5 takeaways from Gig Harbor’s 14-7 league-opening loss to Timberline

The Gig Harbor High School football team opened league play with a hard-fought 14-7 loss to Timberline. The Tides had some chances to win the game but ultimately came up short. Here are five takeaways from the game.

Gig Harbor’s improvement is clear

It looks like the players are beginning to buy into what second-year coach George Fairhart is selling — particularly, the emphasis on being tougher this year. Gig Harbor’s defensive line was active, physical and didn’t make anything easy for the Timberline offense, holding the Blazers to 14 points. Gig Harbor held Timberline to 4-of-12 on third down conversions and forced two turnovers. Timberline beat Gig Harbor 27-10 last year. This time around was a marked improvement.

Timberline’s goal-line stand was the difference

The Blazers turned the Tides away on four consecutive runs early in the fourth quarter. A touchdown and successful PAT would’ve tied the game at 7. Instead, Timberline forced Gig Harbor to turn the ball over on downs, and then proceeded to score on a 78-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive. While Gig Harbor fought back and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to seven, the 14-point swing proved too much to overcome.

Gig Harbor should feel good about its quarterback depth

Starting quarterback Ben Hollenbeck came out in the first half with an injury. Enter junior Cade Dessert, who played somewhat jittery at first, but settled nicely into the game as it went on. He finished 18-for-34 for 231 yards and a touchdown, and two interceptions. While he’ll want to eliminate the interceptions, Dessert looked strong in two of Gig Harbor’s drives in the fourth quarter and seemed to grow in confidence the more he played.

“He got in a rhythm there, threw the ball well and did the things we asked him to do,” Fairhart said. “He did well. He gave us a shot to get back in it.”

Dessert also established an immediate rapport with sophomore wide receiver Griffin Sparrow, who he found seven times for 116 yards and a touchdown. If Hollenbeck is out for any extended period of time, Dessert looks to be a capable replacement, and if his progression during the course of one game is any indication, the best is yet to come.

Penalties are an issue

Gig Harbor was penalized 10 times for 117 yards. Many of those penalties were holding penalties, which proved to be drive killers for the Tides.

“The penalties killed us,” Fairhart said. “They were real penalties. Our kids were doing things they know they shouldn’t do. We have to correct that. We’ve been trying to work on it. Obviously, we need to work on it and continue getting better with that.”

Spreading the ball around

Seven players caught passes for Gig Harbor, and the workload was pretty evenly distributed. Sparrow, Ethan Williams, Jurrian Hering, Jackson Bratrud, Simon Plymate, Tate Turnbull and Jake Bruess all had receptions for the Tides. With Ryan King expected to return to full health soon, Gig Harbor’s receiving corps could wind up being one of the league’s most dynamic, when it’s all said and done.