Seahawks beat Tides 38-7 in Fish Bowl rout

Peninsula causes four turnovers; Grosshans throws 4 TD passes

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

You got the feeling Friday night that the Peninsula Seahawks had a point to prove during the 31st annual Fish Bowl.

In front of an emotionally charged crowd at Roy Anderson Field, the Seahawks (4-1 overall, 3-1 Class 3A South Puget Sound League) stymied the Gig Harbor Tides by playing four quarters of well-rounded football and earning bragging rights with a 38-7 victory.

Gig Harbor (2-3 overall, 2-2 4A Narrows League) won the previous two meetings, including a 33-0 shutout last year.

But the Seahawks took matters into their own hands last weekend.

Peninsula senior wide receiver Geoff Grant, who caught eight balls for 100 yards and two touchdowns, said he couldn’t describe the feeling of winning.

“It’s just been building up over the years,” Grant said. “We just left it on the field and went all-out. We fought for each other and gave it our best shot.”

The game took shape when Gig Harbor fumbled on its opening drive. Peninsula coughed it up five plays later, nullifying the early jitters.

Peninsula was the first to settle into a smooth rhythm offensively. After senior Al Ramussen sacked Gig Harbor senior quarterback Barrett Schmidtke with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter, the Seahawks went on a seven-play scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback JR Grosshans to running back Darrian Creamer.

Later in the second quarter — after Peninsula converted a 26-yard field goal — Gig Harbor junior wide receiver Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught a lob pass inside the 20 for the team’s only score of the night, pulling the Tides within 10-7.

But Gig Harbor left too much time on the clock.

With just more than three minutes before the half, Peninsula marched down the field and scored following a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a touchdown to Grant, who dove for a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Grosshans had 264 all-purpose yards. He completed 15 passes for 191 yards and four TDs.

“It was a huge win for us,” Grosshans said. “Everybody executed tonight. It feels really good to walk away with this win.”

Peninsula head coach Ross Filkins said it would be hard to be critical of Grosshans’ performance. He said his team gave a tremendous effort and had a great result.

“We wanted to come in and be balanced,” Filkins said. “We knew if we needed to throw, we could.”

Both teams came in with two-game winning streaks. Gig Harbor’s key to its run came by not turning the ball over and stellar play by Schmidtke.

But against the Seahawks, the Tides lost three fumbles, and Schmidtke, who completed just six passes for 67 yards and an interception, sprained his ankle on the first series of the second half when he was sacked for the third time.

Then the momentum swung heavily in Peninsula’s favor after Gig Harbor fumbled the ball on the 2-yard line during a 14-play drive.

Gig Harbor head coach Darren McKay said that one hurt the most.

“Turning the ball over and not stopping them on third down, those are the kinds of results you’re going to get,” McKay said. “Nobody likes to get beat in a rivalry game, but that comes with the territory. The reality is we have to bounce back in a league game.”

Peninsula maintained a comfortable 24-7 lead, and it smelled blood following the big turnover. The Seahawks continued to move the ball and chew up precious time that Gig Harbor needed to mount a comeback.

Peninsula senior tight end Blake Becker scored on a 3-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left in the game for good measure.

Seahawks senior lineman Alec Bendorf said the win was a confidence-booster.

“They really put a hurting on us the last two years, and we really took it to them tonight,” Bendorf said. “I’ll remember this forever.”

The Tides’ Schmidtke is questionable for Gig Harbor’s home game against Foss (3-2 league and overall) at 7 p.m. Friday at Roy Anderson Field.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks will visit the Bonney Lake Panthers (3-1, 4-1) at 7 p.m. at Bonney Lake High School.

Reach sports reporter Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at marques.hunter@gateline.com.