Gig Harbor parlayed a ball-hawking defense and an opportunistic offense into an easy 4A Narrows League victory over Stadium on Saturday night.
The Tides collected four lost fumbles and intercepted three passes while junior quarterback Garrett Gallanger passed for 164 yards and three touchdowns, cementing a 45-0 victory over the Tigers at Stadium High School.
“Our defense played great tonight,” Gig Habor coach Darren McKay said. “We were aggressive, swarmed to the football and forced them into a lot of mistakes.
“And then our offense took advantage of some good field position. This had to be our best game of the season.”
Gig Harbor (2-2 overall, 1-1 league) got on the scoreboard just 1 minutes, 13 seconds into the game after the Tigers (2-2, 0-2) fumbled the ball away at their own 5-yard line on their first play from scrimmage. Gallanger ran the ball in for a touchdown on the following play and Korey Durkee tacked on the extra point for a quick 7-0 lead.
A little more than one minute later, Beau Glover intercepted a pass from Stadium quarterback Tyler Stumph. On the next play, Jake Ayers hit Garrett McKay for a 45-yard touchdown on a halfback option pass. Ayers fumbled the ball on the handoff from Gallanger but picked it up on the bounce before lobbing the ball downfield to a wide-open McKay.
“I think that (the fumble) kind of froze their defensive backs,” Ayers said. “They started to come up and Garrett (McKay) just blew past them.”
Gallanger hooked up with McKay for a 32-yard touchdown pass the next time Gig Harbor had the ball, giving the Tides a 21-0 lead with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Gallanger connected for touchdowns with Dillon Alexander from 17 yards out and Carter McKay – Garrett McKay’s cousin – on a 3-yard scoring strike, both before the first half was over.
Durkee also hit a 38-yard field goal as the Tides took a 38-0 lead into the intermission.
Gallanger, who completed 11 of his 19 throws, had been splitting time at quarterback with Ayers but he played full-time Saturday until giving way to sophomore Conor Scanlon in the fourth quarter when the game was in hand.
Ayers, meanwhile, lined up at running back and gained 93 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.
“(Gallanger) threw the ball accurately and on time,” coach McKay said. “You could see him get into a comfort zone. We decided we wanted both him and Ayers on the field at the same time. It’s working out well for them and the team.”
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