Eatonville squanders early lead, but turns away River Ridge with decisive Diego Luna field goal

On the scoreboard, Eatonville High School had a comfortable, 20-0, second-quarter lead. On the Cruisers sideline, coach Gavin Kralik was far from laid back.

“It was kind of a misleading 20-0 score,” Kralik said. “We had gotten a punt return for a touchdown. We got a couple of short fields we were able to cash in on, but we weren’t able to move the ball until the very end.”

Sure enough, with Eatonville turning the ball over three times in the final three quarters, River Ridge rallied to tie and seemed poised to take the lead down the stretch.

It took a 28-yard field goal with 44 seconds left by a guy playing his first season of tackle football, Mexican exchange student Diego Luna, for the Cruisers (5-1) to finally secure a 23-20 win over the Hawks (3-3) in the Class 2A South Puget Sound League contest.

Their victory, combined with No. 4 Steilacoom’s 49-0 rout of Evergreen of Seattle sets up a battle of teams with undefeated division records next Friday in Eatonville.

“We want to enjoy this win, obviously,” Kralik said. “But that will be a great opportunity. We’re going to be underdogs again. It’s going to be special to have the game here.”

“We’re looking forward to that game a lot,” Eatonville quarterback Tristan Schoepf said.

Zach Smith opened the scoring for Eatonville, returning a River Ridge punt 60 yards for a touchdown. Then those short fields Kralik mentioned kicked in.

Taking over at the Hawks 11-yard line after an interception by Smith, the Cruisers scored immediately when running back Caden Jumper and quarterback Tristan Schoepf swapped roles, with Camper throwing a touchdown pass to Schoepf.

Then, midway through the second quarter, River Ridge was driving, getting the ball down the Eatonville’s 4-yard line, only to see workhorse running back Kieran Hunkin, who had some stellar moments on both offense and defense, fumble. Eatonville’s Nicolas Bond ran it back to the Hawks 18.

Three plays later, Jumper took a handoff out of a full backfield and slammed into the end zone from 1 yard out.

River Ridge countered with its youth and speed to cut into Eatonville’s lead twice with long passing gains from sophomore quarterback Jevon Brown to sophomore receiver Dontae Owens.

“In the first half, we made a lot of big plays, but in the second, they came out with a lot of intensity and bounced back,” said Schoepf of the change in momentum.

Starting their possession following Eatonville’s final touchdown on their own 37, the Hawks needed just five plays to score. A 12-yard pass from Brown to Owens and a 7-yard gain on a sweep by Owens set up a perfectly timed 44-yard pass from Brown to Owens cutting across the middle in full stride.

Forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive of the second half, River Ridge took over at its own 29 after a Cruisers punt. Three straight carries by Hunkin brought the ball to midfield where Brown tossed a screen pass to Owens, who sprinted up the left sideline and into the end zone to make it 20-13.

A Lamar Campbell interception early in the fourth quarter set up River Ridge’s tying score. Starting at the Cruisers 33, Brown passes to Campbell and Owens — who had seven receptions for 141 yards in the final three quarters alone — brought the ball to the doorstep. Tomasi Manu lined up at quarterback and sneaked into the end zone to tie it.

On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Brian Melloy intercepted a Schoepf pass in Eatonville territory and the Hawks had a chance go ahead but turned it over on downs.

All that remained of the scoring was Luna’s game-winning kick.

“There was no doubt about that kick,” Kralik said. “We’re pleased to have Diego on our team. The kids really like him. He’s very special.”

E – Zach Smith 60 punt return (Deigo Luna kick)

E – Tristan Schoepf 11 pass from Caden Jumper (Luna kick)

E – Jumper 1 run (kick failed)

RR – Dontae Owens 44 pass from Jevon Brown (Jacob Miller kick)

RR – Owens 50 pass from Brown (kick failed)

R – Tomasi Manu 1 run (Miller kick)

E – Luna 28 field goal

This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 12:28 AM with the headline "Eatonville squanders early lead, but turns away River Ridge with decisive Diego Luna field goal."