QUILCENE — Quilcene senior Eli Harrison’s return to his quarterback and safety positions was too much for an improved Crescent to overcome, as the Rangers topped the Loggers 32-24.
Harrison, an all-state defensive back, had missed the past two weeks after suffering a mild concussion against Evergreen Lutheran on Oct. 10.
Saturday’s contest was the second nonleague game on the season between the two schools.
Quilcene previously topped Crescent 50-8 on Sept. 26.
“They are very much improved and we didn’t play as well we should,” Rangers coach Byron Wilson said.
“Eli practiced all week but it was no contact, so that might have been some of it too — shaking off the rust.”
Harrison led Quilcene with 10 carries for 113 rushing yards.
Crescent opened the game with a 34-yard rushing TD by Jakob Baillargeon.
Baillargeon led both teams with 15 rushes for 157 yards.
“He had a really good game for us,” Crescent coach Brian Shimko said.
“He was busting it to the outside on some quick pitches.”
Quilcene answered back, with Harrison connecting with Jarrod Smith on a 22-yard TD pass, the Rangers only pass completion of the day.
“He was a little rough around the edges in the pass game,” Wilson said.
Harrison also ran a punt back 70 yards for a score to put the Rangers up 16-8 after one quarter.
A yard-plunge by Ace Elkins put Quilcene up 24-8 at halftime.
A.J. Prater scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter as the Rangers went up 30-8.
But the Loggers didn’t quit, with quarterback KC Spencer scoring on a 1-yard run and finding Erik Emery for a 46-yard TD pass to pull within 30-24.
Crescent got the ball back deep in its own territory with about a minute to play, but an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone gave Quilcene a safety and a 32-24 lead.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Rangers.
“We had plenty of opportunities to win this one,” Shimko said.
“We got the ball inside the red zone a couple of other times but didn’t get any points.”
The Loggers (2-7) will wrap their season with a road trip to Darrington for a nonleague game at 5 p.m. Friday.
Quilcene (6-2) visits Tulalip Heritage (3-4) for a 1B Quad-District playoff game at 6 p.m. Friday.
Quilcene 32, Crescent 24
Crescent 8 0 8 8— 24
Quilcene 16 8 6 2— 32
Individual Stats
Rushing—Q: Harrison 10-113, Prater 16-93, Elkins 10-11. C: Baillargeon 16-157, Emery 7-63, Buchanan 12-29, Spencer 3-21, Story 6-0.
Passing—Q: Harrison 1-7-0, 22. C: Spencer 5-12-2, 101.
Receiving—Q: Smith 1-22. C: Emery 2-55, Buchanan 2-34, Leonard 1-12.
