Digital Subscription

tool name

close
tool goes here

Rams rout Falcons in return to Narrows

It didn’t take North Thurston long to reintroduce itself to the Narrows League.

GRANT CLARK; Contributing writer
Published: Sept. 14, 2012 at 12:05 a.m. PDT
0 comments

It didn’t take North Thurston long to reintroduce itself to the Narrows League.

Playing in the league for the first time in 14 years, the Rams took full advantage of several early Foss turnovers, scoring two defensive touchdowns in the first half, to hammer the visiting Falcons, 50-14, in the Narrows League 3A opener for both squads Thursday at South Sound Stadium.

North Thurston, which was a member of the Narrows League 4A from 1989-98, improved to 3-0 overall.

Mo Manning led the Rams on the ground, rushing for 70 yards on 12 carries and scoring a 1-yard run in the third quarter.

Brandon Belisaro finished with 67 yards on seven carries with a TD, while North Thurston quarterback Ryan Mets completed 8 of 12 passes for 89 yards with Ande Grantham hauling in four passes for 50 yards.

Foss, which finished with six turnovers, turned the ball over on each of its first four possessions, leading to a quick 28-0 deficit.

Two Foss fumbles led to a pair of rushing touchdowns for North Thurston as Belisario ran it in from 12 yards out to open the scoring and Grantham punching it in from 13 yards away for the second TD.

The next two TDs both came from the North Thurston defense.

Tru Hicks wrestled the football away from a Foss running back and returned it 52 yards for a score.

Viiga Pele immediately followed up that touchdown on the next possession by intercepting a Nick Burton pass and taking it 22 yards for the Rams’ fourth TD, pushing North Thurston’s lead to 28-0 with 71/2 minutes to play in the first half.

The Rams had a 28-6 lead at the intermission after the Falcons scored on a 76-yard pass from Burton to Dezmyn Trent midway through the second quarter.

North Thurston finished with three defensive touchdowns, including Grantham’s 12-yard interception return for a score early in the fourth quarter.

The Rams have won four straight against the Falcons and lead the all-time series, 9-4.

North Thurston continues league play next week when it travels to Tacoma to face Jon Kitna’s unbeaten Lincoln squad.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.

SPORTS
SOUTH SOUND
BLOGS
CONTESTS

Similar stories

  • NFL Game Capsules - Week 16

    Detroit wideout Calvin Johnson entered the record books on Saturday, breaking Jerry Rice's mark for most receiving yards in a season in NFL history. But as has been the case for most of the season, his stellar performance came in yet another loss. Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes, and the Atlanta Falcons clinched the NFC's top seed with a 31-18 win over the Lions at Ford Field. Ryan was 25-of-32 for 279 yards and tied Steve Bartkowski for the most passing touchdowns in a single season in franchise history with 31. Bartkowski set the record in 1980. Roddy White caught two of the scores and finished with 153 yards on eight receptions for Atlanta (13-2), which produced 17 points off three Detroit turnovers. Johnson made 11 grabs for 225 yards, upping his season total to 1,892. Rice had 1,848 yards in 1995 with San Francisco. It wasn't the only NFL record the player known as "Megatron" broke as he became the first player to record at least 100 receiving yards in eight straight games. Johnson surpassed a mark set by Charley Hennigan in 1961 and matched by Michael Irvin in 1995. Matthew Stafford completed 37-of-56 passes for 443 yards with one interception for the Lions (4-11), who have lost seven in a row.

  • NFL Game Capsules - Week 15

    The Atlanta Falcons got their revenge, and made quite a statement as well in doing so. Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes, including a pair to Julio Jones, and the Falcons dealt the New York Giants their first regular-season shutout in 16 years with an authoritative 34-0 victory at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta (12-2) got its payback for a 24-2 throttling by the Giants during last season's NFC Wild Card Playoffs behind a near-flawless performance from Ryan, with the standout quarterback completing a sharp 23-of-28 passes for 270 yards without a turnover. The Falcons' defense did its part as well, intercepting New York's Eli Manning twice in the first half and stopping the Giants on downs three times over the course of the game. Manning managed just 161 yards on an off-target 14-of-26 efficiency as New York (8-6) was held scoreless in a non-playoff setting for the first time since a 24-0 setback at Philadelphia on Dec. 1, 1996. Jones ended with 74 yards on six catches and Tony Gonzalez added a touchdown grab for the NFC South champion Falcons, who can clinch a first-round playoff bye if San Francisco loses to New England on Sunday night. The result could be considerably more costly for the Giants, now 2-4 over their last six outings. New York would relinquish its one-game lead over Dallas and Washington in the NFC East if either the Cowboys or Redskins win their Week 15 matchups.

  • Foss boys rally, roll past rival Wilson, 72-54

    Foss High School held a pregame pep rally Friday.

  • NFL Game Capsules - Week 12

    Cam Newton passed for two touchdowns and ran in two more as the Carolina Panthers took a 30-22 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a battle between two last-place teams. Newton finished the game 18-for-28 with 306 yards through the air and added 52 yards on 15 carries for the Panthers (3-8), who snapped a two-game slide but still sit at the bottom of the NFC South, two games back of New Orleans. Steve Smith had four catches for 60 yards and became the 27th player all-time in the NFL to go over 11,000 receiving yards for his career. Gary Barnidge and Brandon LaFell had first-quarter touchdown catches in the win. Rookie Bryce Brown made his first career start in place of an injured LeSean McCoy and set a single-game rookie record for the Eagles (3-8) with 178 yards. He carried the ball 19 times and had two scores along with four catches for 11 yards, but had a pair of fumbles in the third quarter. McCoy suffered a concussion in last week's loss to Washington. Nick Foles made his second straight start under center as Michael Vick is still recovering from a concussion. He went 16- for-21 in the game, but managed just 119 yards as Philadelphia has lost seven straight for the first time since losing the final seven games of the 1994 season and are two games behind Washington and Dallas for last place in the NFC East.

  • NFL Game Capsules - Week 14

    Having already wrapped up the AFC East the previous week, a big win on Monday has the Patriots' sights set on the top spot in the conference. Thanks to four touchdown passes from Tom Brady, New England took a 42-14 win over the Houston Texans on Monday night. New England (10-3), which is now 21-0 in the second half of the season since 2010, has ripped off seven straight wins and is now tied with Denver and just a game behind Houston (11-2) for the coveted top spot in the AFC. Brady was 21- for-35 with 296 yards while Aaron Hernandez posted eight catches for 58 yards and two scores. Brandon Lloyd caught a score and also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score while Donte Stallworth, who re-signed with the team last Monday, had the other touchdown reception. Stevan Ridley carried the ball 18 times for 72 yards and his touchdown in the fourth quarter put the emphasis on the rout as New England eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fifth time this season, including the third time in the past four weeks. Houston, meanwhile, saw a six-game winning streak snapped and while the team has already locked up a playoff spot, it is still fighting for the top spot in the AFC South. Sitting two games ahead of Indianapolis, the Texans will welcome the Colts to Houston next Sunday. After hosting Minnesota, Houston will play in Indianapolis for the final game of the regular season. Matt Schaub was just 19-for-32 with 232 yards and an interception while Arian Foster had 15 carries for 46 yards and a score in the loss, Houston's first road loss of the season.