How do Tides and Seahawks match up?

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Those who don’t plan to attend the 31st annual Fish Bowl between the Gig Harbor and Peninsula high school football teams on Friday are going to miss out. It’ll be a memorable game between two solid football programs that are gaining momentum in their respective leagues.

I’m itching to see the gridiron action unfold at 7 p.m. at Roy Anderson Field.

The matchups are enticing, so let’s dissect both teams:

Quarterback

It’s arguably the most important position, especially when you’re talking about high school football. What we’ll see are two senior quarterbacks who have been performing at high levels.

Gig Harbor’s Barrett Schmidtke and Peninsula’s JR Grosshans are two qualified leaders. Both manage the game very well and want the ball in their hands during the critical moments of the game.

Schmidtke has found his groove in the Tides’ spread attack. He’s your NFL version of a Ben Roethlisberger. He’s weighs 220 pounds, has a strong arm and rarely makes a mistake.

Schmitdke has thrown nine touchdowns this season. Last Friday against Bellarmine, he threw for 195 yards without an interception — a key for the Tides.

On a huge fourth down play, Schmidtke fired a strike to a receiver for a game-ending first down.

A coaching staff that trusts its quarterback to throw on a fourth down during the biggest play of the night says a lot.

And he’s not afraid to take a hit. Schmidtke may not be fast, but you have to respect the fact that he could take the ball up the middle on any given play in the spread formation.

Grosshans, on the other hand, has demonstrated he’s a multi-purpose quarterback. His legs have become almost as big of a threat as his arm.

Against Clover Park last week, he scored four touchdowns on the ground, including one for 64 yards.

Grosshans can outrun most linebackers, and his throwing accuracy has improved. Above all, he’s shown the ability to read and react.

Grosshans analyzes what the defense gives him and can call audibles at the line of scrimmage.

I like Schmidtke’s arm more, but not by much. Conversely, Grosshans is a bigger threat to run for bigger chunks of yards.

Offense

Both teams have speedy receivers. Peninsula senior Jonny Johnson is lightning fast. He reminds me of the New England Patriots’ Wes Welker because he’s featured in bubble screens and other flare patterns.

If you don’t know where Johnson is lined up on the field, consider yourself beat.

Peninsula adds two solid running backs, seniors Darrian Creamer and Al Rasmussen, to keep a balanced attack.

The Seahawks’ offensive line is undersized, but it is well-coached and it understands how to shift the pocket so Grosshans can spread the ball to his receivers.

The Tides have a playmaker at every skilled position on offense, including junior tight end/receiver Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who is developing a great rapport with Schmidtke.

Their chemistry really showed against Bellarmine last Friday when Jenkins caught nine balls for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

I’ve always said Schmidtke can just lob the ball to Jenkins and let him do the rest. He should be Peninsula’s biggest concern on the outside.

But let’s not forget about Gig Harbor junior slot receiver Troy Castle, who has Johnson-type speed. The Seahawks will need to pay close attention to where Castle is at on the field, because he can line up just about anywhere.

The Tides don’t have as much depth at the running back position, but if junior Spencer Manjarrez gets into the open field, he can run you over or take it to the house. He returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against Central Kitsap.

If there is an area where Gig Harbor has been inconsistent, it’s been run blocking. The Tides have not proven to be as successful running the football.

I’m excited to see how both of these high-powered offenses do when they go toe-to-toe.

Defense

Gig Harbor’s defense has allowed an average of 24 points in its past four games. The Tides’ run defense has been stout, but it’s the passing that has really hurt them.

Since Gig Harbor put Castle in at cornerback, though, there’s been a noticeable improvement. The Tides sacked Bellarmine quarterback Rick Miller six times last week, which means they aren’t afraid to blitz.

Keep in mind that Gig Harbor has already faced the toughest teams on its Narrows League schedule. I’d expect the Tides’ points-allowed-per-game number to decrease.

Meanwhile, Peninsula has given up just 14 points per game. It may seem like the Seahawks’ defense is stronger, but the Narrows League’s top four teams are much stronger than the South Puget Sound League 3A Division’s top four.

Again, the Seahawks are undersized on the defensive front, but they use good technique. And because the Tides’ offensive line isn’t as beefy this year, I expect a more equal matchup in the trenches.

Special teams

Peninsula’s Creamer has shown he can return punts, and Castle can do the same for Gig Harbor. Both teams have kickers who consistently boot the ball deep on kickoffs.

Keep an eye out for Gig Harbor’s Manjarrez. That is, of course, if Peninsula opts to even kick it his way.

Both teams could electrify the crowd with their playmakers on punt and kick returns. And both kickers have the ability to put it through the uprights from about 40 yards.

Last year, Gig Harbor shut out Peninsula 33-0. What I can guarantee is there won’t be another lopsided victory.

This year’s game may come down to a late fourth-quarter drive to win the game.

I can’t wait for Friday night, and I wish both teams good luck.

Salmon Bake

The Fish Bowl wouldn’t be the same without the traditional pregame salmon bake. The Gig Harbor Fisherman’s Club will cook baked salmon, rice, salad, French bread and add your choice of milk, pop, water or coffee.

Dinner will be served from 5 p.m. until game time. Game tickets also will be available for sale at the dinner. The dinner also will be served to go for those who want to get to their seats and eat.

The cost is $7 for adults, $3 for kids younger than 12 and free for children younger than 5.

All proceeds go to the fisherman’s club scholarship fund for Peninsula, Gig Harbor and Henderson Bay high schools.