Paulson’s pair of receiving touchdowns propels Enumclaw to upset win over Peninsula
The smile on Mark Gunderson’s face was unquestionably brighter when the final seconds ticked off Roy Anderson Field’s east scoreboard on Thursday night. Enumclaw’s head coach, beaming with excitement on the away sideline, shook hands with assistants and embraced players.
The 2A Hornets had taken down 3A Peninsula, both on the road and to open the season, to boot. Enumclaw quarterback Gunnar Trachte tossed a pair of touchdowns – both to senior wideout Austin Paulson – and all-league tailback Emmit Otero added two scores on the ground.
Peninsula mustered a comeback in the final minutes, but failed to complete what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion with 2:40 remaining. It cemented an eventual final: Enumclaw 29, Peninsula 27.
“One of our assistant coaches has some rules,” Gunderson said, moments after the season-opening victory. “His favorite is rule number five, which is ‘never quit.’ And I think that spilled onto our guys tonight.”
Gunderson’s team received the opening kickoff, wasting little time to showcase a ground-and-pound philosophy that propelled the Hornets to the 2A state tournament last fall. Otero took each of the contest’s first four carries from scrimmage for a combined 35 yards, and kicker Noah Seabrands later connected for a 35-yard field goal on the opening drive.
But what followed on Enumclaw’s kickoff was the undoubted highlight of the game – a ridiculous, can-you-believe-he-did-that play from Peninsula returner Isaac Smith, albeit in a loss.
From his own six-yard line, Smith took the kickoff and cut to his right before taking a mammoth hit to the chest. He recoiled, but remained on his feet, later dashing farther to the outside.
With blockers in front, Smith sprinted down Roy Anderson Field’s home sideline as a sold-out crowd shook the bleachers.
Enumclaw answered in a matter of minutes, using a 43-yard completion from Trachte to Paulson to advance to Peninsula’s one-yard line. Otero punched in a one-yard score on the next play, and the Hornets regained control.
“We’ve got a good group,” Gunderson said. “We knew that coming in. These guys made a little run last year, and we have a lot of kids coming back. We’re excited about that.”
Seabrands’ second point-after attempt was blocked, and Peninsula kept the deficit at two, 9-7.
Peninsula was only six feet from paydirt when Conner Burton fumbled at the two-yard line, negating an extended drive into the redzone. Enumclaw took advantage, again using Thursday’s lethal connection between Trachte and Paulson.
Trachte lobbed a goal-line fade to the right corner, where Paulson brought down the projectile and toe-tapped his way to six points.
After a successful point-after, Enumclaw led, 16-7.
“We saw that quite a bit in some passing stuff at camp,” Gunderson said. “We know (Austin’s) going to go get the ball. We’ve had guys climbing all over him, and he still somehow comes down with the ball.
“If that thing’s coming his way in the air, he’s coming down with it.”
Down nine and with little time before intermission, Peninsula fumbled again on the drive’s second play – Enumclaw fumbled on the play after, instantly putting the Seahawks offense back on the field. And Burton, who coughed up the game’s first fumble, redeemed the earlier miscue by recovering it.
Peninsula marched for an important drive in the second quarter’s closing minutes, which narrowed the gap back to a pair. Brady Laybourn took a slant route over the middle and burst up the middle for a touchdown.
At halftime, the game was far from determining a winner – Enumclaw led, 16-14.
An already-physical matchup grew tougher in the third, when defenses traded stops on 4th-and-1 quarterback sneaks. Nearly scoreless for the entire period, Enumclaw tailback Seamus Twohey rumbled up the middle for a 58-yard gain, which woke the away crowd and pushed the Hornets to Peninsula’s two-yard line.
Peninsula’s defense earned stops on first and second down, and Twohey’ 3rd-and-goal rush from the two-yard line was later negated by a chop block penalty. The 190-pound sophomore was stripped of his touchdown, but Trachte found Paulson for another rainbow fade on 3rd-and-goal from the 17.
With another leap – and other toe-tap – Paulson hauled in his second touchdown of the game, one that gave Enumclaw an eight-point lead.
“We’ve been practicing that a lot in practice,” said Paulson. “We do it probably every day, a few times, on the goal line. All the practice worked out.”
Added Gunderson: “You’ve got a veteran player (Paulson) and a newcomer (Trachte), and he sure makes Gunnar’s life easy. It’s a lot of fun.”
Enumclaw’s snap on the ensuing point-after sailed high, marking the Hornets’ second unsuccessful try of the game. Peninsula’s deficit remained within eight.
In the moment, the miss kept the contest within a score and brought potential to be consequential, at least until Enumclaw defensive back Westin Triplett intercepted Knowles 36 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Hornet offense buzzed to the two-yard line, where Otero punched in another score.
With roughly 10 minutes to play, Enumclaw led, 29-14.
The touchdown put Enumclaw in the driver’s seat and forced an accelerated pace from Knowles and Peninsula’s offense. A more-than-five-minute scoring drive culminated into a two-yard passing score to Dane Meddaugh, and though it was back to within eight, Peninsula would need a try an onside kick with less than five minutes to play.
Across the field, Gunderson watched as the onside kick rattled between legs, soon disappearing under a scrum of Seahawks and Hornets. It took more than a minute for officials to determine Peninsula had indeed fallen on the football, meaning another score could tie the game.
Some 48 yards from the end zone, Knowles airmailed a trio of incomplete passes to bring up 4th and 10. He found Laybourn for 13 yards to perhaps keep hope alive, who scampered up the middle for a first down, to the pleasure of the home crowd.
Meddaugh broke free again later in the drive, and Knowles found him in the endzone for his second receiving touchdown of the game. The Seahawks were a two-point conversion away from tying the game.
Knowles again looked for Meddaugh on what could have been a game-tying conversion, but the pass was left short and swatted away. It forced another onside kick attempt by Peninsula, recovered by Enumclaw’s Bo Dods.
Peninsula burned through their timeouts on a series of Enumclaw run plays -- and kept the game interesting until the final minutes -- before Otero’s one-yard gain on 4th and 1 iced the game with seconds to play.
“We’ve just got to keep working hard,” Paulson said. “This is a great win.”
PLAY OF THE GAME
Peninsula’s first touch of the season went for six – and in grand fashion.
Ready to receive Enumclaw’s kickoff following an opening-drive field goal, Peninsula’s Isaac Smith took the ball from his own six-yard line. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior cut to his right, taking a solid shot to the body near the 20.
But Smith popped back up, never on the ground. He turned to the right sideline near the home bleachers, erupting for a 94-yard touchdown return.
After one play with possession, Peninsula had the lead.
“We had some opportunities. So did they,” said Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson. “We capitalized on some, and not on others. First game, a little sloppy.
“(There are) things that we’ve got to get better at.”
UP NEXT
Enumclaw: Sep. 8 vs. Silas at Enumclaw Stadium, 7 p.m.
Peninsula: Sep. 8 vs. Kentwood at Roy Anderson Field, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 11:25 PM.
