Federal Way running back D.J. May isn’t getting seriously recruited at the major-college level.
That could soon change.
May surpassed the 200-yard rushing mark for the second straight week and scored four touchdowns in leading the sixth-ranked Eagles to a 41-14 state play-in victory over Snohomish Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Federal Way.
The No. 6 Eagles (10-0) earned a matchup against No. 5 Eastlake (9-1) next week in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
“He was better tonight than what we saw on film,” Snohomish coach Mark Perry said after watching May slice and dice his team’s defense for 220 yards on 20 carries, including touchdown runs of 5, 25, 35 and 41 yards. “He made some great cuts, some great runs, and made our kids miss.”
May, a 5-foot-11, 188-pound senior who missed two games with a rib injury, pushed his season rushing total to 1,287 yards in just eight games.
“You never want to be sitting on the sideline, and ever since I came back I’ve been trying to make a statement,” May said. “I was just pumping my legs as hard as I could and lowering my shoulder pads on every play.”
Snohomish (4-6), the No. 3 team from the Wesco North, used its unconventional, double-wing offense to good advantage on the opening drive of the game. The Panthers marched from their own 21 to the Federal Way 35 on 12 plays, but fell a yard shy of a first down on a fourth-down play.
“That was a big stop on fourth down to start the game,” Federal Way coach John Meagher said. “We didn’t want to get off to a bad start.”
May capped Federal Way’s opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and later skirted the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown run. Rod Jones added a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter as the Eagles led 20-0 halftime.
At the start of the second half, May darted 48 yards on a screen pass and ran 35 yards for a touchdown on the next play as Federal Way’s lead swelled to 27-0.
Peter St. Marie scored both of Snohomish’s touchdowns in the second half and amassed 123 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Sophomore Jay-Tee Tiuli, subbing for injured standout defensive lineman Uso Olive, recorded three sacks for Federal Way.
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