Saturday, Oct. 5, the Mercer Island Islanders hosted the Newport Knights for their homecoming game in the Jungle for their first home game since Foss nearly a month ago, on Sept. 13.

The first quarter was all Islanders. After a missed field goal by Newport on their first drive, Mercer Island took control. Quarterback Youngmin Lee found the hands of receiver Ryder Davis as Davis bulled over a defensive back on his way to the endzone for a 43-yard touchdown pass. 

“[The touchdown] just came together naturally, all credit goes to my quarterback, I ran my route and Youngmin threw me a perfect ball and was able to get me into the end zone,” Davis said.

In the waning seconds of the first quarter, Lee found receiver Kellen Eskridge as he darted to the endzone for a 22-yard touchdown pass. The first quarter ended 14-0 in favor of the Islanders. 

The only scoring that came out of the second quarter was a 37-yard Ethan Kercher field goal for the Islanders. Defensive tackle Vince Bom led an amazing Islanders defensive line, with multiple sacks and tackles for loss, as the second quarter ended 17-0 Snails. 

 “Our defense was huge today, they had a high-powered offense and we were able to hold them to 10 points. Our defense definitely stepped up today,” Davis said.

The third quarter started with a Knights touchdown courtesy of senior quarterback Cole Oliver rushing the ball into the endzone from the 3-yard line. Later in the quarter, Islanders running back Parker Blosch used his agility on a three yard touchdown run, as the third quarter concluded 24-7 for Mercer Island. 

Going into the fourth, the Islanders knew they had to defend the lead and they did just that.  Late in the quarter, it looked like Newport was regaining momentum, but then Islanders dual threat WR/CB Charlie Chatalas capitalized on a poor ball by Oliver, snagging an interception.

Coming off the interception, Lee found receiver Elan Gotel on a go-route for the Islander touchdown, effectively putting the game to bed. 

After a great performance by both the offense and defense, the Islanders prevailed against the Knights, with a final score of 31-10. 

“I feel really good about [our playoff chances], if we can keep getting better and not get complacent, I think we have a real chance at one. We just need to keep getting better each week and prepare ourselves for whatever team we might have to play,” Davis said.

The Islanders keep their undefeated season chugging along moving to 5-0, playing Renton at home this Thursday in the Jungle.