5 takeaways from Orting’s division-clinching win over Franklin Pierce
It’s been more than decade since Orting High School claimed its most recent league title, edging Cascade Christian for the Class 1A/2B Nisqually crown back in 2006.
But, after closing out a 28-27 win over Franklin Pierce on Friday night in its 2A SPSL Valley finale, Orting, in the midst of its first winning season in four years, will play for a league championship next week.
Here are five takeaways from Orting’s division-sealing victory, which set up a meeting with 2A SPSL Mountain winner Steilacoom next week:
Orting’s deceptive rushing attack causes plenty of problems
The Cardinals (6-1) installed their punishing ground game in the spring, and it’s certainly been effective.
Orting piled up 258 yards on the ground against Franklin Pierce, and averaged 5.9 yards per carry, paced by a trio of running backs. Ethan Hobart churned out a game-high 167 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, Dylan Spader added 77 yards on nine carries, and Daniel Hobart had 22 yards on 12 carries.
And each made it challenging for Franklin Pierce (6-2) to detect where the ball was.
“The whole key to that is how well we can ball fake, how well our quarterback is able to hide the ball, and how well our running backs come through and pretend like they’ve got the football,” Orting coach Tom Bannan said.
“So, you’ve got three options that could have that football, and you don’t know who’s got it. You’ve got to guess well or make a great read, one way or the other. Those guys have worked super hard trying to … perfect it. That’s been our big goal — deception, deception, deception.”
The best ball fake of the game was perhaps on Hobart’s 27-yard scoring run in the third quarter, which gave Orting a 20-7 lead. Sophomore quarterback Tate Hall delayed his handoff, and for a moment appeared like he might drop back to pass, before slipping the ball to Ethan Hobart, who ran untouched to the end zone.
“That was a brand new play this week,” Bannan said.
Spader’s 51-yard touchdown run in the fourth was also key. The misdirection was on display on the six-play drive, during which the Cardinals cycled between their three running backs before Spader eventually broke free to make it 28-14.
Four turnovers — three in the first half — prove costly for Franklin Pierce
Orting punted on its first three drives, and trailed by a touchdown early, before a Franklin Pierce turnover in the second quarter set off a wild series of events before halftime.
Franklin Pierce quarterback Claudell Quinland fumbled after a short gain on the first play of a drive with 9:46 remaining in the half. Atafa Auau picked off Hall three plays later. But, Orting regrouped immediately when Austin Amburgey snatched a short pass from Quinland on the first play of the ensuing drive, and returned it 41 yards for the Cardinals’ first touchdown.
Orting never trailed after the pick-six. Franklin Pierce fumbled again with less than three minutes left in the half, after a short completion, and Orting punched in the go-ahead score five plays later on a 16-yard pass from Tate — Orting’s backup, who replaced injured starter Ridge Salazar (broken collarbone) last week — to Daniel Hobart.
“He did a great job,” Bannan said. “He threw a touchdown pass for us and then did what he was supposed to do out there on that football field.”
Another Franklin Pierce interception on the opening play its second drive of the third quarter — this one corralled by Torrey Bannan — led to Ethan Hobart’s 27-yard touchdown run.
Orting was in control most of the way, but Franklin Pierce climbed back late
Quinland struggled to find rhythm with his receivers for much of the first three quarters, but made several crucial plays in the second half.
Following a string of six incompletions, he found Daylon Lambert for a pivotal 42-yard gain with 1:20 to go in the third. Later in the drive he picked up 7 yards on fourth-and-6. And a 16-yard completion to Aaron Swain on fourth-and-7 set up a 10-yard scoring pass from Quinland to Chistian Swain.
That momentarily cut Orting’s lead to a touchdown. Orting answered with Spader’s long score, but Christian Swain immediately responded with a 48-yard kick return to give Franklin Pierce a quick red zone opportunity. Quinland converted a crucial third-and-1 by rushing for 11 yards before Willie Coleman punched in a 2-yard touchdown.
Quinland orchestrated another scoring drive four minutes later after Christian Swain recovered Orting’s botched snap on fourth-and-4. Quinland threw for 39 yards on the five-play drive, and rushed for 14 more, eventually connecting with Lambert for a 16-yard touchdown.
Quinland finished 11-of-29 passing for 162 yards, and added a team-high 72 yards on seven carries.
“Claudell is a leader,” Franklin Pierce coach Trevor Hanson said. “He’s a solid athlete. He’s a competitor. He understands that he’s going to make some mistakes, because that’s the way it works in football sometimes.
“But, he has the mental fortitude to rely on his teammates, keep pushing the ball down the field and make some great plays.”
Quinland’s final touchdown pass set up the potential game-tying extra point try, but Orting blocked it. Franklin Pierce attempted an onside kick with 1:08 remaining, and linebacker Dylan Pratt left the pile with the ball, but multiple officials signaled Orting recovered. Hanson said he didn’t have a clear view of the play, but much of Franklin Pierce’s sideline disagreed with the call.
“We had a little bit of momentum there at the end, and we had belief that we could have responded and put another one in the end zone, but that’s the way football works,” Hanson said. “It’s weird sometimes.”
Franklin Pierce’s defenders can get in the backfield
Though the rushing attack eventually prevailed, Franklin Pierce dropped Orting for losses on nine of 50 offensive plays, stymying a handful of drives.
Pratt, who was leading Franklin Pierce in both tackles (10.8 per game) and tackles for losses (2.4) entering the game, was one of the biggest contributors. He stopped Orting in the backfield on six separate plays, including sacking Hall in the first quarter, and causing a fumble on the next drive. He had three tackles for losses on third down plays.
“Dylan is one of our kids on our 4x100 (relay) team,” Hanson said. “He’s a sprinter. Just incredibly quick. We have him at our weakside linebacker, and he’s seeing the field better this year, compared to last year, and getting in the backfield.”
Next week’s seeding games are set
Neither Orting nor Franklin Pierce will host their Week 9 crossover games with the 2A SPSL Mountain, but both are guaranteed a district playoff berth.
Orting will travel to meet Steilacoom, which wrapped up its division title with a 55-20 rout of River Ridge on Thursday night in Lacey. The winner of the 2A SPSL title game will grab the league’s No. 1 seed, while the loser will be the No. 3 seed.
Franklin Pierce will travel to meet Eatonville, which finished a game behind Steilacoom in the Mountain division. The Cruisers won a crossover game against Fife, 26-18, on Friday night. The winner of next week’s game will be the league’s No. 2 seed, and the loser the No. 5 seed.
