A slight uptick in roster numbers and a major increase in scoring output added up to the first win of the season for the Grays Harbor Bearcats.
Capitalizing on turnovers and short-field situations, the Bearcats led throughout in trouncing the Puget Sound Outlaws, 38-12, in a Western Washington Football Alliance contest on June 17 at Stewart Field.
The Bearcats (1-1, 1-3) began the game with 19 players and ended it with 17. Even the latter, however, was an upgrade from the 14 they suited up for a recent contest in Spokane.
Among those returning to the field were starting quarterback Eric Dayton and running back Vincent McCrory, who had both been battling calf injuries.
“That makes a huge difference on how we can play and what we can call,” said Bearcat player-coach-owner Don Orton.
Dayton ran for one touchdown and passed for another. McCrory led all rushers with 77 yards on 17 carries and also scored once.
Vernon McCrory, who had also been injured, excelled defensively.
In addition to injuries, Orton said work commitments and family emergencies has limited Grays Harbor’s roster size. He hopes to have a few more players available next week.
Thanks to three Puget Sound turnovers and a couple of failed fourth-down gambles, the Bearcats didn’t have to cover much real estate in building a 26-6 halftime lead. Incredibly, the game’s first 51 scrimmage plays originated in Outlaw territory. The raggedly played half included six turnovers and 11 Outlaw penalties.
“In the first half, we were able to execute what we wanted to do,” Orton said.
On the game’s third play from scrimmage, Grays Harbor’s Kareem Johnson recovered an Outlaw fumble on the Puget Sound 9-yard line. Operating from the 10 two plays later, Dayton hit Justin Marsh on a fade route for the touchdown.
Pedro Gonzalez’s 10-yard scoring run at the 9:56 mark of the first quarter gave the Bearcats a 14-0 lead. Grays Harbor had started the drive from the Puget Sound 29 after the Outlaws misfired on a fourth-down pass.
About four minutes later, the Puget Sound quarterback fumbled in his end zone. Defensive lineman Kerby Sackett came up with the loose ball for the touchdown.
The Bearcats made it 26-0 on the opening possession of the second quarter, with Jordan Harrington running it in from 16 yards out.
Ineffective in their early attempts to throw, the Outlaws (0-2, 0-4) were more successful when diminutive Thomas Dejohnette began running keepers from the shotgun formation.
After Dejohnette scored from less than a yard out at the 5:33 mark of the second quarter, the Outlaws drove to the Bearcat 2-yard line late in the first half. But Gonzalez sacked Dejohnette on consecutive plays and time expired with Puget Sound on the Grays Harbor 16.
Dayton’s 1-yard quarterback sneak midway through the third quarter made it 32-6 and essentially sealed the outcome.
The Bearcats countered a 19-yard TD run by Puget Sound’s Ernie Davis early in the fourth quarter by putting together a 63-yard scoring drive on their next possession. Dayton hit Gonzalez and Justin Spencer on completions of 22 and 16 yards, respectively, to set up Vincent McCrory’s tackle-breaking 9-yard run that closed out the scoring.
Orton cited Vernon McCrory, Harrington, Dyel Eason and Jerry Mancuso for fine defensive performances.
The Bearcats host the Snohomish County Vikings on June 24. Although scheduled for 6 p.m., there is a possibility of an earlier kickoff due to construction at Stewart Field.
