Mount Si’s varsity football squad delivered a harsh welcome to Sammamish, seizing a masterful win at the Friday, Oct. 16, homecoming game.

Donny Hendrickson and Matt Bankston both scored two touchdowns apiece as the Wildcats scored early and often in a 54-13 blowout of the Totems. The win sets up the game of the season this Friday against Juanita.

“It was a good win. We got a lot of people in and we stayed healthy,” said Mount Si coach Charlie Kinnune.

“It was a great experience for everyone out there that played,” added lineman Jordan Karavias. “We all played really well.”

Following the national anthem sung by the Mount Si High School choir, the ‘Cats won the kickoff, then got on the board in short order. With 8:42 left in the first quarter, Wildcat quarterback Chris Clark threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Rossco Castagno to make it 7-0.

After Sammamish went three and out on their opening possession, Mount Si regained the ball. Scarlet and gray narrowly missed another score when Clark passed to Jordin Kinnune just out of the end zone with 5:13 left. It didn’t matter, as shortly thereafter, Hendrickson ran 25 yards for his first touchdown to help make it 14-0 Wildcats.

Later, Bankston ran 57 yards for his first touchdown, set up by a 20-yard pass reception by Castagno from Clark, to extend the score to 21-0.

Mount Si’s defense made noise in the second quarter to help the Wildcat offense, as Karavias recovered a fumble by Sammamish quarterback Andrew Engles. This set up another Wildcat scoring drive. Ian Ilgenfritz, at quarterback for Clark, ran 17 yards on fourth down, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by the junior with 8:12 left to build the lead to 28-0.

Following that score, the defense stood tall again, as Aaron Moetului recovered another fumble by Engles.

“I was looking for more of a sack, but I guess they fumbled the hand-off and the next best thing’s a recovery,” Moetului said. This set up another Mount Si scoring drive, which finished with an eight-yard touchdown run by Chaz Blair.

On the next Wildcat possession, Bankston ran a half yard for his second touchdown of the game with under a minute left in the half. That play was set up by a 41-yard pass from Clark to Castagno. At half it was 42-0 Mount Si.

Early in the third quarter, Hendrickson scored his second touchdown of the night, a 37-yard run into the end zone. Hendrickson extended the Wildcat lead to 48-0, resulting in a running clock for the remainder of the game. A running clock occurs when one team leads by at least 45 points, considerably speeding up game time.

Late in the third, the Totems got on the board with the first of two Engles touchdowns, this from five yards out. Early in the fourth, Engles ran 24 yards for his second touchdown for Sammamish. But, capping off the night with 4:20 left in the game, Mount Si’s Ilgenfritz launched a 56-yard pass to wide open receiver Cody Lane, who beat several Sammamish defenders to make the score 54-13.

This Friday, Mount Si heads to Juanita, where a win locking up a playoff berth. Hendrickson expects fans will see a tight contest.

“They can expect a good game,” he said. “It’s going to be a close one; it’s going to be a battle out there for sure.”

Game time is 7 p.m.