Pirates survive emotional slugfest in soaker

This was the Port Washington High School football team’s biggest test yet.

It wasn’t so much the driving rain but the driving offensive line of West Bend West that had the Pirates on the ropes last Friday at home.

It took a special second-half to pull out a 20-12 win that keeps Port tied for the lead in the Glacier Trails Conference.

“When you have the feeling of last year losing to (Whitefish) Bay, and the same situation, this team just overcame everything,” an emotional Kade Kintop said, referencing the last-second playoff loss last season.

“We can really conquer everything. I love this team so much. That’s why I’m crying because I love these guys. I love these moments. This is really what you live for.”

Port averaged 37.5 points per game coming into the contest, but the Spartans shut the Pirates out in the first half and led, 6-0.

The Spartans came in with a plan and were executing it to perfection. They didn’t throw a pass in the first half, instead often calling on its offensive line to surge forward and push, taking as much time as possible between plays to burn clock and keep the ball from Port. They held the ball for more than 16 minutes to less than eight for Port.

“It was something that they have in their arsenal to do. We had a sense that they were going to do that after seeing the time of possession last week in Kewaskum,” coach John Bunyan said.

He also had a sense his team would rise to the occasion and told his team as much during halftime.

“Coach Bunyan said it. You’re going to remember this memory for the rest of your life and now we have a really good shot to win conference, and we’re going to do it because we showed tonight that they can overcome everything,” Kintop said.

Kintop was involved in multiple key plays in the game. He muffed a punt early that set up the Spartans’ first touchdown, snagged a pass out of the air with both hands and bolted past the defense for a 31-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He picked up a fumble in the fourth quarter and raced more than 50 yards for a score, but it was called back due to a penalty.

Quarterback Jack Bunyan went 11-for-20 passing for a season-low 158 yards with a touchdown and interception. The Spartans kept four defensive backs deep, taking away Port’s long game, but the Pirates still completed clutch passes underneath.

Kintop caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He is second in the state in receiving yards with 681, according to Boundwisconsin.com.

“I think it shows a lot of who we are. I think it shows that we’re not going to quit,” Bunyan said of the comeback. “It shows a lot about our resilience. I think that shows when we say control the chaos.”

Port found success in its running game with Mason Schwanz. The 5-feet, 8-inch 180-pounder ran 15 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score with 2 minutes, 51 seconds left.

“We knew that was going to be a five-man box. We knew we had to run the ball at some point. It was great that we stuck with it,” he said. “I waited a long time for this opportunity so I’m just glad I can do my part and help the team win.”

The Spartans drove for the tying score, but Port’s defense stopped them on downs after 14 plays and 46 yards.

“Honestly, we had to change up our game plan a little bit. We knew they were going to try to pound the rock,” defensive end LeRoy Pinkston said. “This team, we’re not the biggest but we’ve really got that heart. We’re aggressive, we’re fast. We started slanting our guys inside, started ripping, staying low, using our size to our advantage.”

It had been a back-and-forth second half, with Port taking a 7-6 lead, then the Spartans answering to go up 12-7. Port scored twice in the fourth quarter.

“In the second half we came out with energy,” senior wideout Kiya Sullivan said. “That’s all we needed the whole time. Energy.”

Linebacker Austin Knapp said, “We had that heart. We had that love in us. This football team is something special. We’re not the biggest but if we keep that drive and that heart, this team is going somewhere.”

Opposing players were pushing each other right to the whistle and sometimes jawing back and forth in the physical contest.

“There was a little bit of talking. With a game like that, there’s so much emotion going on, but at the end of the day we came through, we make sure we’re all good and stuff,” defensive end ThiLar Goodman said. “Because at the end of the day, they’re opponents, they’re not enemies.”

Spartan Tayecin Jimmerson had 82 yards on 22 carries. Collin Grass had 73 yards on 20 carries. Ryan Held went 5-for-11 for 39 yards.

The Spartans outgained Port, 272-240, and held the ball nearly 31 minutes of the 48-minute game.

“You’ve got to play four quarters and you’ve got to compete all the time,” coach Bunyan said. “I told our guys at any moment the game’s going to change and turn. You’ve just got to keep leading and keep working and keep fighting, and good things are going to happen.”

Port, 5-0, plays at Kettle Moraine Lutheran, 1-2 GTC and 3-2 overall, on Friday, Sept. 25.