After struggling to find the end zone in the opening half of Friday’s season opener, the offensive units for Mercer Island and Bishop Blanchet went on a combined 54-point scoring tear in the second half of their contest at Islander Stadium. With three of Blanchet’s four second-half touchdowns coming in the game’s final quarter, the Braves managed to outlast the Islanders in a wild finish, 30-27.
It was a stark contrast from the game’s first half, with the only points coming from a 22-yard field goal from Bishop Blanchet’s Christian Peterson. The game saw three lead changes in the final three minutes, while the visiting Braves found the end zone three times on runs of 50 or more yards.
While Mercer Island head coach Brett Ogata said after the game his team had its share of defensive issues that needed to be fixed, he also felt his team was getting back to game shape in its season opener.
“Ultimately, Blanchet is a really good team and it was a tough game for us, but we learned a lot of things tonight to get better,” he said. “I’m proud of the way we competed. Obviously, we have to play a little bit smarter and do some things better, but we’ll get that fixed. We’ll be better next week.”
Coming out of the half down 3-0, Jack Counihan put Mercer Island on the board in the opening minutes of the third quarter, picking off Blanchet quarterback Davine Tullis and returning the interception 25 yards for a touchdown. Tullis would respond on Blanchet’s next drive with a 52-yard end-zone dash, giving the Braves a 10-7 advantage.
Mercer Island marched down the field on the ensuing possession, setting up a first-and-goal inside the Braves’ 10-yard line, but an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Islanders outside Blanchet’s 20-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, a 27-yard pass from Alfonso Gonzalez found Eric Kim in the back of the end zone to give the Islanders a 13-10 lead to close out the third.
Gonzalez extended Mercer Island’s lead in the fourth quarter, with a QB sneak from a yard out to put the Islanders ahead 20-10 with just over six minutes to go in regulation.
But that proved to be enough time for the Braves. On its next drive, Blanchet running back Oshea Trujillo reached the end zone on a 50-yard run. A possession later, a 31-yard run from Tullis put the Braves ahead 24-20 with 2:46 left in the game. Mercer Island struck back, with Gonzalez finding Kim in the end zone again with a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Islanders a 27-24 lead with 2:06 remaining. But on Blanchet’s next drive, Trujillo broke free for another 50-yard scamper, scoring the deciding touchdown with 1:40 left.
Ogata said after the game assignment breakdowns while defending Bishop Blanchet’s counter in the rushing game ultimately doomed the Islanders.
“We’ll watch film and fix that up so we don’t get these big, long runs they had against us,” he said. “If we can cut that down and make them work a little bit harder, the game’s probably not close.”
Mercer Island travels to Kent for a non-conference matchup with Kentridge at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. The Chargers fell 29-10 to Bethel High School in its opener.
