Bishop Blanchet running back Oshea Trujillo rushed for two first-half touchdowns and wide receiver Keaton Zimbelman caught two first-quarter TD receptions as the Braves dished Mercer Island a 40-13 rout in their season opener Friday night in Seattle.
The Braves’ senior skill players were firing on all cylinders throughout the opening half. Senior quarterback Alex Freeman threw for three first-quarter touchdowns to give the Braves a 20-0 lead after one. Freeman found Clinton Allen Jr. from 34 yards out on Blanchet’s second possession of the game, then Zimbelman on the following two drives on touchdown passes from 2 yards and 27 yards.
The Braves scored three more in the second quarter, with Trujillo reaching the end zone on an 8-yard run and an 82-yard touchdown scamper, giving the Braves a 40-0 advantage at the half. Freeman also found Jamiek Satterwhite in the quarter for his fourth touchdown pass of the half.
“Blanchet is really talented,” Islander coach Brett Ogata said after the game. “They have some really good athletes that took advantage of some inexperience mistakes we made on both sides of the ball and before you knew it, we were down by 20-something points. We just didn’t have a lot of veteran guys. It’s something we’ll grow from; we’ll get better.”
With expected starting QB Anthony Scalzo out for the season and watching from the sidelines, Mercer Island alternated quarterbacks each quarter throughout the contest. Sophomore Nikhil Nayar was the signal-caller to open both the first and second halves, while junior Blake Swanson was under center in the second quarter and final period.
Ogata said he was continuing to look at both QBs before making a selection for full-time duty.
“Both of them had some good plays and bad plays today. They’re both young, they just have to keep learning,” he said. “As the game went on, they started to understand what they had to do better.”
Mercer Island found some success with its running game to open the second half. A 25-yard run from Jordano Mark followed by a Bishop Blanchet penalty put the Islanders within the red zone at the Braves’ 15-yard line. Nayar capped the 77-yard drive rushing for a 2-yard touchdown to put the Islanders on the board, though the Braves would block the ensuing PAT.
In the fourth, a 31-yard run by Swanson put the Islanders at first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Swanson found Will Krause in the end zone for Mercer Island’s second touchdown of the game.
“By the second half, we got a couple scores and we kept them off the scoreboard. I’m happy our guys battled throughout the game,” Ogata said.
Mercer Island will look to bounce back next Friday in its home opener against Kentridge at 7 p.m. at Islander Stadium.
