Gig Harbor keeps rolling with win over Timberline

Another week, another solid outing from the Gig Harbor High School football team. This time, it came in the form of a 42-7 win against Timberline.

From the very first play of the game, the Tides made a statement that they were going to bury the Blazers and jump on them from the get go.

“Our kids were really ready to play. The first play of the game, we were on defense and it was a pick-six. Things just went right from there,” said coach George Fairhart. “We were really emotionally up for the game. Timberline has been on top of our league for a while.”

Once again, Trevor Zeitner led the Tides in the run game as he ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

Zeitner exemplifies what the Tides want to be as a team: strong in the running game with a stout defense. Defensively, Zeitner finished the game with nine total tackles, two of which were for a loss.

Cade Dessert had his best game yet at quarterback for the Tides as well, throwing for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His favorite target was Ethan Williams, grabbing 64 yards on four receptions.

“[Cade’s] taking positive steps every week. He’s making plays on his own,” said Fairhart. “The good thing about Cade is that he doesn’t force the ball, he doesn’t try to do the things he can’t do. He stays within what we are asking him to do in the offense.”

Even with as good of a start the Tides have had, there are still challenges ahead of them. Particularly with their upcoming opponent this week in Yelm.

The Tornados have had the Tides’ number as they’ve won the matchups for the past two years. However, they come into the upcoming contest with a 1-2 record.

“It’s a long season. It’s nice to be 3-0, but the reality is that what we did last week has nothing to do with what’s going to happen next week,” Fairhart said. “Yelm is way better than their record.”

The Tides will be challenged when competing against a well-disciplined team. The Tornados do not give up a lot of penalties, turnovers and they made it the quarterfinals last season in the state playoffs.

It may seem daunting, but the Tides’ defense has been especially good in the early going, conceding just 26 points over the first three games.

This is in part to the players playing to their correct assignments, executing the schemes of the defense and playing for each other on the field.

“We’re putting together something,” Fairhart said. “What’s worked for us is that we’ve been able to run the ball, we’ve been able to play strong defense. And that’s what we are going to continue to try to do.”

Fairhart and his team will be focusing on controlling what they can control on the field by hitting their assignments and keeping the ball in their hands throughout the game.

The Tides are away for their next game, taking on the Tornados at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 at Yelm High School.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 10:28 AM.