South Kitsap wanted nothing more than to knock off sixth-ranked Bellarmine Prep on Friday night – something it wasn’t able to do last season – while pushing its unblemished record to four games.
The Lions weren’t having it.
Bellarmine Prep (3-1, 2-0 Narrows League 4A) racked up more than 550 yards of offense, forced five South Kitsap turnovers and rolled to a 31-12 league victory at home to hand the Wolves their first loss.
“This was a big game, and South Kitsap had beat some real quality opponents,” Liufau said. “We just tried to come out and make a statement.”
Liufau was untouchable in the pocket. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns.
He gave South Kitsap’s defensive front fits with his mobility as most of his big passes came after dodging would-be tacklers.
The Wolves (3-1, 1-1) got a taste of his elusiveness early. Liufau escaped a sack and broke off an 18-yard run on Bellarmine Prep’s second possession of the game. Then Liufau put the Lions ahead when he stepped up in the pocket to avoid a defender and threw a bomb 40 yards downfield to a wide-open Garrett McKay for the first score.
“He is a high school Ben Roethlisberger,” said South Kitsap coach Eric Canton. “That’s what we told our kids all week. You aren’t going to be able to give him a knockout blow. You just have to hang on for dear life because even then he can still get a throw off.”
Liufau added two more touchdowns later.
“They did a really good job of bringing pressure and they filled in late,” Liufau said. “But sometimes you have to make plays. It’s not always going to be perfect.”
It wasn’t just Liufau making plays. McKay had two interceptions to go with his 81 yards receiving, Drew Griffin caught five passes for 140 yards and two scores and Lou Millie rushed 30 times for 184 yards.
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.