Going into the its SPSL South showdown against Puyallup, the Curtis football players knew they had to stop Puyallup’s high octane offense.
They accomplished their mission.
Curtis intercepted Puyallup quarterback Brendan Illies five times, recovered a fumble and earned a 35-21 victory Thursday night at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
Curtis running back EJ Deveaux, who had 186 yards rushing and two interceptions from his defensive back position, said the plan was to keep a Puyallup offense that scored 55 points against Kentlake last week in check.
“We just wanted to pound it on the ground. We blocked hard and ran hard as a team. We played good defense and created a lot of turnovers. That was the key,” Deveaux said. “Turnovers win games.”
Despite Curtis (3-1, 3-1 league) dominating time of possession and turnovers, Puyallup (1-3, 1-3) wouldn’t go away. Justin Janker’s 53-yard touchdown catch with 9:13 left cut the lead to 21-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, Deveaux bobbled the ball before picking it up at the 5-yard line and returning it for a touchdown to all but put the game away.
At Kentlake 14, Auburn Riverside 10: Six days after helping set an SPSL single-game scoring record with 76 points against Puyallup, the Falcons (3-1, 2-1 SPSL North) mustered only 14 points against the Ravens (1-3, 1-3), but it was enough.
A goal-line stand with less than three minutes to go preserved the victory.
At Graham-Kapowsin 46, Emerald Ridge 27: Behind a rushing attack that totaled 486 yards, the Eagles (3-1, 2-1 SPSL South) were able to pick up a win.
Teague James (14 carries, 170 yards and two touchdowns) and Kahlil Dawson (four carries, 168 yards and a touchdown) proved to be too much for the Jaguars (0-4, 0-4).
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