High school football playoff roundup: Hoyt scores three TDs, Tumwater rolls in first-round win
No. 1 TUMWATER 56, No. 16 EAST VALLEY OF SPOKANE 7
Payton Hoyt punched in a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, and returned a punt for a third score before halftime as Tumwater rolled over East Valley of Spokane on Friday night.
Hoyt’s first touchdowns were two and five yards, respectively. In the second quarter, the senior tailback caught an East Valley punt at the 20-yard line and burst 80 yards for the T-Birds’ seventh touchdown of the game.
Their first-round win in the 2A state tournament turned into a rout before the second quarter. Tumwater led by 22 after one, and led by 49 at halftime, initiating a running clock before the intermission.
After Hoyt’s first-quarter rushing scores, Ashton Paine exploded for a 49-yard touchdown rush.
In the second quarter’s opening minutes, Carlos Matheney ran in a five-yard touchdown. Soon after, quarterback Alex Overbay found Austin Terry for a 35-yard passing score that extended Tumwater’s lead to 36.
Then, Matheney scored again from five yards out. And when East Valley was forced to punt moments later, that’s when Hoyt padded the T-Bird lead to 49.
In the third, East Valley put together a nine-play, 89-yard drive that eliminated any possibility of a playoff shutout. But that’s all they’d get, and Tumwater’s Jadin Allen scored the game’s last touchdown on a 10-yard scamper in the fourth.
Matheney finished with 67 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Kai McLeod added 81 yards on just two totes.
Tumwater moves on to a matchup with ninth-seeded Enumclaw next week.
BOX SCORE
T: 22-27-0-7--56
EV: 0-0-7-0--7
No. 1 BELLEVUE 42, No. 16 LAKES 21
Lakes kept pace with top-seeded Bellevue until the third quarter, but the Wolverines shut out the Lancers in the second half for a first-round win in the 3A state tournament on Friday night.
They were considered an underdog at Bellevue Memorial Stadium, but in the opening half, Lakes didn’t play like one. On his first carry, Leo Pulalasi took an 80-yard run to the house that gave the Lancers an immediate 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
But Bellevue answered, and fast. Still in the first, Ishaan Daniels scored on a 13-yard run, which tied the game at seven.
In the second, Lakes reclaimed a seven-point lead when Howard Golden punched in a one-yard scoring rush. But on the ensuing kickoff, Bellevue’s Joel Schneider ran 85 yards for a game-tying return touchdown.
And even after the equalizing score on special teams, the first-half shootout continued. Lakes took a 21-14 lead when quarterback Justin Brennan found David Wells for a five-yard touchdown. Then, Bellevue landed another punch in the form of a William Wang one-yard rushing score.
At halftime, the top-ranked Wolverines were locked in a tie game.
But that’s exactly when they pulled away. In the third quarter, Blake Teets found the end zone on a five-yard run that gave Bellevue their first lead of the game.
In the fourth, Wang scored another pair of rushing scores, from 68 and 16 yards out, respectively.
Lakes couldn’t find points in the second half, ending their state title hopes. Bellevue hosts the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Rainier Beach and Peninsula next week.
Pulalasi took 13 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown. Brennan completed 22 of his 33 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown to Wells, who caught six balls for 59 yards.
BOX SCORE
B: 7-14-7-14--42
L: 7-14-0-0--21
No. 9 ENUMCLAW 38, No. 8 HOCKINSON 28
Hockinson rallied for a pair of late-game touchdowns, but Enumclaw’s Emmit Otero caught a game-sealing interception in the final minutes that sent the Hornets to the 2A state quarterfinals.
Enumclaw may have allowed the game’s first points to the Hawks, but quickly flipped the momentum and rattled off 17 unanswered points before halftime.
On the opening drive, Hockinson picked apart the Hornet defense on a 16-play drive that resulted in seven points. Four minutes later, Enumclaw answered when Otero took an 11-yard carry for a score.
With the game tied at seven, Enumclaw intercepted a Hockinson pass and quickly grabbed their first lead of the game. Hornets QB Malcolm Harper found Clive Pond for an 11-yard score, and Enumclaw led, 14-7.
In the second, Enumclaw’s Noah Seabrands converted a 24-yard field goal. It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first half that Hockinson scored again on a 37-yard touchdown pass.
But the Hawks had left too much time on the clock. With less than two minutes to work with, Enumclaw offered spectators a masterclass in the two-minute drill, capped off by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Harper to senior Dylan Watterson.
At halftime, Enumclaw led, 24-14.
And late in the third quarter, the Hornets padded their lead. Harper threw another touchdown, this time to Karson Holt, which extended Enumclaw’s lead to 17.
Hockinson rallied for a pair of fourth quarter passing touchdowns — bringing the score to 31-28 — but the comeback effort would stop there. Enumclaw’s Otero scored again on a four-yard run, and intercepted a last-gasp pass to clinch a first-round win.
Enumclaw moves on to a quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded Tumwater.
BOX SCORE
E: 14-10-7-7--38
H: 7-7-0-14--28
No. 2 EATONVILLE 58, No. 15 EAST JEFFERSON 0
They recovered a fumble, then forced a three-and-out, then scored on their first offensive play.
That’s how Eatonville’s 2A state title hopes began on Saturday, when the Cruisers took down East Jefferson in a first-round, 58-0 rout.
And that was only the beginning. They’d score again in the first quarter, and explode for another four touchdowns before halftime.
It was Walker Braun’s 20-yard scoop-and-score in the opening moments that started it.
After forcing East Jefferson’s first of many three-and-outs, Eatonville QB Kevin Wulff found Jakob Lucht for a 34-yard touchdown.
Then, another three-and-out. Eatonville took over and would score again in the quarter, when Dylan Moore found a hole from 11 yards out for the Cruisers’ third touchdown.
If Eatonville’s undefeated record hadn’t already supported their second-ranked seeding, their 27-point second quarter on Saturday did. Norman punched in another rushing score from a yard out, and East Jefferson went three-and-out again.
Cruiser tailback Kaden Olson scored Eatonville’s fifth touchdown of the game on a three-yard run. And that’s when Wulff rattled off another pair of first-half passing scores, to Lucht again for nine yards and to Reilly McIlraith on a 32-yard screen that ballooned the score to 48-0.
Eatonville’s punting unit wouldn’t see any action until the third quarter. And that’s after all of their backups were subbed in.
Neither team scored in the third quarter as the running clock rolled. In the fourth, Sebastian Molina was good from 29 yards on Eatonville’s lone field goal attempt, and Payton Hanly scored on a run from a yard out that concluded the drubbing.
Eatonville hosts seventh-ranked Riverside in a 1A quarterfinal matchup next week.
BOX SCORE
E: 21-27-0-10--58
EJ: 0-0-0-0--0
No. 4 YELM 52, No. 13 SEATTLE PREP 28
Seattle Prep’s season was on the line, and what they desperately needed was the answer to a question other teams had asked all season: how do you stop Ray Wright?
Yelm’s junior linebacker was named 3A SSC Defensive Player of the Year, and fit the part Saturday in a 13-tackle performance. But even when the Tornado defense left the field, Wright stayed. He took 12 carries on offense for 88 yards and three touchdowns in a first-round, 52-28 win in the 3A state tournament.
There was no way to avoid the two-way Tornado that sent the Panthers home.
Yelm’s William Caretto scored the game’s first touchdown on a nine-yard run in the first quarter, but Wright took over from there. Before Seattle Prep could answer, Wright scored his first of three touchdowns, bursting for 17 yards.
Seattle Prep trailed early, but they’d hang around, at least for a few quarters. Panthers QB Braeden Smith put his 13th-seeded squad on the scoreboard with a nine-yard run in the second quarter.
It wasn’t long before Yelm took those points right back. Palaina Hooper found Marius Aalona for a 28-yard touchdown before halftime, extending their lead to 14.
After the break, a shootout ensued. Prep’s Smith scored another touchdown on the ground, this time on a 67-yard run.
With Yelm’s lead back to seven, Wright answered on a three-yard touchdown.
Smith threw another haymaker for the Panthers. His 11-yard touchdown run — his third rushing score of the game — brought the lead back to a single score once again.
Then, Yelm’s Aden Schaler took Seattle Prep’s kickoff 95 yards to the house. Just like that, a Panthers drive wiped away — and it only took a few seconds to do it.
Seattle Prep cut the lead back to nine when Austin Harnetiaux punched in a four-yard rushing touchdown. But that’d be it for the Panther offense, and Wright’s fourth-quarter Tornado score sealed the game.
He struck pay dirt for the third and final time on a three-yard run, and Hooper found Kyler Ronquillo for a 29-yard touchdown that cushioned the margin to 24.
Ronquillo caught eight balls for 92 yards and a score, and Caretto took 13 carries for 124 yards and a score.
Hooper completed 14 of 20 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
Fourth-ranked Yelm moves on to a quarterfinal meeting with Saturday’s winner between No. 12 Garfield and No. 5 Marysville-Pilchuck.
BOX SCORE
Y: 6-15-16-15--52
SP: 0-7-21-0--28
RAINIER BEACH 36, PENINSULA 21
The Seahawks’ season has come to an end against the Vikings as their offense had some missed opportunities in the game.
Holding a lead of 14-6 midway through the second quarter, the Seahawks were executing their game plan and were controlling the Viking offense. Seniors quarterback Jake Bice and running back Josh Hinkel were playing as effectively as they could.
However, things started to swing in Rainier Beach’s favor. Coming out of halftime with a 20-14 lead, the Viking defense began to stall out the Seahawk offense. Even after big conversions by Peninsula on 4th downs, their drives would end at the Rainier Beach 10 yard line without any points.
Peninsula was never fully out of the game, as they invoked a little misdirection to take advantage of the Viking’s tendency to play out of position. Midway through the third quarter Hinkel took a halfback pass and hit junior receiver Dane Meddaugh for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Unfortunately, that would be the Seahawks’ last score as the Vikings would put it away with 16 unanswered points to end the game. Hinkel would finish his day with six rushes for 26 yards, five receptions for 66 yards, and his touchdown throw.
Bice finished his night throwing 13-of-34 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Ethan Hogan tacked on 18 carries for 74 yards and a score.
BOX SCORE
RB: 6-14-8-8--36
P: 7-7-7-0--21
MORE SCORES:
No. 2 Lynden 34, No. 15 Fife 0
No. 7 Sumner 24, No. 10 Skyview 10
No. 5 Camas 17, No. 12 Puyallup 7
No. 5 Ridgefield 27, No. 12 Orting 14
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 10:20 PM.