Eatonville’s dizzying offense, stout defense too much for Orting in 35-14 win
Eatonville’s offense moved the ball early and often and the defense was lights out against the 2A Orting Cardinals at Orting Cardinal Stadium on Friday night. Eatonville came out on top, 35-14.
The Cruisers got the scoring started early in the first half when senior quarterback Job Kralik, an Army commit, rolled out on a play action play and found a wide open Aiden Eichost streaking down the sideline for a 28-yard score. Kralik found the end zone again on a six-yard score and then after an Orting three and out, Kralik connected with receiver Ky Nation for a 43-yard score to put Eatonville up 21-0 in the first quarter.
“It was big, no question about it,” said Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik. “The kids got out to a great start. Obviously, we would’ve liked to have sustained that better. But really proud of how our defense played and four or five drives without any points, they kept getting stops.”
Eatonville linebacker Jake Wood pulled in a pair of interceptions for the Cruisers in the first half and Eatonville led at the break, 21-0.
“I give all props to my defensive line and defensive coordinator (Rex Norris),” Wood said. “If he didn’t put hours upon hours of game planning and film, I wouldn’t have been told to read what I did. The defensive line giving us all that pressure, it’s just crazy.”
Eatonville added a score in the fourth quarter when Job Kralik ran for a 1-yard keeper. Kralik put an exclamation point on the effort with a 42-yard touchdown run on a keeper late in the fourth quarter. Orting hung around, scoring on a Kaiden Whitaker one-yard run and a Wyatt Phelan eight-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
Kralik, making his second start at quarterback at the high school level, completed 6-of-7 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed 10 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a 45-yard pass. While he had his fair share of explosive plays, he deflected credit to Eatonville’s defense and line play.
“Just the consistency of our defense, getting stops in and out,” he said. “They’re on the field for a long time. ... The offense was stalling out a little bit. It’s obviously great to get up (early), but I think the key should be how the defense played.”
Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said the line, on both sides, was the difference against a tough Orting team that looks like it’ll be a contender in the 2A South Puget Sound League.
“The strength of our team is our offense and defensive lines,” he said. “They’re fantastic workers and just kind of blue-collar kids that represent our community really well.”
Orting had its chances, but the Cardinals’ Pistol Wing-T offense wasn’t able to move the ball consistently down the field against a stout Eatonville defensive line, which made life difficult for Orting senior quarterback Mason McCall. Eatonville running back Dylan Norman led the Cruisers with 90 rushing yards. For Orting, Kaiden Whitaker paced the Cardinals with 112 rushing yards and a touchdown. Teammate Whyatt Phelan also added a rushing score.
Eatonville (2-0 overall) was coming off a 47-27 Week 1 win over Olympic, while Orting (0-2) lost narrowly to Squalicum in Week 1. Eatonville advanced to the 1A state championship game last season, falling to Royal. The Cruisers are a strong contender to win the title this fall.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 9:13 PM.
