EVERETT — Calling the Mariner offense stagnant through the better part of three quarters would be kind.
Penalties crippled drives, and star running back Darius Brown found little running room against Kamiak’s defense.
But Mariner kept grinding away and, when its offense needed to the most, it produced.
Trailing 12-0 midway through the third quarter, the Marauders — led by quarterback JJ Walker and powered by Brown — engineered back-to-back touchdown drives, and a late Isaiah Harrison fumble return for touchdown sealed the Mariner comeback in a wild 22-12 Wesco 4A win over cross-town rival Kamiak on Friday night at Frank Goddard Stadium.
Brown tallied 153 rushing yards and touchdowns of 7 and 5 yards, and Walker completed 10 of 18 passes for 133 yards for Mariner (1-1 Wesco, 2-2).
Kamiak (0-2, 1-3) was led by quarterback Matt Merk, who threw for 113 yards and ran for a 65-yard score early in the third quarter.
In a game in which Kamiak and Mariner shared their offensive struggles, scoring started 15 seconds in.
Knights running back Josh Binda fielded the opening kickoff from his own 6-yard line, started left and cut back to his right around the 20-yard line before finding a seam and sprinting untouched into the Mariner end zone, giving the Knights a huge shot of momentum to start.
That was the only score of the first half.
Mariner was plagued with poor field position throughout most of the first two quarters. The only time the Marauders began beyond their own 33, penalties and a lost fumbled derailed a promising scoring opportunity.
Walker moved Mariner down to Kamiak’s 7 midway through the second quarter, but a holding penalty backed the offense to the 19, and on the next play Walker lost a fumble trying to escape pressure.
Kamiak struck with another big play early in the third quarter.
Merk gave the Knights a two-touchdown lead on their third play of the second half. The Knights signal-caller dropped back to pass and slowly rolled out to his right before tucking the ball and deciding to run with it. With no Mariner defenders in front of him, Merk dashed 65 yards down the left side line to put the Knights in front 12-0 with 8:25 left to go in the third quarter.
Then when the Mariner offense seemed to have nothing going, Brown ignited his team with some strong running, as the Marauders’ front began to wear down Kamiak’s defense.
Walker navigated Marauders on an 11-play, 93-yard touchdown drive to trim Kamiak’s lead to 12-7 on the final play of the third quarter. Brown punctuated the drive with a 7-yard TD run right through the heart of Kamiak’s defense.
Following a Kamiak punt, Walker went back to work, leading Mariner on another 11-play touchdown drive, this time for 54 yards. Brown capped the drive with his second score — a 5-yard rush out of the Wildcat formation. A two-point conversion gave Mariner a 15-12 edge with 5:20 to go.
Harrison sealed Kamiak’s fate on the Knights’ ensuing drive, recovering a fumble and rumbling 31 yards to put Mariner in front 22-12.
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