HS Football: Peninsula Wins Battle in Trenches; Outlasts River Ridge 28-7

10/17/2024

(Purdy, WA) Thursday night saw River Ridge and Peninsula clash in what was as close to a playoff game as you could get.

Peninsula desperately needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, all while River Ridge looked for a win to pad their stranglehold on a playoff berth.

The Peninsula Seahawks controlled the second half thanks to winning the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football coming away with a 28-7 win.

Peninsula turned their second drive into points when Kobe DeJohnette finished the opening scoring drive of the game with a 16-yard rushing touchdown to put the Seahawks up 7-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, River Ridge found a huge 58-yard gain from quarterback Darian Harper to set up first and goal for River Ridge. Hayden Jacquet punched it in from a yard out to tie the game at 7, with 7:27 left in the first half.

Both teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 7.

The turning point of the game came early on in the third quarter. River Ridge was punting near their own end zone. Wyatt Abrigo for Peninsula crashed in and blocked the punt. Kobe DeJohnette scooped the block punt and ran it in for the Peninsula touchdown. Three minutes into the half, the Seahawks score proved massive in the story of the game. The Seahawks led 14-7.

Peninsula’s defensive line shined which included Prince Charles, Kyle Williamson, and Asher Epstein. Royal Charles also proved to be a force at linebacker, making pivotal stops in the running game.

Two late fourth quarter touchdowns from both Jake Martin and Jake Akiskalian gave Peninsula the 28-7 win.

River Ridge had a standout performance on the ground from quarterback Darian Harper accounting for 145 yards on the ground on 11 attempts.

Peninsula saw senior Mana Smythe throw for 127 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wyatt Abrigo was Smythe’s leading receiver with 60 yards.

For his efforts for scoring touchdowns on both the ground and a blocked punt, Kobe DeJohnette was named our Elisportsnetwork.com MVP of the game with 11 carries for 80 yards including his two all-purpose touchdowns.

We caught up with DeJohnette after the game, check out his interview with highlights of the game to follow.

Interview with MVP Kobe DeJohnette