Cavaliers 28 @ Eagles 6

..... Spurred by eight takeaways and three touchdown passes, the Vancouver Cavalierss scored their first Northwest Football League victory of the season, 28-6, over the Bellingham Eagles Saturday at Bellingham's Civic Stadium.
Safety Antonio Sparrow intercepted two passes and the Cougars defense forced and recovered six fumbles in a dominating defensive performance that set the offense up for three unanswered touchdowns in the second half. Reserve quarterback Derek Johnson threw touchdown passes of 55 and 5 yards to Roy Johnson and Naamon Archer hit Michael Himes with a 32-yard scoring pass in the first quarter to help the Cougars even their record at 1-1.
..... "Defense is the key to our team and we showed that for the second straight week," said Sparrow, a returning all-league safety. "We set our offense up to score and that's how we think we're going to win our games."
Bellingham's lone score came on a fumble recovery in the end zone early in the third quarter. The Eagles, who lost to Snohomish Co. 33-0 on June 19, dropped to 0-2. Vancouver has this week off before meeting the Snohomish Co. Vikings (2-0), who have outscored two opponents 68-0. Game time, July 10, is 6 p.m. at Kiggins Bowl. Admission is $3 for adults. Kids under 12 get in free.
..... The Cavaliers scored on their first possession and never trailed against the Eagles. Archer drove the team 59 yards in nine plays, culminating the drive with a screen pass to Himes, who went untouched into the endzone. A run by Ronnie Jones, who led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 10 carries, made the score 8-0.
The Cavaliers struggled on offense after that, though. They moved to the Bellingham 10 on their next possession and had two other possessions start in Eagles territory in the second quarter without adding to the lead. Bellingham cut the lead to 8-6 when the Cougars mishandled a kickoff and started the second half at their 3. A fumble in the end zone led to
Bellingham's touchdown.
..... The Eagles moved into Vancouver territory on their next possession, but the Cavalier defense forced a fumble and recovered at their 45. Two plays later, Roy Johnson snuck behind Bellingham's secondary and Derek Johnson hit him in stride for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Bellingham's next four possessions ended with either a fumble or aninterception. Derek Johnson hit Roy Johnson with a 5-yard scoring pass to close a 14-yard drive with 5:57 left in the third quarter and Victor Winselle ran 15 yards on a reverse following Sparrow's second interception. Bellingham finished with 148 yards rushing and 99 yards passing but didn't cross Vancouver's 35 until the fourth quarter. Vancouver rushed for 79 yards on 26 carries and passed for 133 yards. The Cavaliers had four turnovers.