If anybody wondered how effective a new spread-based, pass-heavy offensive attack would be for Peninsula, the Seahawks might have answered that question Friday night against Bonney Lake.
Quarterback Austin Filkins completed 15 of 20 passes for 239 yards and three first-half scores, and Peninsula hammered the Panthers, 55-7, in both teams’ Class 3A South Puget Sound League opener at Roy Anderson Field in Purdy.
Bonney Lake (1-4 overall, 0-1 league) got a 16-yard touchdown pass from Chris Brown to Zach Zaragoza to draw within 14-7 after one quarter, but it was all Peninsula (3-2, 1-0) from there.
Leading 21-7, Brown made his first mistake by overthrowing a short pass, and Seahawks cornerback Blake Dukowitz intercepted the ball and returned it 49 yards for a score.
Filkins then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Conner Walch and followed that up with a 49-yard bomb to senior Alex Weymiller with 5 seconds left in the first half.
Weymiller, who battled back from a hand injury that sidelined him for the season’s first two games, caught five passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
“It felt good to get back in there, but most of the work was put in by our quarterbacks and offensive staff,” he said. “Filkins made a couple great throws and a couple great reads. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.”
Brown lit up Peninsula’s defense last year to the tune of 438 yards and five touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 48-45 win over the Panthers.
Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said his team had a strong week of preparation in order to keep that from happening again.
“You saw tonight, where if you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile,” Filkins said of Brown. “It was a great effort all the way in all three phases of the game.”
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