Va’a Hansen scores 5 TDs as undefeated Graham-Kapowsin routs Peninsula
It was a five-for-five special Thursday afternoon at Art Crate Field.
There were no concessions being sold, but Graham-Kapowsin High School senior Va’a Hansen — who wears No. 5 — scored five touchdowns to lead his team to a 49-24 victory against Peninsula in a Class 4A SPSL showdown between undefeated teams.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Hansen said. “This is what we worked for all those days off.”
Hansen had no touchdowns on the season coming in, but changed that on the game’s third play, returning an interception 45 yards for a score.
He had touchdown receptions of 41 and 24 yards and touchdown runs of 5 and 1.
“He is an incredible athlete,” Graham-Kapowsin coach Eric Kurle said. “He has played so well on defense for us all year, returning kicks, getting six or seven carries at running back and a bunch of plays at receiver. He has been doing a little bit of everything.
“He is one of those special athletes with the ball in his hands.”
Hansen finished with 24 carries for 205 yards as the Eagles (4-0) remain perfect on the season with a final game at Sumner on Wednesday.
Hansen was used mainly as a Swiss-army knife type player as a junior, just bringing energy and a spark to the offense.
On Thursday, he was the main running back after star sophomore Jalen Davenport left in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Kurle said the move was precautionary. Senior running back Jonas Waugh also left with an injury in the second quarter.
“Everything clicked. We came to play,” Hansen said. “They tried saying they were going to come out here and show what 4A football is, but nah, we did that.”
Peninsula (4-1), a 3A school playing up a division this season, struggled in the first half with three turnovers, but played much better in the second half thanks to some trick plays and big plays on special teams.
The Seahawks hit on a fake punt, a double reverse pass play, had a kickoff return for a touchdown and a pair of long runs on a jet toss.
“We had a saying this week that we are going to shoot every bullet in our chamber,” Peninsula senior Landon Sims said. “We definitely threw some things out there that no one had seen before. It is always fun, especially when it works out in our favor.”
Sims had five receptions for 109 yards, nine carries for 41 yards and an 11-yard rushing touchdown. He missed large parts of his junior season with injuries, but has been strong for the Seahawks this year.
Quarterback Jake Bice finished 13-for-25 for 230 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
“We picked a bad night to come out and have some hiccups to start the game,” Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said. “Overall, though, I’m proud of how hard they played in the second half. We had a lot of fun out there today.”
Other than the big plays, the Eagles controlled the game from start to finish. A big part of that was thanks to the strong offensive line play that chewed up Peninsula’s defense.
The Eagles rushed for 341 yards on the day.
“We wanted to come out and be dominant as an offensive line, as an offense and as a team,” Graham-Kapowsin junior Joshua Holder said. “We walked into this season wanting to be great and to be the best offensive line Graham-Kapowsin has ever had. That has been the motivation.”
That strong play up front followed by tremendous athletes in the backfield is what leads to special nights like the one Hansen had.
Graham-Kapowsin 49, Peninsula 24
Peninsula 0 6 6 12 — 24
Graham-Kapowsin 13 8 14 14 — 49
SCORING SUMMARY
First period
G-K — Hansen 45 interception return (Ehle kick), 10:52
G-K — Davenport 6 run (kick blocked), 4:39
Second quarter
G-K — Hansen 41 pass from Wood (Mason run), :54
Pen — Akulschin 12 pass from Bice (kick failed), :10
Third quarter
G-K — Hansen 5 run (Ehle kick), 8:25
G-K — Hansen 24 pass from Wood (Ehle kick), 2:47
Pen — Akulschin 20 pass from Bice (kick failed), 1:44
Fourth quarter
G-K — Haywood 9 run (Ehle kick), 10:35
Pen — Cleave 84 kickoff return (pass failed), 10:22
Pen — Sims 11 run (pass failed), 6:39
G-K — Hansen 1 run (Ehle kick), 2:48
TEAM SUMMARY
First downs — 15 (Peninsula), 26 (Graham-Kapowsin)
Rushes-yards — 22-35, 51-341
Com-Att-Int — 13-25-1, 10-16-0
Pass yards — 230, 162
Fumbles-lost — 3-1, 2-1
Punt-avg. — 3-28.0, 1-25.0
Penalties-yds — 3-25, 2-22
INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY
Rushing
Peninsula: Landon Sims 9-41, Sean Skaladny 6-9, Josh Hinkel 1-4, Bryce Cleave 1-0, Jake Bice 5-(-19).
Graham-Kapowsin: Va’a Hansen 24-205, Jalen Davenport 9-41, Zack Lee 6-63, Jonas Waugh 3-18, Myles Haywood 1-9, Charlie Lockington 1-5, Curtis Hill 1-5, Joshua Wood 4-(-17), team 1-(-2).
Passing
Peninsula: Bice 13-25-1 — 230.
Graham-Kapowsin: Wood 10-16-0 — 162.
Receiving
Peninsula: Sims 5-109, Chris Akulschin 5-81, Chase Coalson 1-25, Skaladny 1-10, Austin Hansen 1-5.
Graham-Kapowsin: Julian Mason 3-30, Vinicio Hansen 3-24, Va’a Hansen 2-65, Lockington 1-31, Waugh 1-12.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 7:54 PM.