By Gene Helfman
Special to the Weekly
You couldn’t ask for better conditions or a more positive outcome for a homecoming football game.
With the morning rainclouds dispersed and the sun shining, the Lobos faced the 3 and 2 Clallam Bay Bruins at home on Oct. 11 and came away with a resounding 56-0 victory.
Clallam Bay took the opening kickoff but Toni Ahonen forced a fumble that Harrison Goodrich recovered.
Vinny Kramer ran for 54 yards and gained a touchdown with less than two minutes off the clock. Kramer scored again in the second quarter with an 88 yard carry and also threw a TD pass to Sebastian Vollmer.
This was place-kicker Volmer’s first TD as a Lobo (for which he was rewarded with an excessive celebration penalty).
Other Lopez scorers included Edwin Kramer with TD runs of 22 and 30 yards, and Harrison Goodrich with a 45-yard run. TJ Hobi scored on punt returns of 38 and 80 yards. Lopez did most of its scoring on the ground; senior quarterback Rande Gruenwald throwing only three passes and connecting on two for extra points.
Lopez shone on defense, gang-tackling repeatedly and throwing Bruins’ runners for multiple losses. Clallam Bay seldom drove the ball into Lopez territory and never got closer than the Lopez 12-yard line.
Sophomore Kevin Dye led the team with nine tackles, one pass break-up and one interception. Harrison Goodrich had seven tackles and one sack. Vinny Kramer had a fumble recovery.
The first half ended with Lopez up 50-0.
With a comfortable lead, Coach Larry Berg was able to give his younger players plenty of game-time experience. Lopez finished the day with 458 yards on the ground and 81 through the air.
This brings the Lobos’ overall record to five wins and one loss. Next home game is against Lummi on Oct. 25.