Gig Harbor edges Foss, keeps hopes alive

Tides struggle but come up big on late fourth-down play

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Despite struggling to put away the Foss Falcons last Friday at Roy Anderson Field, the Gig Harbor Tides came away with a 31-28 Class 4A Narrows League victory.

The Tides (3-3 overall, 3-2 league) bounced back from a non-league loss to crosstown rival Peninsula in the Fish Bowl to keep their playoff hopes alive.

If Gig Harbor wins at Wilson (4-2, 4-1) on the road Friday — followed by wins against Shelton and Mount Tahoma — it will earn the No. 3 seed and travel north for a playoff game against Wesco South No. 2, currently Kamiak.

Foss nearly spoiled that plan.

Leading by 11 points late in the game, Gig Harbor — which came up with a fourth-down stop on the goal line with 2:42 remaining — took a safety rather than risk a blocked punt deep in its own territory.

The Tides’ nine-point cushion got even slimmer when Foss mounted a scoring drive, but the Falcons left just 18.8 seconds on the clock when they made it 31-28.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Gig Harbor junior wide receiver Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and the Tides took a knee to seal the victory.

Gig Harbor head coach Darren McKay said the goal-line stand was big. Otherwise, the Tides wouldn’t have maintained their two-possession lead.

“In a couple of weeks, it’ll feel better, but we kept that (game) interesting,” McKay said. “We never put them away.”

McKay said the team’s Achilles’ heal has been its underneath defensive pass coverage.

Aside from a first-quarter touchdown, the Falcons were paralyzed in the first half. They committed two bad snaps into the end zone for safeties.

And before they knew it, Gig Harbor had a commanding 28-6 lead.

But the Tides left the door open for a comeback. Because the Falcons trailed by three touchdowns, they abandoned the running game and began to pass.

Foss senior quarterback DaVante Peterson rolled to both sides of the field and dumped the ball to his receivers. He had 20 completions for 333 yards and four touchdowns.

Gig Harbor junior Spencer Manjarrez finished with 175 yards of total offense and helped give the Tides a big enough lead to stave off the Falcons’ second-half rally that included three unanswered scores.

“I just wanted to go out there and do my job,” Manjarrez said. “The line made everything easy.”

Early on, it appeared as though Gig Harbor was on its way to a blowout victory.

The Tides scored the first touchdown of the night when quarterback Barrett Schmidtke was intercepted by Foss senior Jensen Chau, who was stripped of the ball immediately after the turnover.

The result put Gig Harbor inside the 20-yard line, and Schmitdtke wound up plunging into the end zone from the 1.

Foss scored its only touchdown of the half on a seven-play drive when Peterson threw an 8-yard touchdown.

On the next possession, the Tides’ Manjarrez took a screen pass 38 yards for a touchdown.

Then they began to roll.

Gig Harbor junior wide receiver Troy Castle outran the Foss secondary for a 52-yard touchdown with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter.

Gig Harbor’s Koree Durkee added a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Schmitdtke, who sprained his ankle during the Fish Bowl, completed 12 passes for 203 yards.

Jenkins led Gig Harbor in receiving with five receptions for 80 yards.

Foss tight end Scott Chrichton caused havoc within Gig Harbor’s interior defense, finishing with six catches for 97 yards and two TDs.

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