River Ridge goes down, 17-6, against North Kitsap

The River Ridge defense, so good for so long, let North Kitsap off the hook on a fourth-quarter third-and-long.

The result of the play was a long touchdown, the final blow to the Hawks’ hopes in a 17-6 North Kitsap victory in Class 2A state football Saturday night at South Sound Stadium.

Dax Solis burst through a crease off right guard on a third-and-16 play for a 62-yard TD with 2:40 left in the game, and the Hawks had no answers as their season ended with a school-best 10-1 record.

North Kitsap (8-3) advances to the next round next weekend against unbeaten Archbishop Murphy.

River Ridge coach Steve Schultz said “a couple plays here and there” could have made a difference in a close defensive battle in steady rain.

“One thing I love about this team is there’s no finger-pointing,” Schultz said. “You win together, you lose together.”

Minutes before Solis’ game-clinching TD, the Hawks, trailing 10-6, stopped NK on downs and then moved quickly into Viking territory in search of a go-ahead score. But Hawks quarterback Kobe Key, after powering for a first down on a keeper, fumbled the ball away at the North Kitsap 32.

It was Key who blasted 27 yards on a keeper for the touchdown that got the Hawks close on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Earlier, a 28-yard run by Nate Kjormoe was the big play for North Kitsap in a six-play, 79-yard drive after the second-half kickoff, capped by Kjormoe’s 5-yard touchdown run to bump the Vikings’ lead to 10-0.

The only points of the first half were provided by a 46-yard field goal by North Kitsap’s Kainen Warren. An interception of Key by Tom Christian, one of two first-half turnovers by the Hawks, put the Vikings in position.

The Hawks mustered 56 rushing yards on 22 carries in the first half and just 84 total yards, 160 total yards for the game. Defense kept them in it.

For the Hawks, the names crowding the defensive stat sheet were Zachary Carter, Kelle Sanders, Ryan Blash and Stephen Flanagan.

The Vikings’ deepest gash into Hawks territory in the half, set up by a 36-yard run by Dax Solis, got no farther than the 27-yard line before it was stymied by a tackle for a 5-yard loss from junior linebacker Carter, followed by a sack for a loss of another 11 yards by junior defensive end Sanders and junior linebacker Flanagan.

Flanagan recovered a Vikings fumble to end NK’s first series of the game, but Tre’Vonne Dorfner put it on the ground four plays later to give the ball back to the Vikings.

Schultz said the loss will sting — particularly for the seniors who led the Hawks to their best season ever.

“I told them it’s not the games you remember,” Schultz said, “it’s the guys you play with, the brothers you have on the team.”

The foundations laid this season — and the support in the school and community — give many reasons for optimism going forward, he said.

“The cupboard doesn’t go bare, by any means,” Schultz said. “They’re already talking about getting back in the weight room on Monday.”

At Squalicum 31, W.F. West 29: Ben Peterson’s 24-yard field goal with 14 seconds to play turned out to be a season-ender for the Bearcats (6-5).

W.F. West took a 29-28 lead on a two-point conversion with two minutes left to play on the previous drive, but couldn’t stop a Storm march to the 7-yard line that set up Peterson’s game-winning kick.

No. 2 Squalicum (11-0) will host first-ranked Tumwater (11-0) next weekend in Bellingham in the 2A state quarterfinals.

Staff writer Lauren Smith contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 7:54 AM with the headline "River Ridge goes down, 17-6, against North Kitsap."