‘We wanted to go out with a bang.’ Caden Jumper takes over in Eatonville’s win over Enumclaw
Just call Caden Jumper Mr. Eatonville.
Give him a key to the city.
Really, anything he wants.
The do-everything Eatonville High School senior capped his stellar career in style Saturday, leading the Cruisers to a 33-21 victory against Enumclaw in Class 2A South Puget Sound League action at Art Crate Field in Spanaway.
Jumper threw for 166 yards and four touchdowns, ran for 112 yards and was a human clock-wasting machine in the fourth quarter.
He did it all knowing he would be heading north to the University of Washington to move into a dorm Sunday morning.
“We are so thankful for his toughness and leadership and character and everything he has brought to our program for four years,” Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said. “He is so versatile and has such unselfishness for playing any position we ask of him.”
Jumper has had a dominant career on the field for the Cruisers, but even off the field he has time for everyone. For four years he has worked with the Eatonville Junior Cruisers youth football program, coaching third and fourth grade, and fifth and sixth grade teams.
“I remember when I was a kid, I had high schoolers come down with me and they would talk me up and help me do stuff,” Jumper said. “I wanted to give these kids the same feeling. I don’t regret a single minute. I enjoyed every game and every practice coaching.”
He also enjoyed every second of his final high school game Saturday, getting teary-eyed in the final minute as he took a knee to run out the clock.
“You don’t really feel it’s the last time until the end of the game,” he said. “You show up and it is like every other game. Those last 50 seconds it became more surreal to me that this was actually the final step with my football team.”
Jumper, who will play tight end at the collegiate level, had planned to graduate in January and enroll early at UW.
When the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced a spring season, he decided to play with his longtime teammates one more time.
On Saturday, they sent him out a winner thanks to a combination of strong special teams play and a steady dose of Jumper.
Job Kralik blocked a punt on the first possession of the game and Austin Wicker returned it 31 yards for a score and a quick lead.
Jumper then threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Jakob Lucht for a 14-0 lead and it looked like easy sailing for the Cruisers, until a frenetic final two minutes changed the game.
Dylan Watterson caught a 38-yard pass on fourth-and-17 from Cameron Brauer for a touchdown with 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining.
The Cruisers responded with a one-play drive as Job Kralik was wide open on the play-action for a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jumper.
Enumclaw then ran a flawless two-minute drill, scoring on a Brauer keeper to make it 20-14 at halftime.
“This was exactly the game we signed up for,” Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson said. “This and the Steilacoom game were the most fun games of the year. You can’t spot good teams points. That was a tough spot we put ourselves in early, but we had chances to win.”
After Brauer ran in a 1-yard score to cut the deficit to 26-21 with 10:31 remaining, the momentum seemed to have shifted the Hornets’ way.
That’s when Jumper took over, though.
He ran the ball on 11 of the next 13 plays, capping a 13-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:37 off the clock and ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kralik.
“We were just trying to get on a roll and if it is not broken there is no need to fix it,” Jumper said. “If I’m going to get 4 or 5 or sometimes 10 yards a carry, why not keep running it down their throat?
“We wanted to go out with a bang. We wanted to come out and make a statement and that is exactly what we did.”
And that is something Jumper has been doing for four years at Eatonville — on and off the field.
Eatonville 33, Enumclaw 21
Enumclaw 0 14 0 7 — 21
Eatonville 7 13 6 7 — 33
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Eatonville — Austin Wicker 31 punt block return (Job Kralik kick), 10:34.
Second Quarter
Eatonville — Jakob Lucht 57 pass from Caden Jumper (Kralik kick), 9:00
Enumclaw — Dylan Watterson 38 pass from Cameron Brauer (Noah Seabrands kick), 2:20
Eatonville — Kralik 55 pass from Jumper (kick failed), 2:01
Enumclaw — Brauer 8 run (Seabrands kick), :04
Third Quarter
Eatonville — Lucht 9 pass from Jumper (pass failed), 9:16
Fourth Quarter
Enumclaw — Brauer 1 run (Seabrands kick), 10:31
Eatonville — Kralik 24 pass from Jumper (Kralik kick), 1:54
TEAM STATS
First downs: Enumclaw, 21; Eatonville 13
Total yards: Enumclaw, 328; Eatonville 303
Rushes-yards: Enumclaw, 39-122; Eatonville 26-137
Com-Att-Int: Enumclaw, 21-37-1; Eatonville, 7-8-1
Passing yards: Enumclaw, 196; Eatonville 166
Fumbles-lost: Enumclaw, 0-0; Eatonville 1-0
Punts-avg.: Enumclaw, 2-20.5; Eatonville 1-29.0
Penalties-yards: Enumclaw, 3-30; Eatonville 5-58
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing
Enumclaw: Royal Snyder 17-53, Ricky Bonthuis 10-48, Brauer 7-13, Emmit Otero 2-6, Dawson Harding 2-4, Dane Johnson 1-(-2). Eatonville: Jumper 18-112, Kralik 2-27, Nic Bond 3-8, Trevor Scantling 1-1, team 4-(-11)
Passing
Enumclaw: Brauer 21-37-1—196; Eatonville: Jumper 7-8-1—166
Receiving
Enumclaw: Kaden Loop 11-84, Andrew Kuzaro 4-34, Clive Pond 2-17, Austin Paulson 1-11, Bonthuis 1-7, Otero 1-4. Eatonville: Kralik 4-99, Lucht 3-67
Sacks
Enumclaw: Lorenzo Luchi 1-4. Eatonville: Kralik 1-12
Interceptions
Enumclaw: Snyder 1-0. Eatonville: Justus Roulst 1-0
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 5:58 PM.