Matheney piles 4 TDs, Tumwater routs rival Black Hills in Pioneer Bowl
Carlos Matheney is Tumwater’s more elusive senior tailback, known to make defenders flat-out miss.
But that skillset — and mindset — changed Friday, when coaches approached him with a newer task: to “run over” Black Hills opponents on Friday night.
Matheney took those words literally. He was a human bulldozer, stacking 148 rushing yards on only 18 carries. By the end of the T-Birds’ regular-season finale, Matheney had four touchdowns.
He can’t remember a higher total.
“It feels great,” Matheney said after the game with a smile, standing on the home sideline. “I knew my (offensive) line was going to come up clutch in this game, especially in a big rivalry game.
“Shoutout to my line.”
Tumwater looked the part of 2A contender on Friday night, mostly silencing crosstown Black Hills in the annual Pioneer Bowl at Tumwater District Stadium. It took little time for Tumwater to, literally, run away from its 2A Evergreen Conference rival in a 58-7 final, pouncing for 431 total rushing yards.
Matheney scored twice in each half, and defensive back Luke Reid snagged a pick-six in the first quarter for the game’s first score.
“(Carlos) runs hard,” said T-Birds head coach Bill Beattie. “He’s a good ball carrier.”
Black Hills’ offense never mustered a response. Their first play from scrimmage lost four yards, and their second play lost two more. A three-and-out ensued before the Wolves could muster a single positive yard.
Just after the Wolves notched a first down, Tumwater’s Reid jumped an outside route on the following play and pranced home unattended for a 24-yard pick-six.
“Oh, great for him,” Beattie said. “He’s just worked his tail off for four years. It was fun to see him get that.”
Instead of going backward again, Black Hills replied with its first and only touchdown. Wolves quarterback Jaxsen Beck found Tanner Parkinson in the right corner for a two-yard touchdown pass, equaling the score with less than a minute left in the first.
After one quarter, Black Hills led, 7-6. It was unfamiliar territory for Tumwater, being behind.
“We don’t like playing down,” Beattie said, “but (Black Hills) came out and played hard. We made some mistakes early on, but did a good job of correcting them.”
But Friday’s one-point deficit disappeared quickly. Tumwater’s Logan Cole burst up the middle for a 32-yard gain, setting up a first and goal for Matheney’s one-yard touchdown rush in the second quarter. Cole took a two-point rushing conversion up the middle, providing Tumwater a seven-point lead.
Each of Tumwater’s later blows came without a counter. While Black Hills sputtered, Tumwater scored twice more before intermission. Cole was first, exploding through the middle for a 24-yard touchdown rush, encapsulating a 91-second, 67-yard scoring drive.
Tumwater kicked off and held firm again, forcing Black Hills back to the visiting sideline. The first-half barrage wasn’t over; the T-Birds worked the two-minute drill to perfection. Tumwater added a fourth score shortly before the break on Matheney’s seven-yard touchdown rush inside the left guard, his second.
Matheney scored his third touchdown on Tumwater’s opening drive of the second half, breaking free down the left sideline for a 37-yard score.
Down 28, Black Hills again failed to respond — Tumwater defensive back Kai McLeod instead snagged an interception, just 60 seconds after Matheney’s third rushing score.
Tumwater later botched a first-and-goal handoff, fumbling away a potential score on the next drive, but forced a safety on an intentional grounding penalty inside Black Hills’ own end zone.
The T-Birds led by 30.
And before the third quarter ticked away entirely, Matheney scored a fourth touchdown — a six-yard dash up the middle. It was 44-7.
“Just taking to them,” Matheney said. “That’s always my mindset.”
The running clock officially ensued in the fourth once Tumwater led by more than 40. Junior tailback Kooper Clark went untouched for an 80-yard touchdown, the game’s biggest play.
Jaylin Nixon scored Tumwater’s final touchdown in the closing minutes -- a 62-yard burst that paused the running clock, if only for a moment.
Cole finished with 119 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Tumwater quarterback Alex Overbay added 149 passing yards.
Black Hills’ offense totaled 106 rushing yards and 95 passing yards.
The blowout win wasn’t a surprise for Tumwater. They never are.
Another postseason appearance won’t faze Tumwater, either. Their Twitter account is named writes “Tumwater ‘Winning’ Football,” and fittingly. Listed underneath are the program’s 26 appearances in the state quarterfinals or better.
They’re seven-time state champs, and confident in their ability to secure an eighth.
“Staying locked in at practice” is the key, Matheney said. “That’s been our main focus,” he added. “Picking up those key mistakes has been big for us.”
Friday’s win cemented Tumwater’s runner-up finish in the 2A Evergreen Conference, second only to undefeated W.F. West. The Bearcats knocked off the T-Birds, 28-7, on Sept. 30 and steamrolled to a spotless campaign and league title.
Yet Tumwater remains firmly in state contention, now 8-1 entering postseason play.
Said Beattie: “We still have a few too many penalties. Most of it’s just worrying about getting better.”
HONORING SALLY OTTON
Tumwater honored Sally Otton before kickoff, the late wife of T-Birds defensive coordinator Tim Otton and mother of daughter Kylie and sons Cade and Ryan.
Sally Otton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 11 years ago and passed away at the family home on Sept. 20. She was 50.
In a moment of remembrance, Tumwater District Stadium’s video board panned through Otton family photographs. Opting against a traditional moment of silence, those in attendance cheered “loud, proud, and full of energy” for the T-Birds. It’s what Sally would have wanted.
All ticket sales from Friday’s Pioneer Bowl funded Parkinson’s research. Tumwater’s team wore a decal honoring Sally, and will so for the postseason.
Along with a silent auction, Tumwater had raised over $18,000 by halftime.
“One of the things I wanted to highlight was just how she was phenomenal in whatever she did,” Tim Otton told The News Tribune Wednesday. “You think — it sounds stupid saying this — but the Otton name. She was part of whatever my dad and my brother and Cade did and everything, but she was on her own a phenomenal teacher, phenomenal athlete.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 12:18 AM.
