The Orcas Vikings football team traveled to Bellevue to take on the division 1A Bellevue Christian Vikings in a non-league battle on Oct. 1.
Bellevue jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after an interception by Devon Stanzione lead to a drive that stalled inside the 20. Bellevue Christian took over on downs and drove 85 yards. A three yard plunge by Josh Hazen gave Bellevue a 7-point lead.
An interception by Mike Schubert lead to a 15-yard touch down pass to Nick Schubert and Orcas found themselves down 14-0 in the first quarter. That is when the vaunted Orcas passing attack took over. A 45-yard kick return by Aubrey Schermerhorn was followed by quick passing strikes down the field and a 3-yard touchdown run by Jake Zier. The Orcas defense stiffened and quarterback Robbie Padbury found Keenan Phalan for a 41-yard touchdown bomb over the middle tying the game at 14 with 4 minutes left in the first half. The Vikings held again and took the ball over at their own 27-yard line. Two plays is all it took for Orcas to get a lead they would never relinquish. A 44-yard completion followed by a 32-yard TD pass both from Padbury to Schermerhorn gave the Vikings a 20-14 advantage. Orcas shocked the home team with 51 seconds to go in the half with a 47 yard completion from Padbury to Phalan to the 4-yard line and an easy 4-yard touchdown pass to Stanzione. A 2-point conversion by Jake Zier left the stunned home crowd looking up at a 28-14 disadvantage at the half.
A three yard pass to Tyler Hazen and missed extra point brought the home team to within 28-20 early in the third quarter. A 49-yard kick return after the score by Stanzione set up the Orcas Vikings near midfield.
Padbury locked the game away with a touchdown pass of 47 yards to Stanzione and on the very next possession hit Phalan for a 63-yard catch and run for the final Orcas touchdown of the game. Bellevue Christian added a late touchdown to make the final score 41-27.
Padbury finished his day at the end of the third quarter with 16 for 24 passing 373 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Phalan had 5 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Schermerhorn had 245 all purpose yards with 6 receptions for 120 yards with one touchdown while adding 70 yards of kick returns and 55 yards rushing. Stanzione contributed 51 yards of kick returns along with his 75 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
“Special teams were a major factor in this game by giving us a short field with which to play while taking away Bellevue Christian’s momentum at crucial times,” said head coach Scott Harris. “We are also starting to get a high level of confidence with our passing attack. Guys have had great games for us each week. Keenan (Phalan) and Devon (Stanzione) are serious weapons at all times and create huge problems for opposing defenses. It was great to see Aubrey (Schermerhorn) become a dangerous third weapon in our passing game allowing us to attack soft spots in the defense. Robbie (Padbury) is really seeing the field well. Him finding and hitting our receivers in stride lead to most of our success. I am really pleased with the entire squad for their tenacity, maturity and poise. Even when we were down 14-0 early on they never panicked. They seem to perform at their best when the pressure is on. We now go into our final five games of league play with each game basically a playoff game. I believe in these guys and expect great things ahead.”
