MUKILTEO — The Kamiak football team took the field for its 2016 season opener against Bishop Blanchet with a heavy heart.
Before the game a ceremony was held to honor the four victims of July’s shooting that left three former Kamiak students, Anna Bui, Jake Long and Jordan Ebner, dead. Another former Kamiak student, Will Kramer, was wounded in the shooting. All four graduated from Kamiak in 2015.
There were tears as the Kamiak principal and the mayor of Mukilteo addressed the crowd with the victim’s families at their sides. The Kamiak band also provided a stirring rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
Then, somehow, the Knights had to play football and they found yet another way to honor their friends. Kamiak shut out Bishop Blanchet, a 3A state semifinalist from a year ago, 17-0.
“It’s been a hard couple of months for us,” Kamiak head coach Dan Mack said after the game. “A lot of emotions the kids had to tuck down to play this game tonight. They were our friends and part of our family, those kids that passed away. We loved them and we knew them well. Our kids banded together as a family. Our entire community rallied together. It was really kind of a community victory in many ways.”
Mack said emotions ran high throughout the evening, not just during the pregame ceremony.
“It really took some mental toughness for our kids,” he said. “They knew what was expected of them. We prepared them this week for tonight and the emotions they were going to feel. We had a number of tears in our locker room before the game and even at halftime, but we they rallied together and supported each other through this — and more importantly loved each other.
Junior running back and linebacker Ben Barton was a friend of Ebner’s. The performance he delivered on Friday was a fitting tribute to his friend. Barton rushed for 162 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also added four sacks on defense.
“We knew we had to go beyond ourselves and really dig deep and win that game,” Barton said. “Jordan was a friend of mine, so that’s all I was thinking about in preparation for the game. I wanted to win it for him.”
Mack was pleased by the efforts of his junior running back.
He’s a special football player,” Mack said. “He’s got a big heart and he loves the game of football. He’s an intelligent young man and he’s one of our emotional leaders. He’s a terrific athlete and we expect big things of him.
Barton was also the star of the game on defense with his four sacks. The Knights gave up 138 yards of total offense for the game, 64 of which came on the final Bishop Blanchet drive of the game when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
“I was really proud of our defensive coaches and the scheme they put together,” Mack said. “I thought our kids came out and they showed a few new wrinkles this year. Every year you take the kids that you have and try to adjust to what you have and put them in a position to be successful. I thought our coaches did a wonderful job of putting our kids to play.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heradnet.com.
At Goddard Stadium
Bishop Blanchet 0 0 0 0 — 0
Kamiak 3 0 7 7 — 17
K—Travis Rucker 22 FG
K—Ben Barton 4 run (Trevor Vallins kick)
K—Barton 4 run (Vallins kick)
Records —Bishop Blanchet 0-1, Kamiak 1-0.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
