,” Ogata said. “It’s been kind of nice this year that we’ve actually had four games to kind of get ready before league play, so it’s nice to see this kind of transform tonight.”
Next, Mercer Island will host the undefeated Interlake Saints in its KingCo league opener next Friday at Islander Stadium. The Saints (4-0) defeated Clover Park 42-19 Friday in Lakewood.
