Senior Jack Singh tears through the banner as the Islanders come out onto the field before kickoff. Photo courtesy Polly Schaps.
Despite a 14-28 loss, freezing rain didn’t stop the Islanders from putting up a good fight against the Sehome Mariners at the 2019 MIHS Homecoming football game on Friday, September 27th.
Loyal—but soaked—fans huddled underneath umbrellas to watch one of the most anticipated games of the year.
Starting on the offensive side, MIHS senior Owen Baebler, kicked off the game. Smooth passes and plays won the Islanders the first touchdown, putting them ahead 7-0.
In the first quarter, the Islanders scored a 63 yard touchdown by Carter Burr. Will Wheeler scored the field goal kick. Sehome held their ground through the first quarter with back and forth possession.
About two minutes into the second quarter, Sehome scored a touchdown, tying the game 7-7.
At halftime, the introduction of the Homecoming Court followed the MIHS Band performance, featuring Puerto Rico’s BEG Band.
The second half saw a grueling series of fumbles and flags. The poor plays were mostly a result of a slippery ball.
Circumstances took an interesting turn when Sehome scored yet another touchdown, taking the lead with 7-13. The Islanders pulled ahead by one point, making the score 14-13. The Islanders lost Carter Burr, at the end of the third quarter because of an injury. Another touchdown put Sehome on top, 19-14. The Islanders dug their heels, but they lost steam after Sehome made another touchdown. The clock ran out, and the final score was 28-14.
Going into the Homecoming game, the Islanders were pretty confident.
“We had a good week of practice, and some really good effort throughout the week,” said Head Coach Ed Slezinger. “Watching [Sehome] on film and seeing how they played today, they stepped their game a little bit, it caught some of our guys off guard, but I felt like we were prepared. We just didn’t deliver today.”
Regardless, the Islanders fought hard, and there are always things to be learned from losses.
“Oh, I think there’s a thousand little things,” Coach Ed Slezinger. “I mean there always is, right? Our guys are striving to get better week after week.”
Going forward, the Islanders know that more hard work is still to be done.
“Now we’re going into conference plays so it’s ultimately important about how we do day in and day out throughout the week in practice,” Slezinger said. “So everyone’s got a little take home stuff tonight that will hopefully show up on Monday.”
Next week, the Islanders will be playing Interlake at Interlake High School on Friday, October 4 at 7 pm.
