Sultan hands King’s first loss

Published 10:12 am Monday, March 3, 2008

While the King’s offense floundered, Sultan’s capitalized as the Turks handed the Knights their first loss of the season, 35-0 Sept. 30 at Sultan.

“Every time they needed a big play they got it,” King’s head coach Jim Shapiro said. “We were able to drive at certain times (but) we didn’t finish like they did.

“We had four times inside the 20 that we didn’t convert,” he said. “We just didn’t finish the job there.”

Knights tailback Spencer Clark, the Cascade Conference’s leading rusher, ran for 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game, carrying the ball 18 times for 104 yards. Still, King’s couldn’t find the end zone.

“Obviously they were keying him. I think where we lost the battle was the line of scrimmage,” said Shapiro. “Sultan was big and physical we didn’t get to the second level very well. We weren’t blocking linebackers very well.

“They were bigger than we expected and more athletic, much improved,” he said.

Neither team turned the ball over, but Sultan was able to convert third downs and consistently move the ball. Andy Kincaid led the way for the Turks rushing for three touchdowns.

Instead of taking the practice field this past Monday, Shapiro took his team to Spiro’s Pizza and Pasta in Shoreline for a team meeting to talk things out.

“It’s one thing to lose a game it’s another thing how you lose it,” said Shapiro. “The kids were disappointed with our attitudes and effort.

“We have to build off what we had the first four weeks,” he said. “Sultan is an experience we don’t want to re-experience as far as attitude and effort.”

Next up is Archbishop Murphy and its potent Wing-T offense, an opponent the King’s players know well.

Being prepared to defend the Wildcats is important, Shapiro said, but so is controlling ball on offense, holding the edge in turnover ratio and time of possession.

“What are you going to do to hold onto the ball to get first downs and score points? That’s been our focus this week,” Shapiro said.