Yelm counters Seattle Prep’s fast-paced offense with big plays, advances to 3A quarterfinals, 52-28

Brayden Platt was on a roll.

Yelm’s sophomore running back and linebacker had already rushed for 92 yards on 10 carries. e was a key component in the Tornados’ attempts to contain Seattle Prep’s dual threat quarterback Braeden Smith.

Then, on third and long for the Panthers midway through the second quarter, Yelm swarmed Smith for a four-yard loss. Platt, the last Tornado in on the tackle, was ejected for targeting.

A difficult player to replace was gone with ample time for Smith and Seattle Prep to rally from a 14-0 deficit. Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo had a good look at the play and didn’t think the call was correct and plans to send in videos and file an appeal of what would otherwise be a one-game suspension.

But, though Smith returned to the game and finished with 138 yards rushing and 276 passing in Saturday’s 3A state round of 16 playoff game at Yelm, Pratt’s departure struck his team mates as an inspirational moment.

“Rage,” said Tornados’ receiver Kyler Ronquillo. “We wanted to get it back for Brayden.”

That they did, holding off several Panther challenges to pull away for a 52-28 victory that will bring them another home game, against either Garfield or Marysville-Pilchuck next Saturday.

As they have in earlier games, running backs William Carretto and Ray Wright more than made up for Platt’s missing contributions. Wright rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns while Carretto had 14 carries for 112 yards and a score.

“Our offense was on point,” said Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo. “We ran the ball really, really well, passed when we needed to, made some clutch plays at the right times.”

Quarterback Palaina Hooper completed 15-of-20 passes for 176 yards and a 28-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Marius Aalona.

The game’s first nine minutes were scoreless, until Carretto made his first carry count, converting a fourth down play for Yelm into a nine-yard scoring run. Early in the second quarter, Wright — named the South Sound Conference’s defensive player of the year earlier in the week — showed his offensive skill with a 17-yard scoring run.

Seattle Prep, though, cut Yelm’s lead to a single possession for the first of two times on a tough 10-yard run by Smith that made it 14-7. When Hooper hit Aalona with a scoring pass over the middle that gave Yelm a 21-7 halftime lead, Smith countered early in the third with a 63-yard touchdown run, breaking tackles at all levels down the field.

Yelm scored on Wright’s second TD run and again Seattle Prep responded with a Smith score, this one from 13 yards away.

“They had a lot of weapons. They’re very unorthodox, super high tempo, five receivers to one side, four receivers to one side,” Jason Ronquillo said. “They’re very hard to prepare for in one week.”

But with the score 29-21, Yelm got the first of two big plays that finally took the Panthers out of contention.

On the kickoff after Smith’s run, Yelm’s Aden Schaler caught the ball on his own six, cut from the right into the middle and again to to the left sideline for a 94-yard scoring return. A two-point conversion run by Wright made it 37-21 and Seattle Prep would never again be within a single touchdown.

“That was a great answer to their score coming out of the half,” said Ronquillo.

Said Schaler , “I got great blocking from my team mates, saw the hole and knew I could go all the way.”

Yelm’s final dagger came with six minutes to play when Hooper, who had tried going deep a few times on the afternoon, threw a high-arcing pass over the Panthers’ defenders into the hands of Ronquillo, to finalize the score.

“They turned the ball over on downs, so we wanted to take a shot to put a nail in the coffin,” said Jason Ronquillo.

Hooper had hoped the Panthers would bite on Yelm fakes to create deep scoring opportunities, but when they proved too savvy, trusted his arm and Ronquillo’s feet.

“I knew Kyler was faster than anyone else on the field and threw it up there for him,” he said.