PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend may be a team of the future, but its present was full of hard knocks Thursday night at Memorial Field.
The young and untested Redskin football team ran into speed and experience in the form of the Charles Wright Tarriers.
Predictably, the Tarriers rolled, racking up 371 yards of offense on the way to a 47-14 victory in the teams’ Class 1A Nisqually League opener.
It was the 12th straight loss for the Redskins (0-1 in league, 0-2 overall), who played a rare Thursday night home game to make room for this weekend’s Wooden Boat Festival.
“Experience and speed helped us tonight,” Charles Wright coach Mike Finch said. “We went through the same growing pains two years ago. In two years, Port Townsend is going to be a really good team.
“They are young, but they are big. They are going to get a lot of experience in two seasons.”
The Redskins certainly got their share Thursday.
Five different Tarriers scored touchdowns as Charles Wright’s fly-sweep dominated attack scored on seven of its first eight possessions against the out-matched Redskins.
Jacob Lawson and Raheem Hughey each scored a pair of touchdowns, while teammate Colin Reynolds gashed the Redskin defense for 74 yards on just two carries.
Meanwhile, Port Townsend’s shotgun attack managed just five yards of offense in the first half as the team fell behind 35-0.
Quarterback Austin Graham and the Redskin runners were continually harassed by a penetrating Tarrier defensive line led by 6-foot-8 defensive end Beau Iverson (three sacks).
“They dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said. “When that happens, the outcome is fairly obvious.
“We knew what plays they were going to run. It’s just a matter of trying to get guys to be in the right position and be physical enough to handle their blocks.
“I think Charles Wright, they execute pretty well.
“They get out there and they get out in the linebackers pretty quick and they create some holes.”
The Redskins, who have just one senior in Graham, did manage to move the ball in the fourth quarter against the Tarriers’ backup defense.
Sophomore running back Matt Cain ran for 42 of his 51 yards during that time, scoring one of the Redskins’ two touchdowns on a 31-yard sweep.
Jeff Seton added the Redskins’ other score in the final minute on an option pitch from Graham from five yards out.
In between, the Redskins lost three starters to injury in sophomores Skyler Coppenrath, Layne Zack and Tim Russell.
“You could see that we were physically overmatched,” said Webster, still looking for his first win as Redskins head coach after 11 games.
Outside of those two scoring drives, it was all Tarriers from the start.
That included the opening kickoff — a pooch kick recovered by Charles Wright at the Redskin 30-yard line.
Charles Wright marched down the 1-yard line five plays later, with Hughey running the ball in on fourth-and-goal for the Tarriers’ first touchdown.
The Tarriers went on to score touchdowns on each of their next four possessions, using a mix of fly sweeps and counters to roll for 200 rushing yards on 23 carriers in the first half.
Quarterback Fritz Jacobson also connected on 3-of-4 passes for 65 yards, including a 33-yard strike to Collin Hungate that set up a 1-yard Lawson touchdown run early in the second quarter.
“Port Townsend . . . they are really young,” Finch said. “They are a big, physical team and we just happened to have a lot of speed and we got to the edge.”
Cain was the Redskins’ top weapon with 72 yards of offense, 21 of which came off two receptions.
No other Port Townsend player gained more than 13 yards, and Graham was held to negative yardage due to the Tarriers dominant defensive front.
“We’ll keep working at it,” Webster said. “This is a process. This is a very young team and I think our youth, and inexperience showed up a little bit more tonight than it did against Coupeville [in a 29-19 loss].
“We finished on some positive notes, so we can take that into next week and try to build on that.”
The Redskins next play at Vashon Island on Saturday, Sept. 17.
C. Wright 47, P. Townsend 14
C. Wright 14 21 12 0— 47
Port Townsend 0 0 0 14— 14
First Quarter
CW—Hughey 1 run (Dennis kick)
CW—Epistola 6 run (Dennis kick)
Second Quarter
CW—Lawson 1 run (Dennis kick)
CW—Reynolds 57 run (Dennis kick)
CW—Hughey 10 run (Dennis kick)
Third Quarter
CW—Reynolds 9 run (kick no good)
CW—Nick Ho 7 run (kick no good)
Fourth Quarter
PT—Cain 31 run (Cain run)
PT—Seton 5 run (Run failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— PT: Cain 6-51, Little 3-13, Russell 2-3, Allie 1-1, Seton 2-1, Graham 14-(minus 7). CW: Reynolds 2-27, Lelle 4-30, Ho 2-12, Lawson 7-69, Hughey 9-27, Gaume 1-17, Moore 2-22, Nielson 3-8, Epistola 2-40, Workman 3-3, Nagaich 2-(minus 1), Skokin 1-(minus 13).
Passing—PT: Graham 5-8-0, 29. CW: Jacobson 3-4-0, 69.
Receiving—PT: Coppenrath 1-7, Cain 2-21, Jones 2-1. CW: Gaume 1-6, Hungate 1-33, Iverson 1-26.