Home sweet home | Islanders throttle Saints for homecoming win

Mercer Island rang in its homecoming weekend with a 46-13 blowout victory over Interlake Friday at Islander Stadium.

October 11, 2014 10:32 am

Mercer Island rang in its homecoming weekend with a 46-13 blowout victory over Interlake Friday at Islander Stadium. The Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak, while earning their first KingCo win of the season.

The game was over shortly after it began, with Mercer Island capitalizing on Interlake’s struggles to hold on to the football. The Islanders scored four touchdowns and a field goal off four first-quarter fumble recoveries and a blocked punt to take a commanding 36-0 lead over the Saints in the opening quarter.

Mercer Island recovered three more fumbles in the game’s second quarter, taking a 46-0 lead into the break. Overall, Mercer Island’s defense finished with nine takeaways. David Emanuels recovered two fumbles in the first half, running back both for touchdowns.

“Everything he gets on the field, he earns it and he deserves it,” said coach Brett Ogata of the Islanders’ senior captain. “Some of those plays might seem like luck, but it’s not luck. He works hard to be in the right position to make it happen. That’s how David is, he really works hard to be in those positions to make great plays for us.”

Also in the opening quarter, Jack Counihan broke Mercer Island’s single season touchdown reception record, with his ninth and tenth touchdown receptions of the season coming on Mercer Island’s first two possessions.

“Jack has really stepped up this year,” said Ogata. “There’s that junior to senior year kind of thing. Last year, he was a pretty good player for us and this year, he just made that huge jump, that huge maturity-level leap. It’s pretty cool to see when that happens for players. I couldn’t be happier for him that he’s having a great year.”

Mercer Island will take on Lake Washington at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 at Lake Washington High School.

Trevor Himstead (58) jumps on an Interlake fumble during the first quarter of Mercer Island’s homecoming game against the Saints (photo by Joseph Livarchik).