MUKILTEO — Darius Brown didn’t get a lot of sleep Thursday night.
Mariner’s junior running back was up late thinking about the Marauders’ Wesco 4A opener against Kamiak.
When game time came, Brown did all he could to ensure Mariner ended up on top. Brown had 23 carries for 202 yards and three touchdowns to help the Marauders get their first win of the season against Mukilteo School District rival Kamiak 28-6 Friday night at Goddard Stadium.
“We wanted this bad,” Brown said. “We couldn’t stop talking about it. We couldn’t sleep. We just wanted it.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Brown had a pair of touchdown runs in the second period. The first saw him run through the middle of the line — and almost everybody on the field — for a 50-yard score. The second saw the shifty junior — listed at 5-feet, 5-inches and 150 pounds — cut and juke his way into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.
“He’s pretty explosive,” said Mariner head coach Mark Stewart. “I watched him last year and I always felt like he’s one of the guys that really makes us tick. He can make big plays and makes people miss. This is a great game for him and I think you’re going to see great things from him the rest of the year.”
Brown rounded out his scoring with a four-yard touchdown run on the Marauders’ opening drive of the third quarter to put Mariner ahead 21-0.
On several occasions, the Marauders’ offensive line did a direct snap to Brown, who would run to the outside and pick up big gains. The junior had nine runs of 10 yards or more in the contest.
“I just try to get the defenders to miss,” Brown said. “Just go score. That’s it.”
Senior Colton Braa, who is listed as a defensive lineman on the Marauders’ roster, added 71 yards and Mariner’s final score on eight carries as the Marauders ended Kamiak’s two-game winning streak in the series. Stewart was pleased with his squad, which earned its first win of the season in both teams’ league opener.
“Kamiak, our district rival, it’s a big win for us,” Stewart said. “I felt pretty good about the game. It was nice to see us come out and execute, especially, in the second half. We came out and finished it. I’m real pleased with where we’re at and our progress and we’ve just got to keep getting better.”
Kamiak quarterback Connor Alexander was 17 of 37 for 183 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Alexander threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brock Merkley on the final play of the game to avoid the shutout for the Knights.
“It’s the last play of the game, but you never stop fighting,” Kamiak head coach Dan Mack said. “I tip my hat to Mariner. They came out and played a great game. We’ve got some work to do but we’ll be fine.”
Stewart praised his defense for keeping Kamiak out of the end zone until the game’s final seconds.
“I felt like we could get after them physically a little bit. And then execute,” Stewart said. “We just had to figure it out and get things going. We’ve got some guys that are pretty explosive and make big plays and the defense played well. The defense did a great job of shutting them down.”
Alex Indelicato had 11 carries for 62 yards to lead the Knights’ rushing attack.
Mack said Friday’s contest proves every Wesco 4A game is going to be a battle this season.
“There’s a lot of good programs in Wesco 4A,” Mack said. “Mariner came out today and outplayed us. We’re going to have to get back to work. … We had a hard time carrying our assignments out on offense and defense. Mariner just came out and played a really fine game. We’ve got to get back to what we do well.”
Stewart agreed.
“Every week is going to be a battle,” he said. “We just have to make sure we’re ready to go every week. With guys like this, we’ll be all right.”
At Kamiak H.S.
Mariner 0 14 7 7 — 28
Kamiak 0 0 0 6 — 6
M—Darius Brown 50 run (Edward Katynskiy kick)
M—Brown 24 run (Katynskiy kick)
M—Brown 4 run (Katynskiy kick)
M—Colton Braa 9 run (Katynskiy kick)
K—Brock Merkley 23 pass from Connor Alexander (time expired)
Records—Mariner 1-0 league, 1-2 overall. Kamiak 0-1, 1-2.
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