Enumclaw comes out on top against Fife in physical, back-and-forth 2A SPSL matchup
The Enumclaw Hornets remained undefeated on the season, beating the Fife Trojans on the road in a matchup of previously unbeaten teams in the Class 2A South Puget Sound League on Thursday night, 27-21. It was an old-fashioned slugfest.
“We’re two really good teams, we’ve got two absolute dogfight mentalities,” said Enumclaw center Zeke Luchi. “It was just toughness and grit. ... We expected it to be an absolute dogfight. We knew it was going to be a bloodbath. We planned for a tough match.”
Enumclaw’s run game was effective behind bruising senior running back Emmit Otero. Otero and the Hornets scored first in the first half with an Otero 3-yard run. Fife answered on the very next play, using a little special teams trickery to get on the board. Justin Munoz received the kickoff, faked a reverse and took it 99 yards down to the left sideline to the house to level the game. Enumclaw scored again on an Otero 12-yard run to take a 14-7 lead into half.
“We fight,” Otero said. “We fight for the extra yards, fight to block guys. We fight for all the extra stuff.”
Fife came out swinging in the second half with a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped off by Beau Fualaau’s 9-yard touchdown run.
PLAY OF THE GAME
It very well could have been Munoz’s 99-yard kickoff return touchdown. Without a doubt, that was the most electric play of the night. But the most impactful? Let’s look to the ensuing possession, after Fualaau’s 9-yard touchdown run tied the game up in the third quarter. On the next possession, Enumclaw faced a 3rd and 16 and converted, when quarterback Gunnar Tracthe lofted a perfectly executed screen pass to Otero, who took it 43 yards to keep the drive alive.
It led to a 2-yard quarterback sneak touchdown from Gunnar Trachte six plays later, providing a response to Fife’s touchdown drive.
“It was huge,” said Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson. “Those are the moments in a game that are will-stealers. They tied up the game and we just go right back down. They see seven points on the other side. They just fought their tails off to get those seven points back up. We feel good about all our guys, we’ve got a good group here. Thought we did a good job throwing the ball tonight. It was a good football game tonight.”
Otero added his third touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter to push Enumclaw’s lead to 13, but Fife wasn’t quite done yet. On 4th and 26 from the Enumclaw 27-yard line, Fife running back took a pitch and threw a touchdown pass to Munoz. Fife had one final chance for a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over on downs and Enumclaw hung on for the win.
Otero rushed for a game-high 127 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Junior receiver Karson Holt led the Hornets with 48 yards on three catches and senior Austin Paulson hauled in a pair of receptions for 36 yards.
For Fife, Fualaau continued his impressive season, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He also threw a touchdown pass in the loss. Gavin Schnieder rushed for 92 yards on 12 carries.
Enumclaw remains undefeated on the season.
“We’re just working, doing everything we can to get better,” Luchi said. “Our run game’s great, our pass game is great. We’re just working when we have to.”
Up Next
Enumclaw faces Steilacoom at home at Pete’s Pool on Thursday, Sept. 29.
Fife hits the road for a matchup against Clover Park on Friday, Sept. 30.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 9:38 PM.
