Coming off their first win of the season the previous week against Garfield, the Ballard High School football team was hoping to make it two in a row against the Juanita Rebels at Memorial Stadium on Friday night. But after taking a 9-0 third-quarter lead, the Beavers' hopes were crushed under a 21-point Rebel onslaught. Final score: Juanita 21, Ballard 9.

The two evenly matched squads battled to a 0-0 standoff at half time, with both offenses hampered by numerous penalties. The Ballard defense showed improvement from previous weeks, when missed tackles and assignments opened the door for big plays by the opposing team.

The Beavers (1-4 on the season) broke the tie midway through the third quarter with a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive. The big play came when quarterback Joey Bolinger found wide receiver Miles Schwab on the sideline for a 17-yard completion, giving Ballard first-and-goal on the Juanita 8-yard line. The drive stalled there, however, and kicker Eric Araujo split the uprights to give the Beavers a 3-0 lead.

On the first play after kickoff, Juanita running back Doug Henson coughed up the football, giving Ballard possession on the Rebels' 28-yard-line. Bolinger wasted no time in taking advantage of the miscue, finding Schwab across the middle for a 28-yard touchdown pass. The Beavers were called for pass interference on their two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score 9-0 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

The turnover and resulting touchdown seemed to have woken up the Rebels.

Henson and Juanita's slippery quarterback, Bryan Walters, began getting free on running plays on the Rebels' next drive.The pivotal moment was a fourth-down-and-one play, in which Walters dove off left tackle to get the first down. The drive finally culminated in a 4-yard touchdown carry, as Henson "carried" three Beavers with him into the end zone. Ballard 9, Juanita 7.

Ballard could do nothing offensively on its next possession, and Walters went right back to work when Juanita regained the ball. He put his team in front with a perfect 39-yard scoring strike to receiver Victor Marshall, giving the Rebels a 14-9 lead. The two teams traded interceptions on subsequent drives, but Ballard could not take advantage and never mounted another offensive threat. Juanita tacked on an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

One factor that hurt Ballard was Bolinger's limited mobility, thanks to a thigh bruise he suffered the previous week against Garfield.

"It really affected him, especially in the fourth quarter," said Ballard head coach Alex Barashkoff of his sophomore quarterback. "We couldn't do any rollouts or bootlegs, and our play action was also very limited. Joey won't practice much this (coming) week, so hopefully he can recover. We've got to have him healthy."

Despite the injury, Bollinger threw for 111 yards, not that much below the 132-yard average he brought into the game, good enough to put him fourth in the KingCo League in passing. Schwab, a junior, was also impressive, racking up 45 yards on two receptions and 45 more on six rushing attempts. He also added 32 yards on an interception return.

"He's been our most consistent kid," Barashkoff said.

These performances notwithstanding, Barashkoff is still searching for answers regarding his young team. "I don't know what to say," the coach said with a shake of his head. "We're not getting any breaks, but we need to make some plays. The penalties hurt us-we had two first-down-and-long situations because of penalties, and it sure didn't help. Our youth still shows."

Ballard will attempt to regain its health and winning ways against Franklin High School (0-5) on Friday at Memorial Stadium.