Curtis rides big first-half lead to win over Gig Harbor

Under the Friday night lights that illuminated an otherwise overcast night, Curtis High School proved to be a fearsome competitor in a decisive 33-21 victory over Gig Harbor at Viking Stadium in University Place.

The offensive combination of quarterback Kyle Russell and tailback Caleb Kwalalon was too much for Gig Harbor’s defense to handle, especially when paired with a strong offensive line up front.

“Our o-line has really improved in the last year and they’ve been really physical up front,” Curtis coach Chris Paulson said. “Obviously, when you have a quarterback like we have in Kyle Russell and a tailback like Caleb Kwalalon they make some plays. They make some things that we do look even better.”

This presence up front was echoed by Kwalalon as being decisive to helping the Vikings win.

“I gotta thank my o-line. My o-line, they were busting and that’s how they do it,” Kwalalon said. “They opened holes for me and I just ran and did what I had to do.”

Kwalalon and Russell both could run the ball with ease, making it so the Gig Harbor defense had a hard time reading who would end up running the ball. They cover Russell? Kwalalon would take the handoff and find the gap, and vice versa.

“(Kwalalon) really ran the ball well. He’s aggressive, he never stops. He always keeps going” Russell said. “Our line blocked amazing. Couldn’t ask for anything better from them.”

Kwalalon also got a big 49-yard rushing touchdown to make a statement in the third quarter, when both teams were struggling to score, to put his team almost out of reach of a Tides comeback.

“I just try my best, do what I have to do,” Kwalalon said. “I just keep running. I hope everything fits out. I just let my linemen do their thing, and I just follow.”

Even with the dominant offensive play, Gig Harbor wouldn’t go quietly. At the break, Curtis held a 21-7 lead, but the Tides put together several strong drives in the second half.

“I don’t like to give up 21 points,” Paulsen said. “We had a ton of penalties for the second week in a row. I’d like to take away some of those penalties and just clean up some of those issues that we had.”

Curtis (2-0) travels to South Kitsap next week in a 4A SPSL tilt, while Gig Harbor (1-1) heads to South Sound Stadium in Lacey to open 3A South Sound Conference play against Timberline.

“Overall, I was proud of our guys,” Paulsen said.