North Kitsap football downs W.F. West, reaches Class 2A state championship game

Twenty-five years later, Kitsap County can celebrate a high school football team competing for the ultimate prize again.

Knocked around early in Saturday's Class 2A semifinal game against W.F. West, North Kitsap never quit and completed a 29-22 comeback victory at Tumwater District Stadium, earning the right to face No. 1 seed and defending state champion Lynden at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup on Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.

Before Saturday, South Kitsap could lay claim at being the last Kitsap County team to play for a state title — and that was in 1997, when SK lost to Central Valley, 49-13, in the AAA championship game. The Wolves won it all 1994 over Walla Walla, 15-10.

Now No. 3 North Kitsap (12-1) can become state champions for the first time in school history.

"Hopefully the whole county will be with us, the whole West Sound," North Kitsap head coach Jeff Weible said. "I got tons of emails this week from coaches in our league, around our area, that just said, 'Hey, go get 'em.' We'll have a huge crowd I'm sure. They better be ready for Viking nation to show up in Puyallup."

Against No. 2 W.F. West (11-2), the Vikings saw its chances of advancing heading due south after the Bearcats took a 15-0 lead after one quarter. W.F. West senior quarterback Gavin Fugate carved up North Kitsap's defense on the opening drive, which ended with a 7-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Gage Brumfield. The Bearcats led 8-0 after a successful 2-point conversion.

Another sophomore, Ross Kelley, pushed W.F. West to a 15-0 advantage with 1:35 left in the first quarter when he picked off North Kitsap quarterback Cole Edwards and returned it 24 yards for a score.

It wasn't a knockout blow, but the Vikings were in desperate need of some smelling salts.

“They came out and punched us in the mouth early," Weible said. "We pulled the kids together right after that and said, 'Hey, we talked about it before the game. If we play our brand of football, we’ll be OK.' We didn’t play our brand of football the first two series. Let’s flip the switch and let’s go."

North Kitsap woke up on the second half, pulling within 15-10 on a 34-yard field goal by senior Diego De Luna and a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore Carter Dungy. Defensively, the Vikings came up with a pair of interceptions by junior Logan Sloman and senior Benen Lawler, the latter coming with W.F. West driving inside North Kitsap's 35-yard line with a minute to go before halftime.

Receiving the second half kickoff, the Vikings went to work. Sloman put North Kitsap up 16-15 on a 28-yard touchdown reception along the left sideline.

On W.F. West's next possession, the Bearcats drove all the way down to North Kitsap's 1-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after the Vikings stuffed runs by Fugate and sophomore running back Tucker Land on third and fourth downs.

"Was the difference in the game," Weible said.

North Kitsap defensive coordinator Dave Snyder said the Vikings put extra linemen on the field on the those plays, clogging the line of scrimmage.

"We were ready for it," Snyder said.

The goal-line stand proved even more crucial for North Kitsap considering Edwards found senior receiver Jaxson Gore for a 63-yard touchdown toss on the Vikings' next possession, pushing the lead to 23-15.

W.F. West's next four offensive possessions resulted in two punts and two more interceptions: Sloman's second and one by junior Alex Hitchings, who saw his 60-yard pick six negated due to a questionable block in the back penalty.

"I feel like once we got that confidence," Edwards said, "everything started clicking."

North Kitsap added a 19-yard field goal and 34-yard field goal to extend its lead to 29-15 with 2:33 remaining. W.F. West made things interesting late as senior receiver Cameron Amaroso hauled in a 20-yard touchdown reception with 32 seconds remaining. The pass appeared to be intercepted Hitchings in the end zone, but the back judge ruled it shared possession, allowing the Bearcats to pull within 29-22.

On the ensuing onsides kick, the ball bounced along the sideline for what seemed like an eternity before Lawler gathered it under a pile of players.

"It was just bouncing around and I hopped on it," Lawler said. "I was not going to let anybody else get it.”

Edwards, who finished the game with a season-high 334 passing yards, knelt in victory formation to seal the historic win for North Kitsap. Sloman finished with 163 receiving yards to go with his touchdown catch and two interceptions, while Gore added 152 yards and a score. Lawler rushed for 118 yards.

“I’m just so proud of the kids, just keep fighting and clawing," Weible said. "I just don’t want them to be satisfied with this."

Now the Vikings earn another shot at Lynden (12-0), which topped No. 4 Enumclaw 41-14 in Saturday's other semifinal game, held in Bellingham. The Lions topped North Kitsap 15-0 in last year's semifinal round before beating Tumwater in the title game.

"I feel like we are going to play with a chip on our shoulder," Edwards said, "and we are going to go out there and play our ball."

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: North Kitsap football downs W.F. West, reaches 2A title game