By Joel Willits
Bellevue Reporter
As far as debuts go, this one couldn’t have gone much better.
Interlake scored 32 points in the first half and sophomore quarterback Matt Malos was spectacular in his first varsity start as the Saints shutout Ingraham of Seattle 41-0 at Interlake Stadium.
Malos threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns and added a 36-yard rushing score as the Saints (1-0) won their season-opener for the first time since a 37-26 win over Squalicum in 2005. Malos looked liked anything but a first-time starter in the first half, connecting with junior wide receiver Dylan Amell for scores of 39,10 and 25 yards.
“Matt is electric out there,” said Interlake coach Sheldon Cross. “He’s accurate on the run and you can really see that speed. I’m proud of the way he played tonight.”
Amell, KingCo 3A’s leading returning receiver, hauled in four passes for 104 yards and the three scores. The duo could have hooked up for four touchdowns, but a holding call negated a ten-yard score in the third quarter.
“It’s great to play with Matt because he’s a double threat with his legs,” Amell said. “When he runs, the corners would move up on him and that would leave me open.”
Amell’s would-be fourth touchdown wasn’t the only Saints score to be negated. Interlake had another touchdown called back after an illegal block wiped out a 69-yard touchdown by junior running back Brett Kirschner in the second quarter.
“That was a tough one for Brett,” Cross said. “We had some first game jitters with penalties that we need to clear up.”
Kirschner, who rushed for 879 yards last season, managed 56 yards on six runs and one score before leaving with what Cross called a minor knee injury in the third quarter.
While Interlake found the end zone early and often, Ingraham couldn’t get anything going offensively. The Rams (0-1) managed only 171 yards, turned the ball over three times, and even handed the Saints a safety after quarterback Andre Anderson intentionally grounded the ball in the end zone. It could have been worse: The Rams fumbled five times, but managed to recover the ball on three of them.
“We’re definitely headed in the right direction and we even had some core guys on the sidelines,” Cross said. “These kids want to be the guys that turn this thing around and win a few ballgames.”
The star of the game was undoubtably Malos; the sophomore showed great accuracy while throwing on the run and his speed gave the Rams defense fits all night.
“I didn’t really have a feel for the speed of the game before tonight and now I’ve got some experience,” Malos said. “We’re talking about changing the culture here and we did a good job tonight.”
Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045 or at jwillits@reporternewspapers.com.
Other games
Woodinville 37, Newport 20
In their first game as members of the KingCo 4A conference, Newport couldn’t stop the powerful Vikings offense, as Woodinville rolled over the Knights, 37-20.
Woodinville senior running back Matt Brumfield rushed for three touchdowns in the first quarter, as the Vikings hopped out to a 27-0 lead.
Ian Case scored twice for Newport and Jonte Giacomino added a 1-yard run but Newport was already out of the game.
