The North Thurston football team struggled to get stops in the first half, and the Rams fell to Peninsula 48-6 in Gig Harbor Friday, Oct. 9.
The red-hot Seahawks rolled to a 20-0 first quarter and took a 41-0 halftime lead. North Thurston running back Toa Tunai ended the scoring drought with a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, the Rams played without quarterback Nicholas Nutu, who is dealing with a shoulder injury and a hamstring injury. Backup Mateo Henry had his best game at the quarterback position this season, throwing for 75 yards and completing 11 of his 16 attempts.
“He’s doing the best he can, and he’s getting better at it,” North Thurston head coach Deon Toliver said of Henry. “He’s playing hard.”
Toliver said his defense played “decent” against the potent Seahawks rushing attack, but where Peninsula beat the Rams was throwing over the top of the secondary, as the Seahawks threw for five touchdowns.
“We may have overcompensated for the run. Our secondary hasn’t been great all year, and they took advantage of it and hit us up top a couple times,” Toliver said. “That was definitely the difference. They’re probably the most physical team in the league.”
Peninsula also blocked two punts in its fourth consecutive victory since starting 0-2.
Tasesa Maiava led the Rams with 59 rushing yards on five carries, and Tunai added 47 yards and a score on 13 carries.
North Thurston (1-5, 0-3 Puget Sound League) will host Capital (2-4, 1-2 PSL) on Friday, Oct. 16 before closing the regular season with a home game against River Ridge on Oct. 23.
