Christopher Duclos

The Beavers arrived in Sammamish confident and ready to throw down with top ranked Skyline High school, but as it was Skyline's homecoming game, they were in for a rowdy, hostile environment.

Despite an early and exciting lead by the Beavers in the first quarter (7-6), the Spartans responded heavily, gaining 30 points in the first quarter alone.

The first Beaver touchdown was made possible by quarterback Johnny Verduin and senior wideout Nate Rauda. Rauda’s first reception included a Skyline face mask penalty. Then, on third down, Verduin found Rauda for the touchdown. This was one of three scores Ballard succeeded against the Skyline defense. Later in the first quarter, senior kicker Andrew Ingham put up a 39-yard field goal to split the difference to 23-10.

The two teams entered halftime with Skyline up big 51-17.

Though competition was heavy, Senior Nate Rauda was a bright spot for the Beavers. He caught 7 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, his longest reception was for 52 yards. Rauda shined on defense, too, leading the team in tackles with 6.

Unfortunately, the boys were unable to put up anymore points against Skyline as the game ended with a final score of 64-17.

Friday, Oct. 12th, Ballard travels to Issaquah to take on the Eagles.

Notes:

• Senior Quarterback Johnny Verduin threw 17 for 34 pass attempts (.500 completion rating) as well as the first Ballard touchdown to Rauda.
• Senior kicker Andrew Ingham scored one field goal off two total field goal attempts. His only field goal score was from 39 yards.
• Running back Dominique Smith rushed for 83 yards on 8 carries and scored Ballard’s second touchdown. Other than Nate Rauda on defense with 6 total tackles, Dominique Smith had 4 tackles.