OLYMPIA – While Olympia coach Bill Beattie admits his team doesn’t have much size, he says his players make up for it in other areas – especially quickness.
The Bears did Friday night, proving to be a step ahead of Tumwater during a 34-7 season-opening victory over the defending 2A state champions at Tumwater District Stadium.
“I thought we were pretty fast tonight,” Beattie said. “We had a lot of cramp-ups, so we have a long way to go in that regard. The great thing about playing a huge program like Tumwater is, you find out a lot about yourself and what you need to improve on.”
One thing the Bears (1-0) learned was who can step up in a hurry. Senior running back Spenser Killman, who rushed for 1,115 yards and scored 21 touchdowns last season, left the game early in the first quarter after suffering a shoulder injury.
Beattie said Killman will be re-evaluated and could be out for a few weeks. Killman had 37 yards on three carries, but the Bears got big production from Casey Bond in Killman’s place.
Olympia amassed 332 yards of total offense, led by the performance of senior quarterback Trevor Houser, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth. Houser completed 12 of 26 passes for 178 yards.
Two of his big targets were Nathan Slosson and Alex Johnson, who caught two of Houser’s TD passes.
“He distributed the ball really well,” Beattie said. “He’s a great quarterback and a smart kid. He did a great job of reading the coverage.”
It certainly wasn’t the way the Thunderbirds (0-1) wanted to start their quest for a second consecutive state title. But last year, Olympia defeated Tumwater in overtime, 27-21, in Week 1 before the T-Birds reeled off 12 straight victories to capture the program’s fifth state title in school history.
Olympia jumped out to a 19-0 lead after the first quarter, putting up points in four different ways – a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, a safety and a field goal.
Olympia scored touchdowns on two of its first three possessions, and Houser had a hand in both first-quarter TDs – including a 1-yard keeper to give Olympia a 14-0 advantage. The Bears needed three plays to go 5 yards on that drive after recovering a fumble at the Tumwater 5. T-Birds quarterback Daniel Hinkle was hit as he threw, and the ball was recovered by Bears lineman Tanis Stock.
And thanks to sloppy play by Tumwater in the first quarter, the Bears added more points via a bad snap on a fourth-down punt play that led to a safety. Olympia tacked on a 32-yard field goal by Brian Carpenter.
Tumwater, after gaining 100 yards of offense in the first half, got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the third quarter, thanks to a halftime adjustment – sending Riley Prentice in as a fullback. Prentice scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Prentice didn’t have a carry in the first half, but he had 38 yards on six carries on that drive and finished with 70 yards to lead the T-Birds in rushing.
Meg Wochnick: 370-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.