Slow Start Dooms Interlake in Loss to Mercer Island

After three games, the football was still without a win, but had played well enough to generate confidence in the team. Three competitive games against top opponents had left the Saints with a feeling that this team could hang with anyone.

Friday night against Mercer Island, Interlake finally faltered and it cost them big.

Mercer Island backup quarterback Brian Higgins threw for 208 yards and the Islanders cruised to a 41-7 victory over Interlake on Friday night at Interlake High School in Bellevue.

The game started out tough for the Saints (0-4, 0-2 KingCo 3A/2A) and remained that way for the better part of three-and-a-half quarters. Interlake had minus-two yards of offense in the first quarter and could not stop Mercer Island (3-1, 2-0) in falling behind 24-0 early.

"Mercer Island didn't do anything we hadn't prepared for," Interlake head coach Jason Rimkus said. "We just didn't execute."

Mercer Island's star quarterback - and future Washington Huskies QB - Jeff Lindquist did not start because of general injuries sustained through three games. While Lindquist was available and did enter for one series, his backup, Brian Higgins, had no problem shredding the Interlake offense. Higgins completed 16 of 21 passes, most on short throws, for a touchdown and three different Islanders rushed for at least 50 yards against the Saints.

"He would be the starting quarterback on most teams in the KingCo league," Mercer Island head coach Brett Ogata said of Higgins. "Unfortunately, he backs up the best quarterback practically in the state, so because of that he hasn't had the chance to play, but he's a really good quarterback and I have a lot of confidence in him." 

Interlake failed to move the ball on offense until its final drive of the first half, at which point it was too far behind to mount a serious comeback. Mercer Island harrassed Saints quarterback Kamana Adriano all night, sacking him twice and constantly forcing him to escape the pocket and attempt to run. Adriano completed just three passes for 23 yards and an interception on the night.

"The defense was great, they really got after it and did a really good job, so I was really happy with the defense," Ogata said.

Interlake finally scored on a Jordan Todd run in the fourth quarter. After being bottled up most of the night, Todd finally got to the outside and used his speed to escape defenders on a 65-yard run that proved to be the Saints only score. Todd finished with 86 yards on ten carries.

The game was the fourth in a row for Interlake against a tough opponent. After hanging with 4A opponents Newport and Roosevelt and putting a scare into nationally-ranked Bellevue last week, the Saints looked flat against Mercer Island. Rimkus said the tough schedule was no excuse for the way Interlake played against the Islanders.

"That's no reason for us [to play like that]," Rimkus said. "We play in the KingCo, we're always going to have tough teams, whether its week one or week nine. That's what I love about being at Interlake, we get the best week in and week out. That's something we're teaching our kids and they get it. They got it last week, they loved the challenge of playing a good opponent and they loved the challenge this week, they just didn't do their jobs."

Interlake plays next against Mount Si at home at 7 pm on September 30.