The postseason is still a month away, but that didn’t stop Peninsula from approaching its South Puget Sound League 3A contest against Bonney Lake with a win-or-go-home attitude.
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• Gallery: Pictures from Peninsula’s 27-22 win over Bonney Lake

“This was a playoff game for us,” Peninsula quarterback JR Grosshans said. “This game was huge. We needed to win.”

The Seahawks did just that, escaping Sunset Chev Stadium with a 27-22 win over the Panthers on Friday night and moving one step closer to securing a home game in the preliminary round of the state playoffs.

“We still have a long way to go,” Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said. “We made some big plays, some big stops and some mistakes, too.”

Chief among those miscues was an interception by Bonney Lake defensive back Austin Marshall in the fourth quarter that nearly allowed the Panthers to regain the lead.

Bonney Lake (4-2 overall, 3-2 SPSL) drove 62 yards to the Peninsula 2-yard line, where it faced fourth-and-inches with 3 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.

The Seahawks (5-1, 4-1) expected an option around the end, but quarterback Cole Schuler kept the ball and charged up the middle, only to be stopped at the line of scrimmage by middle linebacker Alan Wheat.

“Alan came up big for us,” senior Al Rasmussen said. “That play probably won the game.”

The win gives Peninsula the inside track on claiming the league’s No. 2 seed and a home game in the Week 10 crossover playoff game – Lakes has all but clinched the No. 1 seed.

Rasmussen gave the Seahawks the lead for good when he dashed nearly untouched through the heart of the Panthers’ defense for a 43-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior had a heavier-than-usual workload, rushing 17 times for 103 yards, because leading rusher Darrian Creamer was knocked out of the game with a leg injury during the second quarter.

Bonney Lake also played most of the game without key contributors. Its leading rusher, Aaron Quevedo, and leading receiver, Colton Nash, sat out the second half because of injuries.

Both players had roles in scoring plays before leaving. Nash threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Marshall in the first quarter on a reverse pass, and Quevedo set up a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter with a 95-yard run.

“It hurts when you lose guys like that,” Bonney Lake coach Chad Barrett said. “You have to have other guys step up, and that happened.”

Marshall, a 6-1, 185-pound junior, had five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Bonney Lake. His second score, on a 20-yard strike from Schuler, gave the Panthers a 22-21 lead late in the third quarter.

Grosshans, the SPSL 3A leader in total offense, wasn’t spectacular – he completed 10 of 26 passes – but he was perfect on fourth downs for Peninsula.

He connected on all three of his fourth-down passes, including throwing a pair of 29-yard touchdowns, one apiece to Jake Boley and Johnny Johnson.

Grosshans, who finished with 223 yards passing, also ran for a 9-yard touchdown.

Bonney Lake took advantage of a botched snap that sailed over the head of Peninsula punter Cole Delaney, who recovered the ball but took a 24-yard loss on the play. The Panthers took over at the Seahawks’ 11 and, four plays later, took a 9-7 lead when Cody Cade kicked 26-yard field goal.

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271

doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com